This post is a complete tangent from my usual writing on the Prowess website but, for many of you, it may be relevant. It originally appeared on my personal blog but as I transferred over useful information, I thought this would be useful to the dog-loving fraternity among you.
In my footloose and fancy free late 20s, I was travelling to many European bouldering venues but had also invited a crag dog into my life: Tess. From her arrival in 2012 until out travels began to be curtailed around 2017, Tess accompanied me on all of my foreign forays, totalling up 8 difference countries! Along the way, I learned many lessons that I’ve always been keen to share.
I’ve written elsewhere about crag dogs so this page is more dedicated to the equipment you may wish to take with you that will make both your life and that of your canine companion more comfortable.
[In this article, I’ve talked exclusively about Ruffwear equipment. It is expensive but good quality kit always is and it really is good quality kit. While I normally try and be impartial, on this occasion I’m actively recommending Ruffwear as my brand of choice]
A Quick Note Before We Begin
All of these resources are provided to you completely free of charge. I’m a big believer of helping people however I can. Sadly, they are not free to create, often taking a substantial amount of time and research to create. If you would like to help support me, you can Buy Me A Brew, with whatever donation you wish by clicking the button here.
Bed: For Sleeping and Sanctuary
Much like ourselves, having a comfy bed is much nicer than sleeping rough on the floor. What’s slightly more important, when you have a wet and dripping dog trying to get into the tent, having somewhere to send them (obedience of dog notwithstanding…) can be more than a little bit helpful.
As with a lot of this kit, having something cheap and cheerful like an old scrap of carpet could do the job but let’s face it, if we’re going to be lying on expensive Thermarest and the like, spending a little more on the canine companion is the least you could do.
You can go really crazy with this but we’ve got a Highlands Bed and it works a treat. My old favourite quality of being warm when wet applies here and the fact it squashes up nice and small means it travels much better than Tess does!
There’s an important point to be made here too. I very deliberately trained Tess not to go on the bouldering pads but when the back of the Land Rover was stacked up with them and I wanted her to curl up on them, there weren’t a great deal of options. Throwing the bed down on the top makes the world of difference between her getting mixed signals and having somewhere comfy to curl up on a long drive.
Dog Bowls: Nutrition and Hydration
Again, with this one, an old Trangia pan would do the job but not well and it’s a pain to store. And when she’s not gonna finish her dinner in a service station just off the motorway somewhere in rural Germany it leaves me with a choice: chuck the food away and let her go hungry (through no fault of her own) or try and avoid letting it go all over the back of the car.
So I pretty quickly opted for something good. Ruffwear no longer make the exact model we’ve got but the current equivalent would be the Quencher Cinch Top. While a lot of dogs will demolish anything you put in front of them, Tess, being fed only once a day, will normally leave some for later in the day. Having a good strong drawcord at the top makes the world of difference.
Likewise with the water bowl, being able to pull the top in can avoid spills in the tent that you really don’t want and paying that extra will mean you don’t have to worry about the water seeping out through the bottom of the bowl.
The other handy piece of kit we ended up with was a Kibble Kaddie, which worked much better than a usual box. It was a luxury but a good one.
Controllers: For Safety, Identification and Comfort
Whether dogs are kept on a lead is a bone of contention for many. At home, in the village or at local venues, I’m confident she is completely under control but the consequences of something happening while we’re away somewhere I don’t know are far higher.
So i want something that I can be sure will keep her under control if I need to. In short, i wanted a collar I could trust would stay firmly around her neck with my name and contact details on. Tess is currently wearing a Knot-a-Collar which is low profile but absolutely solid and easily adjustable when she maults. Knowing it’s not going to suddenly snap open is a huge relief.
Lastly, I’m shocking for losing or forgetting leads, especially as she’s so infrequently on one. What i normally have kicking around in spades though is climbing kit and with the Ruffwear collars, you’ll easily get a full size karabiner through the metal eyelit. Trust me i’ve done it.
On the campsite or crag, the lead also suddenly becomes more important. Our lead is home-made from 4m of 6mm cord, with a knotted handle that I can use like a piece of Czech lead protection but I’ve also got a 10m length to give more freedom for her while knowing she still stays where I need. Indeed, Ruffwear make one, known as the Knot-a-Hitch Dog Tether but I’ve always made do with home made.
Outerwear: Apparel and More
No, I’m not talking about taking your dog to the crag with the santa suit your crazy aunt bought the dog a few years ago; i’m talking about a proper dog harness.
Now, don’t mistake any dog harness with a climbing harness: they’re not usually designed to take the dog abseiling. The fact that you can with a Webmaster Harness, for example, is purely a handy benefit but as someone who completed eight abseils down the West face of Tryfan in full winter conditions with my poor frozen collie, it’s NOT recommended.
They do have some excellent attributes though: lifting over fences/gates, seeing the dog in the distance and even giving a more pleasant attaching point mean that i’m incredibly glad I have one of these and something like a Webmaster is so easy to fit and again, packs up super small, that i’d not want to be without one. After a quick shake, Tess really doesn’t mind it being on either.
That being said, Ruffwear do now actually make a legit climbing harness for your dog! I’ve not tried it personally but the Doubleback Full Body Dog Harness is apparently “Strength-rated to… 8.9 kN” so perhaps there is scope for multipitching.
Remember that often when away on a climbing trip, we’re in pretty inhospitable places so some sort of coat might be useful. I’ve certainly been in sub zero environments on trips (thankfully without Tess) and apparel is quite common.
Finally, as Tess has got older, she can’t quite keep up with us the way she did when she was younger. In 2025, we introduced ‘Dog in a Bag’ on a cycling family holiday to the New Forest with a Hitch Hiker Dog Backpack and it went surprisingly well! For long approaches with an older dog, it might be worth considering.
Entertainment: Dog Toys That Won’t Cause Problems
Don’t underestimate this one when you’re at the crag with your dog: they’re out and about and they want to play. Sitting quietly while you’re on the route often isn’t what they had in mind.
Taking something for them to play with gives you some peace to get on the boulders but not just anything has worked for me in the past. Your standard dog toys do have a tendency to be filled with foam and having to clear this up at the crag is a giant pain in the behind, so best avoided. Likewise, i’ve lost several in various talus fields on our travels (and believe me, we’ve really tried to get them back) and often tend to lose toys in a bush which means I have to go and tend to my forelorn looking dog – another pain when you’re chalked up with rock boots on and you need to romp through some heather!
I’ll admit to using some cut up bits of rope tatt but i’ve always been reluctant for several reasons: firstly, I don’t want my dog to get into the habit of thinking it’s okay to chew climbing ropes and secondly, I don’t want to be distributing bits of rope tatt around Europe under boulders. And if you haven’t got access to endless metres of scrap rope, it could quickly get more expensive anyway!
These days, we’ve opted to shell out on a Hydro Plane and it’s working a treat! Spending the extra means she can chew and thrash the living daylights out of it with little or no effect. The weight of it means it sits nicely on top of anything it lands on and it’s size means it’s less likely to get lost in a crack. Very much worthwhile.
Oh and one last thing: sticks. Two major issues: one, they’re not great for dogs if thrown incorrectly and have a high risk of injuring your pooch. To be honest, i’m not sold on the whole thing being a problem and for me, the far more important thing to bear in mind: it’s great relying on sticks until there aren’t any around…
Summary
Trust me, having the right stuff with you can be the difference between a great crag dog and a giant headache. It can also sometimes be the difference between getting along with others at the crag and getting into unnecessary arguments.
It needn’t be too comlicated either. We all know the importance of having the right kit with us on a climbing trip and with a tiny bit of forethought, we can extend the same care to our furry friends as well.
If You Enjoyed That…
All of these resources are provided to you completely free of charge. I’m a big believer of helping people however I can. Sadly, they are not free to create, often taking a substantial amount of time and research to create. If you would like to help support me, you can Buy Me A Coffee, with whatever donation you wish by clicking the button here.
Further Reading
I feel like I’m a sales rep for Ruffwear here! It’s not my intention, they’ve not remunerated me for this post and plenty of alternatives exist; I just haven’t found any as good.
Check out the Ruffwear ‘Climbing With Dogs‘ page for a collection of their relevant kit
For an excellent UK shop stocking a large Ruffwear range, check out Crib Goch Sports in Llanberis