# Backpacking and Raw Diet



## JohnnyB (Apr 2, 2008)

We feed a raw diet (since a puppy). I am getting into backpacking and would like to take the dog. Unfortunately, there's no way to pack raw food for the pup due to space, weight, lack of cooler, etc. It's mostly dehydrated food for myself.

When we go regular camping he gets his own cooler and there's no issue. I'm looking for ideas on how I can take my boy backpacking.

*Can I feed a good kibble for the 2-4 day trips?*
*What other options do I have?*

:help:


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

What about some of the dehydrated products like Honest Kitchen for dogs? A lot of SAR folks do that.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

There are also companies that make freeze-dried raw diets, like Nature's Variety Instinct and Stella and Chewy's. 
Another option is Ziwipeak which IIRC is air-dried or something, it looks like beef jerky. It's expensive though.


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## Mooch (May 23, 2012)

Maybe have a look at this stuff. I just ordered some to try it, if you want I'll 
post some pictures of what it looks like when I get it 
It's freeze dried RAW you just add warm water.

K9 Natural | Best Raw Dog Food for Healthy Dogs-K9 Natural


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## jae (Jul 17, 2012)

Mooch said:


> Maybe have a look at this stuff. I just ordered some to try it, if you want I'll
> post some pictures of what it looks like when I get it
> It's freeze dried RAW you just add warm water.
> 
> K9 Natural | Best Raw Dog Food for Healthy Dogs-K9 Natural


WOWEE $200 for 35lbs! Not to mention the 1.1lbs ... WAY more than feeding myself.

This is interesting though, I like to camp as well; let me know what works well, I've been packing kibble for day-trips (leave before morning feeding, sometimes night as well)


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

You can get some dehydrated food from Vital Essentials. Also, Ziwipeak.
http://vitalessentialsraw.com/


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## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

We backpack-- in fact we're leaving tomorrow. Rocket eats Orijen, but it's heavy I admit. He still eats about four and a half cups a day and when he's backpacking he eats about 6 cups a day-- so when you go for multi-day trip the weight can add up quickly! This time he's packing his own food for the first time; we've been practicing but we'll see how it goes LOL


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## Mooch (May 23, 2012)

The only reason I bought the K9 Natural was because they had a buy one get one free - it is a bit cheaper here around $136.95 for the 4kg bag LOL 
I wanted to see what it's like and if it will be convenient to take away - and to give to my friend when he's looking after my dogs when I'm on holidays, he's Vegan so I figured the freeze dried stuff may be less offensive for him to handle.


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## JohnnyB (Apr 2, 2008)

Thanks for the replies!

Dehydrating and Freeze Drying both apply heat in the process. Granted it is a low heat for dehydrating and the heat for freeze drying is to quickly thaw the frozen food. But, aren't both dehydrated and freeze dried foods no longer raw? 

Or, is the thought that these types of food are just better than kibble?


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

The heat is negligible. The properties of food remain mostly unchanged with freeze drying. It is the closest thing to raw.


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## Mooch (May 23, 2012)

Oh goodness the K9 Natural smells gross LOL It nearly made me heave LOL 
(I am really sensitive smell wise, I can't even cut up heart or liver without retching)

The dogs absolutely love it, they only had a small amount today to get them used to it, but I don't think it's something I could feed all the time, at least fresh raw meat doesn't smell THAT bad 

It's pellted with a bit of a crumbly texture, a slightly reddish brown colour, looks a bit more like tripe once it's reconstituted. It's light and packs small so would be good for hiking or camping - and it only needs cold water to soak  
But gosh the smell LOL


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## JohnnyB (Apr 2, 2008)

A few questions:
1) Do you need to transition on & off from raw to dehydrated?
2) Do you reconstitute the dehydrated food or server dehydrated (like jerky)?


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## Mooch (May 23, 2012)

Mine have been fine going from meat to freeze dried bad to meat, I've been alternating. Probably depends a bit how sensitive your dog is.

The food I have HAS to be reconstituted it can't be fed dry.


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## jae (Jul 17, 2012)

Anyone here have luck bringing a cooler/container full dog of actual meat? I'm debating doing that for my overnight camping trip, I will have plenty of beer to keep cold as well. I think the frozen meat would totally help. I'm just concerned about wildlife coming at us for said meat.


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## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

If you're camping in bear country, you most DEFINITELY need to hang this container from an appropriate tree. ANY time a bear is rewarded with food, makes them bolder and more likely to associate camps/people with food. And they can TOTALLY get into a cooler. So can raccoons and possums, etc. You don't have a location or say where you're from, but _please_ take bear guidelines and protocol into consideration. It makes it safer for all of us.


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## jae (Jul 17, 2012)

Well, yes, I always take the appropriate precautions. I'm in the NE NJ area, and will be camping in lower NY. Not quite bear country, but there are always some around... not to mention other wildlife.


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

I use The Honest Kitchen and LOVE their products.

7lbs of dehydrated food makes 35lbs of wet food. So you can either carry the entire thing for a long hike, or ration out what you need.

I use the Keen and it costs between $50-$58/box depending on where you buy. My friend brought me back a bag (took it out of the box) on her carry-on, so it really is not a heavy item.

Plus, I find it easy to adjust them to this product, but using a small amount in their regular feedings a few times a week. Then when you switch them over, there is no tummy upset.


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## SummerwoodSoaps (Feb 3, 2011)

When we went on f 4 day camping trip I took Stella's raw food with us. First thing I would reccomend is to not store in baggies. Baggies leak!! Store in tupperware even though they take up a lot more room. We feed before we left so she only had a small meal that night (8 hour drive though). We froze all of it and the next day it was still pretty frozen. By the end second day it was pretty much thawed.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

:wild:d


JohnnyB said:


> Thanks for the replies!
> 
> Dehydrating and Freeze Drying both apply heat in the process. Granted it is a low heat for dehydrating and the heat for freeze drying is to quickly thaw the frozen food. But, aren't both dehydrated and freeze dried foods no longer raw?
> 
> Or, is the thought that these types of food are just better than kibble?


FWIW, Ziwipeak and I think a few others are " air dried":
Raw Without The Thaw - a natural, healthy pet food » ZiwiPeak


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