Gearing Up

ON A ROLL WITH FIDO:

We dog lovers know that vacationing with a pooch means we always have a companion who’s pulling for us. Take that an energetic leap forward, and you’ve got dog joring, an increasingly popular sport where your buddy could be pulling you while you’re atop a skateboard, cross-country skis or anything that readily rolls or glides. No surprise, there’s an applicable aid for that: the Omnijore Dog Joring System from Ruffwear, gurus of canine adventure gear. The threepart system consists of a specially designed five-adjustment-point halter with a detachable girth strap for the dog; an extendable 6.5-foot-long towline/leash with a shock-absorbing elasticized section and strong talon harness clips; and a beefed up human hip belt with multiple pockets, detachable leg loops (for stabilizing the hip belt) and a quick-release tow line hook-up so you can free Fido fast if the going gets perilous for either of you. (Full disclosure: I do not go joring with my rescue hound, Shayna. The only pulling she does is due to lax training.) But the Omnivore Dog Joring System works just as great for running and hiking outings as it does for pup-propelled pursuits. I’m grateful for the padded hip belt’s integrated water bottle holster, the two zippered side-pockets and the way the towline/leash attachment loop can glide left and right along the front of the belt without yanking me to and fro. The Y-style padded harness is strong but comfy, with no chafing of Shayna’s sensitive leg pits, and I appreciate the color-coding at both ends of the towline/leash — yellow to the yellow harness hookup point; red to the hip belt’s red quick-release strap. Ruffwear Omnijore Dog Joring System is $174.95; bought individually, Omnijore Harness is $74.95; Hip Belt, $69.95; and Towline, $49.95; at www.ruffwear.com. Judi Dash, Gear & Gadgets syndicate