Whenever we take Lola camping, I always feel bad tying her up to a picnic table but if I let her roam around, she will instantly head over to the next campsite in search of both food and someone to shower her with love. While that is usually not a big deal, not everyone is a dog person, especially if she just got done swimming in the lake.
Ruffwear has made it easier to let your dog roam around your campsite while you set up camp or cook dinner with no fear of Fido running off after a squirrel. The new Knot-a-Hitch is a campsite dog-hitching system made up of climbing-inspired components and hardware.
The system includes a storage bag with a generous length of webbing and a 36-foot long static climbing rope. The webbing is wrapped around one tree and secured via a carabiner at the end of the climbing rope. The other end of the climbing rope is wrapped around another tree and secure via a similar carabiner on that end.
To get the right tension between the two trees, simply pull up on the rope through the auto-blocking belay device at the end of the webbing-side carabiner as if you were belaying your second at the top of a pitch. It all takes only a few minutes.
In the middle of the climbing rope sits a swiveling carabiner that you hook your dog’s leash into. Now your furry friend can roam the length of the hitch without worry of getting tangled up or running off when you aren’t looking.
At Outdoor Retailer last week, Ruffwear showed some other new products that I am excited about and will post about soon — a new running leash system and lightweight harnesses for those humans that may not like to use collars on their dogs when walking.
The Ruffwear Knot-a-Hitch retails for $59.95 and is available now.