Hiking with my dog, which dog food to take? - Page 1

Hi all,

We are planing to go and do some hiking fairly soon. This will be a 2-3 day hiking in wilderness.
As my dog (male German Shepherd) is currently fed raw food, my questions is what other type of food should I bring with me on this hiking trip.
I do not want to feed my dog dry kibble during these 2-3 days and I have been looking for some raw food alternatives. As you can imagine size and weight play a big role when hiking. Carrying canned food with us is not an option due to its size and weight.
Which of the following dog foods would you take with you while hiking and why:

• http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/embark
• http://www.grandmalucys.com/pureformance_lamb_p/74003-1.htm
• http://www.ziwipeak.com/air-dried-dog-food-ziwipeak-daily-dog-air-dried-cuisine/#product-898
• http://www.dnapetfood.com/node/22

Also, could any one recommend a decent (decently priced) dog backpack that we could use on this hiking trip?

Thank you all for your answers.

 

Use the Ziwi Peak fish and venison, the Dried n Alive beef, and either honest kitchen thrive or love.

I'd use 50% ziwi, 30% DNA, and about 20% honest kitchen.

(Grandma Lucys has too many things in it that I wouldn't feed.)

You can also pick up a small chub of frozen raw, like Primal buffalo or beef.. freeze it hard, and feed it all the 1st day/evening.

It will thaw, and use it all when it starts to get warm.

Make sure you have a meds kit for the dog.. ask your vet..
Also recommend getting the dog on small amounts of the hiking food a week before you leave, in addition to his regular diet.

Don't forget to get him used to the pack well ahead of time..

I bought one that has packs that snap off the harness...
Don't forget your water purifier bottle..

Where's the hike??

 

When I want raw, high calorie in small amount food, to feeed for trips like this, I use a recipie called satin balls. There are various versions online, but if you like and want I would take the time to post mine for you. You can make them into small meatballs as you only feed three at a time and if you need some kibble to finish out the trip due to lack of cold to keep meat I suggest the kibble I use which is grain free bil jac. It goes well without giving tummy ache to raw fed dogs has no less than 30 percent protein 30 pounds of chicken meat not meal to a 35 pound bag and is basically freeze dried meat.

I would freeze his raw food and take that with you. I'd make individual bags of two servings per day and pack that.  If it is frozen solid when you leave and have a cooler it will be fine.  Or pack some clothes around it in a back pack to insulate it.  For my dog, I'd feed once right before we left and carry about 6 lbs of food with me for 3 days.  I wouldn't switch but that's just me.  

our dogs pack their own food and water or water bowl, they love it.
any food they're used too will work, if you intend to change foods, do it a week or two before you go.
have fun.

I feed raw but I've used dehydrated raw when hiking. The thought of bringing a bag of raw meat into bear country just (irrationally?) freaked me out. I like Smack (made in Manitoba) and K9 Natural (made in New Zealand) - both of my GSDs did well on it. I did have to feed more than the package suggests. I used Ziwi Peak Venison and Fish as a training treat when my male GSD was a puppy but it really reeks. All three options are pricey but you aren't gone for that long.

I have the Ruff Wear Approach Pack but I'm not a fan of it. It's just so awkward to get it on and off that I grumbled each time I took it off my dog for breaks. It would also be super helpful if the packs detached from the harness (the Palisades version has this option). A Kurgo collapsible water dish and Platypus soft water bottle (one on each side for balance) fit easily into the dog's pack.

I feed raw but I've used dehydrated raw when hiking. The thought of bringing a bag of raw meat into bear country just (irrationally?) freaked me out.

That's funny and makes sense!  

I remember having to search a large grocery store one night around 2 AM because of an open door and the alarm going off.  I searched the entire store including the butcher section, deli area, walk in freezers and coolers, and every aisle of the store with Boomer off lead.  The only thing Boomer stopped, sniffed and showed any interest in was a pallet of dog food.  He has never had dry dog food in his life.  I found it very interesting that out of the entire store including the butcher and deli area the only thing that got his attention was the dog food.  Makes you wonder about the amount of attractants in that stuff.  
 

when we went camping on the beach for 5 days my dog ate what we were eating..beef jerky, eggs, brats, sausage, potatoes, fish, the only thing he was very iffy about was blue crabs which we caught ourselves and boiled on the spot...he would eat meat if i pealed it but would not try to mess with it himself...I did have dry dog food with us but since he is mostly on raw (he is allergic to most dry dog food)  we just fed him as if he was another person, plus left overs..made our life so much easier....and he was happy to help us "clean up".

Honest Kitchen freeze dried.

Buy cheep food dehydrator in Wallmart and slice meat into thin strips and trim the fat or if grounded spread it into thin layer and dehydrate  it well. Put it into Ziploc bag after that with silica-gel desiccant.
http://www.widgetco.com/desiccant-packs

That way you can feed exactly same as you normally feed.  Pemmican dried for several days will last for very long time:

 ​http://www.paleofood.com/pemmican.htm