Meet Our Dog

Meet Rocky —
the one who
started all of this.

Every review on this site exists because of one 65-pound yellow Lab who had absolutely no interest in bad gear. Rocky is the reason DogTrailGear.com exists. Here's his full story.

Breed: Yellow Lab Age: 3 yrs Weight: 65 lbs Home: Denver, CO Trails: 40+ Gear destroyed: 3 items
🐾
Rocky Reed
Chief Trail Officer · DogTrailGear.com
Full name
Rocky Reed
Date of birth
March 14, 2022
Breed
Yellow Labrador Retriever
Weight
65 lbs / 29 kg
Chest girth
28 inches
Shoulder height
23 inches
Adopted from
Denver Dumb Friends League
Adoption date
March 2022 (age 10 months)
Energy
9.8
Trail manners
7.2
Gear survivability
4.0
Swimming enthusiasm
10
Rocky's origin story

Returned once.
Too energetic, they said.
They weren't wrong.

I wasn't planning to adopt a dog in March 2022. I had a perfectly reasonable life in Denver — a good job, a small apartment near Cheesman Park, and weekends spent hiking solo in the mountains. Adding a dog to that equation seemed complicated.

Then I walked into the Denver Dumb Friends League on a Saturday afternoon, telling myself I was just looking.

Rocky was ten months old, 52 pounds, and vibrating at a frequency I'd never seen in a living creature. The shelter card on his kennel said "Yellow Labrador, 10 months, high energy, previously returned." The volunteer who walked him out for me described him as "a lot." He knocked over a display sign with his tail in the first 30 seconds and tried to eat my shoelace. I signed the paperwork an hour later.

"He was listed as 'previously returned — too energetic.' I should have taken that as a warning. Instead, I took it as a challenge. Rocky took it as a personal mission statement."

The first three months were what I can charitably describe as an education. Rocky ate: one phone charging cable, the corner of a paperback book, a section of baseboard in the hallway, and approximately 40% of a hiking boot that was not his. He also learned to sit, shake, and come when called — when he felt like it, which was about 70% of the time.

What changed everything was the first time I took him on a real trail. Not a park. Not a neighborhood walk. An actual mountain trail — South Mesa in Boulder, six miles, 800 feet of elevation gain. I had no idea how he'd handle it. I brought three times the water I thought we'd need and prepared for a disaster.

He was extraordinary. The dog who couldn't walk past a squirrel without losing his mind somehow found another gear entirely on the trail. Focused. Attentive. Covering twice the distance I was covering and still looking back at me like I was the one slowing us down.

That was the day I understood what Rocky needed. Not a smaller apartment. Not fewer trips. More of them.

Rocky's timeline
Mar
2022
Adopted from Denver Dumb Friends League
10 months old, 52 lbs, previously returned once. Signs adoption paperwork. Immediately eats part of the car seatbelt cover on the way home.
May
2022
First camping trip — Chatfield State Park
Complete disaster. Wrong gear, no cooling plan, Rocky tangles the tent lines. Both survive. Already planning the next trip on the drive home.
Aug
2022
First backpacking trip — Herman Gulch
Rocky carries his own gear for the first time in a Ruffwear Approach pack. He is unbearably smug about it for the entire 6.9 miles. Destroys one poop bag dispenser.
Jan
2023
DogTrailGear.com launches
After 8 months of testing gear, keeping notes, and annoying friends with gear recommendations, Marcus decides to put it on the internet. Rocky is listed as co-founder. He has no opinion on this.
Jun
2023
The Coyote Incident — Roxborough State Park
Rocky encounters a coyote on the trail. He is much braver than expected. Marcus is not. Both pretend otherwise on the drive home. The story makes it into the site's About page.
Oct
2023
Record hike — 18 miles, Rocky Mountain National Park
The longest single day either of them has done. Rocky is fine. Marcus is not fine. Rocky sleeps 14 hours and wakes up ready for another one. Marcus does not.
Now
40+ trails. Still going.
Rocky is 3 years old, 65 lbs, and currently on joint supplements because he is a Labrador who refuses to slow down. The gear testing continues. So does the trail damage.
Trail record

Rocky's Colorado trail history

40+ trails across 3 years. Every one of these is a place where gear got tested — and some of it failed.

⛰️
Bear Lake Loop
Rocky Mountain NP · 6.2 mi · 9,475 ft
Rocky's most-visited trail. Six trips across different seasons including one in October snow. The alpine lake is his. He's decided.
Gear tested here: 3 cooling vests, 2 water bottles, 1 harness
🏔️
South Mesa → Trailhead Loop
Boulder · 6.8 mi · Moderate · Dog-friendly
The default weekend trail. Rocky has memorized the route and pulls left at the first junction without fail. Has done it in every season.
Where Marcus first realized Rocky was a trail dog, not just a dog
🌲
Herman Gulch
Arapaho NF · 6.9 mi · 1,700 ft gain
First pack-carrying trail. Rocky was insufferably proud. He also destroyed a poop bag dispenser clipped to his saddle bag, which is now a standard test for all gear.
Gear destroyed: 1 poop bag dispenser (zipper pull failure)
🦅
Roxborough State Park
Douglas County · Multiple loops · Dog-friendly
Location of the 2023 coyote incident. Rocky was braver than expected. More importantly — the harness handle held when Marcus needed to grab him fast. That detail made it into the harness review.
Why harness handle strength is now a test criterion
💧
St. Mary's Glacier
Idaho Springs · 2.5 mi · Year-round snow
Rocky's personal paradise. Permanent snowfield means he can eat snow in August. Three cooling vests have been tested here against the benchmark of "does this actually work when Rocky is also eating snow."
The only trail where Rocky slows down voluntarily (to find snow)
🏕️
Rocky Mountain NP — Long Meadows Route
Rocky Mountain NP · 18 mi · October 2023
The record. Rocky covered 18 miles without complaint. Slept 14 hours after and woke up ready for more. Marcus needed two days. Every piece of gear carried that day is listed in the gear review section.
Longest hike to date. Rocky's choice, not Marcus's.
40+
Total trails completed
18
Miles — longest single day
12k+
Highest elevation reached (ft)
3
Items of gear permanently retired
The hall of fame (or shame)

Gear Rocky has permanently retired

Every destroyed item taught us something. These aren't failures — they're data points. And they're why every piece of gear we review gets more than a polite afternoon walk.

🎒
Unnamed dog saddle bag — Budget brand, Amazon
Cause of death: zipper pull failure
The side zipper pull sheared off completely on mile 4 of Herman Gulch, leaving one pannier permanently half-open. Rocky didn't notice. Marcus did, when the water bottle fell out somewhere near the summit.
Why it matters: Zipper pull durability is now a mandatory test for every saddle bag we review. We open and close it 50+ times before publishing.
🦺
Cooling vest — Mid-range brand, evaporative style
Cause of death: velcro failure after 8 washes
After a full summer of use, the velcro closures on both sides lost almost all their grip. The vest would fall off Rocky's sides mid-trail. Not a safety issue, but completely useless. The manufacturer's listing still says "durable construction."
Why it matters: We now test cooling vests after 5+ wash cycles before publishing. Velcro is checked every time.
🦮
Chest harness — Popular brand, Y-front style
Cause of death: chest strap buckle cracked
The plastic chest strap buckle cracked clean through on a cold morning at St. Mary's Glacier — Rocky had been wearing it for about 14 months. No warning signs. The crack happened while clipping it on. Fortunately, on the ground and not on the trail.
Why it matters: Cold-weather buckle testing is now part of our harness evaluation. Plastic buckles get flex-tested at low temps.
Rocky's health profile

What you should know about testing with a 3-year-old Lab

✓ Current health
  • Annual vet check — all clear, October 2024
  • Hip and elbow screening done — no dysplasia detected
  • Joint supplements since age 2.5 (Labs are prone to joint issues)
  • Flea, tick, and heartworm prevention — year-round
  • Weight stable at 65 lbs — vet considers this appropriate
  • Microchipped and registered — Denver Animal Shelter
⚠ Things we watch for on trail
  • Overheating — Labs thermoregulate poorly in heat. Rocky gets cooling vest above 75°F on active trails.
  • Paw pad wear — checked after every rocky terrain section. One cut in 3 years (Herman Gulch, 2023).
  • Hydration — Rocky doesn't always self-regulate well. We offer water every 30–45 minutes regardless of whether he seems thirsty.
  • Altitude — above 10,000 ft, we pace more deliberately and watch for labored breathing.
Note: Rocky's health profile shapes what we test and how. A healthier or less active dog might show different results with the same gear. We try to note this in reviews where it matters.
Rocky's personality

What three years of trail time teaches you about a dog

⚡Energy level
Consistently high. Not "active dog" high — genuinely alarming high. After the 18-mile record hike, Rocky woke up the next morning and asked to go again. Marcus did not.
🎯Trail focus
Surprisingly good once moving. The dog who can't walk past a squirrel in the neighborhood becomes a completely different animal on an actual trail. Pays attention, stays close, checks in regularly.
💧Water obsession
Every stream, every puddle, every alpine lake. Rocky's relationship with water is deep and personal. This is why all our water gear testing is extremely rigorous.
🧠Gear intelligence
Knows what his pack means. When it comes out, he sits voluntarily and puts his head through the neck loop. He also chews things he decides he doesn't like — which is useful data.
🐾Trail manners
7 out of 10 on a good day. Solid recall. Polite to other hikers. Questionable around other dogs. Has strong opinions about squirrels that don't align with Leave No Trace principles.
😴Recovery
Excellent. Sleeps hard after big days, eats well, bounces back quickly. The joint supplements seem to help. The vet says he's in great shape for his age. Rocky accepts compliments graciously.
Rocky's gear opinions (as inferred from behavior)
✓Ruffwear Approach pack — wears voluntarily, gets excited when it appears
✓Ruffwear Roamer leash — doesn't fight it, appropriate stretch for trail use
✓Flextail pump inflatable pad — sleeps on it willingly, doesn't try to destroy it
✓Cooling bandana — tolerates it, which for Rocky counts as enthusiasm
✕Budget harness with plastic chest clip — chewed through chest strap within 6 weeks
✕Foam sleeping pad — used as a chew toy on night 2. Not camp-appropriate.
✕Retractable leash — has strong feelings about these. All bad. We agree.
?Dog booties — jury is still out. He walks like a cartoon character but his paws survived scree.
See Rocky's top-rated gear
Everything Rocky currently uses and has approved — gear that's survived 3 years of a very demanding Lab across 40+ Colorado trails.
Rocky's current kit →
Read the full How We Test methodology
Every review on this site follows the same testing process. Rocky is the primary tester. Here's exactly what we measure — and how.
See the methodology →