View Full Version : What and when do you feed your dog on a long hike?
I've only ever taken my dog on short trips...usually overnight 20 to 25 mile trips. The most he has ever done is 40 miles. He usually eats the same thing I'm eating. Probably not the best or healthiest way to go but it is the easiest and I figure its not going to hurt him to eat human food for a day once in awhile. But now I'm planning a 100+ mile trip and that plan probably isn't going to work for that. It won't be on the AT and resupply will be very limited so this is going to have to be planned out pretty carefully as there won't be much room to make adjustments.
Do you offer your dog food and water every time you stop for lunch and for a snack? I usually do, but like I said, its human food and I'm wanting to get away from that on this trip.
doingtime
05-22-2016, 15:49
Great question. I'm interested as well. I carry dog food for a 1 or 2 day/night hike but not sure what to do on a longer outing.
looking forward to the answers.
Wise Old Owl
05-22-2016, 17:40
Premium pet stores now carry freeze dried hamburger like patties that can rehydrate with cold water in about 10-15 minutes. there are other options but I use these and also use homemade beef Jerky on short trips....
Otherwise - "He and She" falls for a Slim Jim bite that I cannot eat.
https://cdn.luckyvitamin.com/images/Product/large/116768.jpg?s=True
AfterParty
05-22-2016, 21:39
Get a dog pack and make it carry it's own food.
Thanks for the suggestion...those are pricey but I think I'm going to give them a try. I especially like the fact that he's probably going to view this as a treat, if not outright think its human food.
DuneElliot
05-23-2016, 16:45
I use the same dry food they usually get and just bag into quart ziplocs...then I make them carry it. Each of my dogs has their own pack and can carry up to four days each and still be within the safe limit of what they can carry.
Greenlight
05-23-2016, 17:01
Kyle Rohrig (The Mayor) hiked the AT and wrote "Lost on the Appalachian Trail" and is now hiking the PCT with Schweppes (his AT buddy) and Katana (his dog). He's on Facebook and answers questions quite regularly. It's been fun so far just following his hike, but he's become quite an expert at hiking with a dog.
saltysack
05-24-2016, 11:21
My dog will barely eat his dog food while on a hike unless I add some oily tuna or salmon to it. I've tried the honest kitchen dehydrated food but he will not eat it. Plan to try the dehydrated patties before I do the collegiate loop with him in sept. He loves MY Cabot seriously sharp cheddar and Krave chili lime jerky! I don't like to share....[emoji51]
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Gambit McCrae
05-24-2016, 11:42
I feed my dog squeezboxs on the trail, i stuffem down in his pack and he devours them every night.
saltysack
05-24-2016, 12:52
I feed my dog squeezboxs on the trail, i stuffem down in his pack and he devours them every night.
He'd rather eat a cat turd!
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drinkwater
05-25-2016, 14:07
I carry in my pack about 1.5 lbs dog food on my two day fastpacks. Since I'm running I don't want any weight on my dog. I let him eat pouch of soft food before we start off. I give him Abound snacks during the run. Dinner time he gets a bag of hard food and gets to lick my tuna pouch. I do out and backs. He is never hungry in the morning. For lunch or around the 3 hour mark I offer him his second hard food pouch, sometimes he eats, most of the time not. Half way back I retrieve the soft food cached from the day before. He also loves Abound snacks. When I get back to the car he gets another soft food pouch. He's around 80 lbs Collie / Shepard mix.
From what I've researched on the subject, dogs need to have a higher caloric intake when hiking as they expend a lot more than we would think. With that, I pack up zip lock bags of dry dog food and feed mine about every 2 to 3 hours. Small portions, just a bite or two, rather than 2 large meals per day as normal. I don't want to risk him having a heavy stomach on strenuous hikes. I also recently found a great product called Turbopup (www.turbopup.com). My dog LOVES these and the bars are easy to carry, lightweight and less bulk than dry dog food. I break off a chunk and feed him every few hours. Most recently, I carried some of these bars and some of his dry food, and it worked great. Also, if I'm carrying peanut butter packs for myself, he gets a lick or two of that every once in a while. And yes, water pretty often. He carries some in his pack (Ruffwear Singletrack hydration pack).
saltysack
05-25-2016, 16:20
From what I've researched on the subject, dogs need to have a higher caloric intake when hiking as they expend a lot more than we would think. With that, I pack up zip lock bags of dry dog food and feed mine about every 2 to 3 hours. Small portions, just a bite or two, rather than 2 large meals per day as normal. I don't want to risk him having a heavy stomach on strenuous hikes. I also recently found a great product called Turbopup (www.turbopup.com). My dog LOVES these and the bars are easy to carry, lightweight and less bulk than dry dog food. I break off a chunk and feed him every few hours. Most recently, I carried some of these bars and some of his dry food, and it worked great. Also, if I'm carrying peanut butter packs for myself, he gets a lick or two of that every once in a while. And yes, water pretty often. He carries some in his pack (Ruffwear Singletrack hydration pack).
Just ran across the turbo pup bars...ill try those on our next hike as snack and a substitute for his breakfast...what flavor did your pup like best?
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I got both the peanut butter and beef, and he likes both. He's not a picky eater anyway, so I'm lucky. Hope they work for you as well as they do for me!
Just ran across the turbo pup bars...ill try those on our next hike as snack and a substitute for his breakfast...what flavor did your pup like best?
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Correct, peanut butter and bacon (not beef)
saltysack
05-25-2016, 16:29
Correct, peanut butter and bacon (not beef)
Thx going to try them out before our CT hike....he's 20lbs so looks like without any food 2 bars per day...seems very convenient if he'll eat them...
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saltysack
06-29-2016, 16:51
Correct, peanut butter and bacon (not beef)
Petsmart has them on clearance for $2.47 for the 2 pack in stores.
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kayak karl
06-29-2016, 20:34
What did the veterinarian say ?
jacko213
06-29-2016, 20:39
My veterinarian - a boarded and reputable nutritionist at the UGA - told me that I should get Purine Proplan sports performance 30/20 for my dog
My dog will barely eat his dog food while on a hike unless I add some oily tuna or salmon to it. I've tried the honest kitchen dehydrated food but he will not eat it. Plan to try the dehydrated patties before I do the collegiate loop with him in sept. He loves MY Cabot seriously sharp cheddar and Krave chili lime jerky! I don't like to share....[emoji51]
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My dog was doing the same thing, not eating dry food, on our 4 day hike. I added water to her food and then she devoured it. She has no problems at home eating dry food but for some reason prefers it saturated when hiking. After this i have had no issues with her not eating food.
Pringles
06-30-2016, 14:41
Dinner time he gets a bag of hard food and gets to lick my tuna pouch.
Gives new meaning to "doggie breath." :-)