long camping trip - what to do

[Jen and Annie]

Hey all - we are planning a 4-5 day camping trip with our favorite canine ladies, and in preparation - I'm wondering if there is any alternative or freeze dried raw that we can easily bring with us on the trip.  We *could* bring their regular meals with us, but it would take up a ton of cooler space, and require us refreshing the ice every day. 

I'm wondering if I should just bring frozen meat with us (despite all the space it will take up) and that way, I dont have to worry too much about it going bad, since it can just defrost over several days slowly in the cooler. I would have to bring about 20-22 lbs of meat along for the ride...

Anyone ever taken the dogs on a trip, and how did you handle the feeding situation?

[LucyR]

Stella and Chewy make a freeze-dried raw but it is $$$$.  There may be alternatives.  GIven your situation, I believe that I would buy some commercial raw food patties and keep those in the freezer.  i believe they are good for about a week.  Maybe a combination of frozen meat and patties would work fine since you are unlikely to have access to ice machines.  The fall-back position is to give them high quality kibble for the camping trip.  They won't die....worst is mushy stools for a bit.  Sounds like a lot of fun. 

[Jen and Annie]

Luckily we are camping in  a location and there happens to be a 'camp store' where we can get ice... Or, there is a grocery store about 25 minutes away if needed. 

I don't know how I feel about switching to high quality kibble, only because if they do get upset stomachs, I'll have to pick up nasty soft kibble poop instead of their nice firm and dry raw poops....selfish, I know...   I think I might be leaning toward freezing most of their meals ahead of time and keep it in the cooler - it'll still be pretty cold outside too, probably in the 50's during the day so I could always just stay on top of making sure we have meat defrosted - or they could eat it frozen...

My girls are spoiled and still eat twice a day. That makes it a little more difficult as they'll have to have meat ready for 7AM and 4:30PM each day. 

[Joy & Buddy]

We travel every summer with Buddy. Primal, Honest Kitchen, and Sojo's all make freeze dried raw.  I think Nature's Variety may make it as well.  It is very expensive.  I tried the Sojo's one year, and it didn't work so well for us.  Plus, I think you would need to transition to the freeze dried, rather than just use it all at once on your trip.  I usually pack a bunch of frozen patties, from Primal, usually, (I know Buddy tolerates Primal well) in a cooler and layer it with bags of ice.  I portion them out in advance, so each meal is individually wrapped, to make it easier at feeding time.  They defrost in about a day or two, but stay cold for the remainder. The patties are fine after defrosting for several days.  On a 4-5 day trip, it should work fine.  I just don't open the cooler that often, and it is rather amazing how long the food stays frozen.  I keep a tupperware container in the top of the cooler and move the next meals into it--they defrost in there by the time it is time to feed.  Hope that helps!

[Jen and Annie]

Good information - glad to know they all stay cold (if not frozen). Since it will still be pretty cold outside when we go, I think we may stick with what their current diet, and just deal with the space issue. You make a good point about having to transition them before the trip, and it just seems like it'll be easier all around to just keep their normal diet while we're gone... On normal road trips, we always just stop and buy some chicken to feed them - we have just never been out in a campground with them before - I'll report back LOL - we leave in just over 2 weeks!

[Jen and Annie]

We did go camping and it was a full success!  I ended up bringing 5 bags of chicken quarters.  I used freezer bags and made flat packs of 4 quarters and froze them into compact, flat packages. I was able to 'file' the chicken quarters into the cooler, and all went well.  The girls stayed nice and tired from our daily hikes, and were very hungry when mealtime came.  I was worried that they would be finicky or maybe not eat, since we were away from home.  But they ate every meal and came looking for more. I think I would probably do it this way for future camping trips as well.  The cooler was totally packed full with their food and ours, but I've always been good at tetris, so I was able to fit everything in.  :)