Dehydrated dog foods - faves?

[krissy]

I was just at the pet store to pick up some dehydrated food. I wanted to have some on hand to introduce the pups to so that in future I don't have to lug heavy kibble when we travel or camp.

There were quite a few different ones which made my life difficult. I eliminated Orijen right away based on what seemed like the amount that needed to be fed and the fact that it was in "brick" form. The bag only gave directions up to about 15 kg which was 7 bricks. My dogs easily double that weight.

They also had Sojos and Grandma Lucy's. The clerk said the feedback she's heard is the Sojos is less accepted by pets, so I decided to go with the GL. They had two formulations... one said 2 cups for my dogs and the other formulation recommended 4, so I went with the more calorie dense. They only had a large bag though, so I really hope the dogs will eat it. They're not typically picky, but you never know since this isn't a type of food they have experienced before.

She said their best seller was another brand (forget what it was called) but they were sold out.

Have you fed a dehydrated food? Did your dogs like it? Which is your (their) favourite?

 

[ErinMC]

We keep Grandma Lucy's Artisan Chicken and Rice. It's a pretty basic formula and smells WONDERFUL. Dogs seem to really like it. Can be costly though. Maybe you can do 50/50 freeze dried and their kibble.

 

[BostonBanker]

I used Honest Kitchen for a bit and really liked it.

 

[krissy]

We keep Grandma Lucy's Artisan Chicken and Rice. It's a pretty basic formula and smells WONDERFUL. Dogs seem to really like it. Can be costly though. Maybe you can do 50/50 freeze dried and their kibble.

It's just for travelling, which we don't do very frequently, so I'm not concerned about cost. I do not intend to feed it as part of their regular diet.

 

[ErinMC]

Makes sense. We haven't tried any others because it seems to please the masses. We kept in on hand at the kennel in case there was anyone with any upset tummies. It's basic and everyone seems to love it.

 

[Kat09Tails]

Funny enough for camping - and traveling I've found nothing is easier than raw. We usually have it on hand or we can stop and pick up something nearly anywhere with no worries or great expense.

If you're committed to the idea of dehydrated however - I have used honest kitchen and addiction and found them both to be fine. I would not recommend NRG.

 

[Elrohwen]

I've fed both Sojos and Honest Kitchen for extended periods of time. I've only purchased the kind without meat and add my own since it's cheaper.

Watson was not a huge fan of HK. He ate it, but for the first couple weeks he gave it the side eye first and didn't dive into his food like he usually does. He prefers Sojos. Hazel doesn't seem to have a preference.

I do about 2/3 kibble and 1/3 dehydrated food. I like that it mixes things up for them and gives them some fresh meat, and it's nice to have on hand for stuffing kongs. It's way too expensive to feed 100%, but I like the idea of using it for camping.

 

[pinkspore]

I've only tried Honest Kitchen so far, the kind with meat. Brisbane thinks it is awesome, Ru won't touch it. Nobody carries Grandma Lucy's in my area, and Sojos doesn't make an egg-free poultry-free food Brisbane can eat.

Have you considered freeze-dried food? Mine both love Stella and Chewys, and I think Wysong makes one too.

 

[krissy]

Hmm... Interesting about finding the raw easier when traveling. I'm not really interested in feeding my dogs raw (nothing really against it, I do feed raw "treats") and I certainly would have thought that would be a huge inconvenience when traveling since refrigeration is typically an issue. For me though the big factor is reducing weight. Kibble isn't all that inconvenient when traveling, it's just heavy and space consuming. Also, when camping I think the dehydrated has a little less odour to it... attract fewer bears hopefully.

I'm not sure I've taken notice between freeze dried and dehydrated. Do you rehydrate the freeze dried with water too? I'll have to look into that.

Last night I fed the kids half their dinner with the Grandma Lucy's. I needn't have worried as they both scarfed it down happily. Now to see how it comes out the other end!

 

[GoingNowhere]

^^ Grandma Lucy's is freeze-dried! Boo likes it, though it's the only type of freeze-dried/dehydrated food that we've given her. I reconstitute it with water, wait a few minutes and then feed. She typically gets it mixed with kibble because of the price and because she does well on kibble. It does seem to make her stool a bit softer, but otherwise she does well on it.

As for traveling/camping - yes, freeze-dried is by far the easiest from what I've found. I can't even picture lugging pounds of raw meat up a mountain (maybe the recommendation was for car camping with a cooler??) Dehydrated is supremely lightweight and easy to pack.

 

[pinkspore]

I've camped multiple times while feeding raw and it was a giant hassle, both keeping it cool and making sure I wasn't cross contaminating everything else. That was one of the major factors in switching back to kibble after years of exclusive raw feeding.

 

[Kat09Tails]

I've camped multiple times while feeding raw and it was a giant hassle, both keeping it cool and making sure I wasn't cross contaminating everything else. That was one of the major factors in switching back to kibble after years of exclusive raw feeding.

I think I probably am a bit more casual raw feeder than most. I put it in a cooler double bagged. Cut off what I am going to eat for dinner and hand the rest to the dog. Rinse hands. I never found it a hassle and was always happy that the next meal was as far as the nearest creek or grocery store.

I am typically only camping up to a week at a stretch though.