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Aussie922
06-26-2008, 10:22
For those of you who have hiked more than a few days with your dogs, how do their diets differ from at home in order for them to get the proper nutrition that they need? Do you add a nutritional supplement to their normal meals? Add high-protein meat or jerky to their meals?
Also, if you feed dry kibble at home, do your dogs get the same kind on the trail? Or do you feed a kibble that is lighter to carry? Or heavier/more nutrient-rich so that they don't have to eat as much?

Lyle
06-26-2008, 11:11
Aussie922,

First off, welcome to Whiteblaze! I see this is your first post. You chose a rather controversial subject, "Anything to do with dogs on the trail".

From past observation, you will probably hear from the Anti-dog brigade, and then witness some rather juvenile arguing that has nothing to do with your original post. Please do not take this personally, you will not be the first to step into this trap.

My suggestion if what I say comes to be, is that you start a new thread in the "Straight Forward" forum. This will be more highly monitored and irrelevant/off-topic posts will not be allowed to stand.

Again, welcome to Whiteblaze. It is a great site, with plenty of good information and people, but there are some givens and pointless arguing seems to be one of them at times.

Edit: To address your questions: I do not hike with my dogs, so I cannot give you much information, sorry. Just wanted to warn you of the potential hornet's nest.:D

kayak karl
06-26-2008, 12:12
For those of you who have hiked more than a few days with your dogs, how do their diets differ from at home in order for them to get the proper nutrition that they need? Do you add a nutritional supplement to their normal meals? Add high-protein meat or jerky to their meals?
Also, if you feed dry kibble at home, do your dogs get the same kind on the trail? Or do you feed a kibble that is lighter to carry? Or heavier/more nutrient-rich so that they don't have to eat as much?
princess is 13 now. my vet helps me with my choice of food and pills. dogs like people eat less on first couple of days on trail. dont use a 5 day trip to judge a long trail. again, talk to vet. have fun and enjoy you trip.

ps. she doesn't hike any more :( but she loves to be in the front of 2 man kayak barking the birds off the rock on the delaware.:)

Aussie922
06-26-2008, 12:56
princess is 13 now. my vet helps me with my choice of food and pills. dogs like people eat less on first couple of days on trail. dont use a 5 day trip to judge a long trail. again, talk to vet. have fun and enjoy you trip.

ps. she doesn't hike any more :( but she loves to be in the front of 2 man kayak barking the birds off the rock on the delaware.:)

Thanks for the suggestion. I will talk to my vet about nutrition before going. My 2 1/2 y/o Australian Shepherd had been on a raw diet for about six months last year. I'm considering putting her back on it so that I can dehydrate her meals to make them lighter for me to carry. Plus she loved getting to eat raw meat everyday :D

My dogs also kayak with me- we did a 12 mile trip on the Delaware this spring- with my legs hanging in the water and a 45# Aussie sitting on my lap.

Rouen
06-26-2008, 15:06
you could look into adding oils to your dogs' diet if you dont feed them already. depending on the oil, some help keep weight on and keep the dogs energy level up, they're also great for skin and coat health.

CherrypieScout
06-26-2008, 20:26
My vet recommended dry puppy food - the good brands
She ate beef jerky (people kind) and I would put dried egg yellows on her morning food. I dried the eggs myself in a dehydrator - boiled them first. The white part doesn't dry so well. You can also by dried egg yolks. She carried her food in her pack.

jcazz
06-26-2008, 21:13
For those of you who have hiked more than a few days with your dogs, how do their diets differ from at home in order for them to get the proper nutrition that they need? Do you add a nutritional supplement to their normal meals? Add high-protein meat or jerky to their meals?
Also, if you feed dry kibble at home, do your dogs get the same kind on the trail? Or do you feed a kibble that is lighter to carry? Or heavier/more nutrient-rich so that they don't have to eat as much?

I normally feed my dog Canidae dry food and I double it on backpacking trips plus a bag of PB Power Bones per day. My dog won't eat in the am before hiking -i feed him all of his dry food 2 hours after we have stopped hiking for the day. Since he is a deep chested dog, it minimizes his chances of getting gastric torsion. I use Canidae because of it's high calorie content, light-weight and he loves it. You won't find it in the grocery store only pet stores; I used mail drops. On long trips > 2 weeks i end up tripling his dry food but he is very active -ultrarunner.

Aussie922
06-26-2008, 23:29
I actually feed Canidae too (all life stages formula because, at one point, I had a puppy, a 5 y/o adult, and a 12 y/o senior-all working dogs). I have a very active Aussie who has to eat about 4 1/2 cups per day to maintain her weight. And that's just at home (she generally gets about 2-3 hours of exercise per day- running, walking, swimming, agility, etc.). Even if I only double it, it will be a lot of food to carry. How often do you do mail drops?

Rouen
06-27-2008, 16:37
I have a very active Aussie who has to eat about 4 1/2 cups per day to maintain her weight.


any idea what her daily caloric intake is?

Aussie922
06-27-2008, 18:07
About 2100 (45# dog). I'll probably have to at least double it if we're going for more than a week or so.

Aussie922
06-27-2008, 18:09
Plus treats... cheese or hotdogs for training, biscuits in the am and pm, and an occasional Greenie. Probably 400-500 in addition to kibble.

notorius tic
06-27-2008, 19:22
Thanks for the suggestion. I will talk to my vet about nutrition before going. My 2 1/2 y/o Australian Shepherd had been on a raw diet for about six months last year. I'm considering putting her back on it so that I can dehydrate her meals to make them lighter for me to carry. Plus she loved getting to eat raw meat everyday :D

My dogs also is with me- we did a 12 mile trip on the Delaware this spring- with my legs hanging in the water and a 45# Aussie sitting on my lap.
I can not take my Corgi-Lab out because she is 15 (but duing 15miles a day) she was a tree hugging squirle DOG.. I hiked with BowLegs an BONO last year an he stayed out of shelters as much as he could.. Camped next to it due 2 the Spring but had the up most respect 2 those that had 2 legs..

Rouen
06-27-2008, 19:41
About 2100 (45# dog). I'll probably have to at least double it if we're going for more than a week or so.


seems like a lot, my dogs(35# and 28#) get 1.5 - 2 cups of kibble when they're active(3+ hours of running along side the bike per day).
Canine Caviar makes a high cal canned dog food made with beaver meat, supposedly has 1370 calories per can, if you can dehydrate it, it might be soemthing worth looking into.

the goat
06-27-2008, 20:11
i've taken my dog on the northern half of the AT:

what i used was puppy food (more calories) at about 3 times what he would normally eat. i also added olive oil to it every night & gave him some of my food too.

OutdoorsMan
06-27-2008, 20:54
This may not be the proper place to post this but - I love dogs on the trail. All that I have seen are well behaved and obedient to their master. Yes, I have seen two males untethered get into a little scrap but it was quickly squelched by the owners of the dogs. I don't fear the night but in my opinion, a dog in camp or near a shelter is going to keep bears and any other scary creature away. I enjoy how friendly most dogs are and I enjoy seeing them experiencing the trail.

Aussie922
06-27-2008, 21:59
seems like a lot, my dogs(35# and 28#) get 1.5 - 2 cups of kibble when they're active(3+ hours of running along side the bike per day).
Canine Caviar makes a high cal canned dog food made with beaver meat, supposedly has 1370 calories per can, if you can dehydrate it, it might be soemthing worth looking into.

Canidae contains about 470 calories per cup. It does seem like a lot, but she is a very active dog. I've had her checked for thyroid problems, internal parasites etc. -anything that would cause overeating- all negative.
I'm going to have to look into Canine Caviar. Their website is under construction, so they only have a list of general ingredients, not those for specific products. I'm picky... No corn, wheat, soy, or bi-products, etc.



This may not be the proper place to post this but - I love dogs on the trail. All that I have seen are well behaved and obedient to their master. Yes, I have seen two males untethered get into a little scrap but it was quickly squelched by the owners of the dogs. I don't fear the night but in my opinion, a dog in camp or near a shelter is going to keep bears and any other scary creature away. I enjoy how friendly most dogs are and I enjoy seeing them experiencing the trail.

A little off-topic, but thank you for not telling me to [leave the dog at home, always leash the dog, don't let the dog carry a pack, don't let the dog drink from water sources...]. Seems like every other post in the other dog threads is one of these. Not saying that they aren't valid considerations, but we get it :)
In regards to the animals at night, I just got a call from the boyfriend who is doing a weekender in North Jersey, maybe PA (I think)- they had a bear in their camp last night, saw 3 or 4 more today, and now have quite a few coyotes around their camp tonight. It makes me really nervous to go (I have a trip planned for next week), but you're right that having a dog around will probably keep animals away.

Rouen
07-02-2008, 10:42
I'm going to have to look into Canine Caviar. Their website is under construction, so they only have a list of general ingredients, not those for specific products. I'm picky... No corn, wheat, soy, or bi-products, etc.

The canned beaver is beaver meat and water. the ingredients lists for the foods are showing for me.
http://caninecaviar.com/gourmetbeaver.html

clicker
07-09-2008, 08:59
I feed Blue Buffalo dog food and they have a food called Wilderness that is based on a wolfs diet and is designed for working dogs. Ideal for sled dogs and hiking dogs as well as hunting dogs. Plus Blue Buffalo is holistic food for my dog, she eats better than I do. When I hike, I have used puppy food with a little olive oil and Zukes power bones for treats. That was in the past with my older dog who does not hike anymore, he's an amazing 17 and still truckin'. I don't think it did any damage to him. I also fed about 175% of what he would eat at home. He is a Lab/Springer/Airedale mix. Pretty freaky looking, but friendly as heck. Used to abandon his sleeping pad and crawl into my bag with me. My new one will get a similar diet, with Blue's Wilderness supplementing her puppy food until she gets used to Wilderness as her main food. Check out www.bluebuff.com

Aussie922
07-14-2008, 08:58
Well we just got back from a 5 day trip... I had packed a little less kibble than what Lily eats at home, and had dehydrated a couple pounds of beef that I took as well. The first night she ate 2 cups of kibble, and quite a bit of jerky, but would only eat a cup or so per day for the rest of the trip. She also ate some jerky and some of my food. I think someone mentioned that dogs, like people, tend to lose their appetite for the first few days. After how long does it generally return?

Phreak
07-14-2008, 09:26
Evo Large Bites for my dogs on the trail - double the amount they eat at home.

ct1974rlw
07-25-2008, 09:23
I have two shepherds and both require totally different diets.

Izabelle-my female shepherd (black belgian) is very allergic to chicken. She can not have any dog food that is even processed in a plant where dog food is made with chicken. So her food is mostly homemade. I find this simplier actually and easier to carry than commercial dog food. Her base while on the trail is always rice. Then I add a little bit of what I am eating to the rice to to give some flavor. I also give her a joint supplement as well as vitamins and use these for a "treat". She doesn't eat a lot while hiking-but that is good because since she has filled out she has begun to pack on some weight in her butt area. As far as water she drinks only filtered water.

Junior-my male-is a different story-he is still young (she is 4 and he is turning 2) and is in the stage of filling out-which is hard to keep weight on him. (Nope, he doesn't have worms) He looses weight just thinking about moving off the couch, lol. He gets the same base as Izabelle, however, I do pack him Iams puppy which is high in fat and protien. I add this to his food and he always gets the grease from my dinner if there is anything. He too gets a joint supplement as well as vitamins. I also prepare before the hike his own trail mix so he can snack during the hike as well. This is simply dehydrated meats and veggies and non citrus fruits. I use the trail mix for when he is in the down position on the trail to allow people to pass us. This way he is too busy snacking and could care less who or what is passing us. So far I have been able to keep him at a lean 120lbs, but I am hoping he'll gain another 5lbs or so. Like his sister, he too only drinks filtered water.

BTW-I have some great recipes of homemade dog food if anyone wants them.....All have been dog tested and dog approved by finicky eaters.

Aussie922
07-25-2008, 09:43
I would love some recipes- PM me please :)

I'm thinking about switching both of my dogs back to the BARF (Bones and Raw Food) diet since Canidae just went up a few $ again anyway. Then dehydrating it and ending up with something like the trail mix that you use for Junior. Plus it would be a lot lighter than kibble. Just a thought for now- it takes a lot more time to prepare, and I have to figure out how much it would end up costing.

ct1974rlw
07-25-2008, 10:07
I would love some recipes- PM me please :)

I'm thinking about switching both of my dogs back to the BARF (Bones and Raw Food) diet since Canidae just went up a few $ again anyway. Then dehydrating it and ending up with something like the trail mix that you use for Junior. Plus it would be a lot lighter than kibble. Just a thought for now- it takes a lot more time to prepare, and I have to figure out how much it would end up costing.


BARF is good, my vet practices hollistic as well as homepathic medicine and when Izabelle was having a ton of problems with chicken when she was a baby-she fiquired it out pretty quickly which ultimately saved her life.

I will email you the recipes later tonight with money saving tips that I found over the years to keep the cost down. I am able to feed them both for a total cost of about 25.00 a week on these diets as long as I am a smart shopper :-). But of course that varies depending on how/where you shop.

If anyone else is interested-I could post them I think. Thanks!

Two Speed
07-25-2008, 13:01
Go ahead and post them, if you don't mind.

CascadeLiberationOrg
07-11-2012, 14:23
Our corgis get raw meat at home with minor kibble. This is a real hassle on weekend trips but can be done with a tough plastic O-ring screw-top plastic can. It's perfect bear bait.
There are many kinds of freeze-dried raw meat dog food products, low-odor (less than kibble) and work well. Multi-day trips, they get the freeze dried meat and kibble, probably at least twice their normal ration. No wonder they like hiking...