Food on the trail - idea

[AlwaysHiking]

I use dog food rolls shredded over dry food at home. I was reading the package today and it says one 4lb roll is equal to any ten 13 oz cans of dog food.

Has anyone experimented with dehydrating the dog food rolls for packing and then rehydrating them on the trail? One because they have to be refrigerated and two because it would save weight eliminating the water content.

I would think it would be fairly easy, especially if it's shredded before going on the tray.

It does take more of the food rolls for my dog to feel 'full' compared to dry, but I think it's quite a bit hardier than most dry foods. It wouldn't even have to be a meal, could be an easy, quick snack during the day without rehydration.

I'm going to play around with this on our next multi-day, but if anyone has tried it before let me know how it went.

[Adam B]

AlwaysHiking, you can do this but your will have more trouble then it is worth. I would recommend you consider Evo which is dry and about 550cal per125g. Otherwise any grain-free food high in calories is good. I also enjoy Solid Gold grain free which is easier to find then Evo. You are going to pay quite a bit to do what you want. I am sure you know the price of these rolled dog foods. I found that if I wanted to do what you are talking about the best thing was for me to share my fruit, veggies etc and feed Evo on the trail. Otherwise at home we still eat our regular homemade non-dried food, I was just lazy and didn't want to dry food in the amounts needed. Adam

[Wise Old Owl]

I have seen the rolls in smaller sizes, they only require refrigeration when opened. If the dog eats a smaller roll a day you wouldn't need to refrigerate Right? If these things are more exspensive than store brand beefstick - for the trail I wouldn't buy it. i do like your idea though.



The unopened Natural Balance® Dog Food Rolls can be kept at room temperature for up to 12 months. Please refrigerate rolls upon opening. We suggest to refrigerate rolls at the time of purchase to preserve its full flavor. For Extended Storage, Natural Balance® Dog Food Rolls should be frozen

[Nest]

Since other dog foods have been mentioned, I will throw out one I found. Royal Canin has a new line out called Energy 4800. It has the highest calorie content per cup that I have found while still being very high in protien and fat. It has just a little less protien than EVO, but is higher in the calories. Just something else worth looking into.

[AlwaysHiking]

I have seen the rolls in smaller sizes, they only require refrigeration when opened. If the dog eats a smaller roll a day you wouldn't need to refrigerate Right? If these things are more exspensive than store brand beefstick - for the trail I wouldn't buy it. i do like your idea though.



The unopened Natural Balance® Dog Food Rolls can be kept at room temperature for up to 12 months. Please refrigerate rolls upon opening. We suggest to refrigerate rolls at the time of purchase to preserve its full flavor. For Extended Storage, Natural Balance® Dog Food Rolls should be frozen

I think I still like the idea of dehydrating to get rid of the added water weight.

They are a little more expensive, but I buy them already so that would be no change on the trail, at least for me.

Something I'm going to play with, planning a week long trip in the next month or two and will try it then.

[AlwaysHiking]

Since other dog foods have been mentioned, I will throw out one I found. Royal Canin has a new line out called Energy 4800. It has the highest calorie content per cup that I have found while still being very high in protien and fat. It has just a little less protien than EVO, but is higher in the calories. Just something else worth looking into.

I hadn't heard of that before. I'll have to check it out.

[AlwaysHiking]

Dog food reviews...

This site has some interesting reviews on different dog food brands. Some of the reviews really break down ingredients in great detail.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

[mrburns]

I can't answer your question about dehydrating dog food rolls, but it sounds like you are interested in light weight trail food for your dog, and I do have some info on that since I was interested in the same thing about 8 months ago. Hope this helps!

Below is a quick comparison I did when I was looking for a high calorie dog food so my dog could carry less weight on the trail.

I settled on Innova Adult dog food because it has the highest calorie count. The kcal/cup calculation has to be calculated because I recall the bag didn't have this number... and some folks believe that this can end up being wildly innaccurate (just fyi).

In any case, I had enough confidence in the numbers to use Innova, and I was able to feed my dog 2 cups per day of this instead of 2 3/4 cups of Iams and maintain a steady weight. That puts the deceptivly higher cost into perspective as well.

She is a 43lb border collie mix. The information below was mostly found on the package lable of the dog food bag. For cost, this is how much is cost in Colorado Springs at the store I go to... and this data is from about 8 months ago.

My dog was eating Iams at the time, and the other foods were chosen based on the absence of corn as an ingredient (some folks recommended that to me).



IAMSInnova AdultCanidaeNature's VarietyEvo (small bites)Canidae (chicken)Cups Daily (40lb dog)1 ¾1 ½ – 22 – 32 ½??1 – 2Protein (%)262421264326Fat (%)151412.5142215.5Bag Size2016.5203028.616.5Cost192625415018Cost per lb0.951.511.251.361.751.09kcal/cup393557468391537475Moisture (%)109.510107.510

[mrburns]

The spread sheet data didn't post well, sorry.
I attached it as an HTML txt file for anybody interested.

[desdemona]

Instinct is kind of light weight-- I have heard it described as freeze dried, if so you do NOT need to feed it with water. My cat eats this, and Torie eats Wellness Core. Instinct has a weird texture that I don't think my cat really cares for (it's binder is tapioca). Torie is crazy about Instinct (the cat food anyway). She has never gotten sick on it either. (I have heard of feeding cat food to dogs. But have heard mixed things. It is very high protein and very high calorie, but a hard working dog might do well on it.)
It's a very high quality food, up in the 6 star premium range (on that website).

--des

[desdemona]

I want to clarify (no edit??) any Instinct doesn't have to be MIXED with water. That's what I meant.
Sorry re: second related post.

--des

[Adam B]

Let us know how the drying turns out. I would really recommend a food dehydrator but I used my oven so it can be done and I would like to know what kind of weight savings are offered.

[Baby Blue]

I am surprised I have seen no mention on the dog board about the food from The Honest Kitchen. It's grain free 100% natural dog food and it's DEHYDRATED! 4 lbs of mix makes 17 pounds of food. The formula called "Embark" is for active dogs.

Plus it's human grade and taste tested by people, so emergency food?

[Spoonie Love]

that website for the honest kitchen looks interesting. i am definitely going to looking into that for bilbo's food on our hike next spring. dehydrated would be a real bonus.

[esabacz]

Since everyone is throwing out different dog foods they have tried, I'll go ahead and throw in "Blue Buffalo's Wilderness formula." It has 42% protien, is about 586 cals per cup and is grain free with tons of fruits for the puppies.

I feed this to both of my dogs both on and off the trail (one is a Corgi /JRT mix and the other is an aussie), and notice a huge difference in there energy level if I feed them anything else. It really seems to give them more energy / endurance etc. (No ups or down, just a higher energy level). Only one word of caution (not to be to crude),but if your dog is "gas prone," shake and pat them at your own risk (you get the idea).


More info at:
http://www.bluebuff.com/products/dogs/wilderness.shtml

[clicker]

Blue buff is great stuff. I have not yet switched my puppy over to wilderness yet, because I want to wean her to adult food first. Then when we hike I will switch her over to wilderness to help with the energy. Several people I work with have rescued dogs that were very underweight. (I work in a boarding facility for dogs and cats) By using wilderness, they were able to bring their dogs back up to healthy weight in no time. I can't recommend Blue Buff enough.

[CascadeLiberationOrg]

I have tried 2-3 kinds of freeze-dried raw-meat dog foods I've found at the local boutique pet place. Seems perfect for backpacking. Expensive. I mix it with some kibble. I super-package it to try to contain the odor (mostly from the kibble, the meat seems much less smelly).