How to Feed Your Dog on a Hike

How much should you feed a dog on a hike?

Start with the chart on the bag. Then, on a big day, add a little. That is the honest answer, and it beats any formula. Dogs burn more on the trail than on the couch, but how much more depends on the miles, the hills, the weather, and the dog. The chart gives you the base. Your dog tells you the rest.

Why a hiking dog eats more

The clearest numbers come from dogs who work for a living. Racing sled dogs running a 490 km race in the cold burned about 11,000 calories a day (Hinchcliff et al., 1997). At rest, a sled dog needs about the same energy as any other dog its size. In a race, that need can climb to several times the resting amount (Hill, 1998).

Your dog is not racing across Alaska. But the pattern holds at every scale: more miles, more cold, more hours on the move means more food. A ten-mile day with a loaded pack is a real day of work for a 30 lb dog.

Use the bag's chart as the base

AlphaPak's chart is by weight. As a full meal, a 13 to 18 lb dog eats about 1 cup a day, a 19 to 25 lb dog about 1½ cups, and a dog over 25 lb about 3 cups. That is the number for a normal day at home, and it is where every trail plan starts.

On a hiking day, add a little. Not double. A small extra scoop, or a bit more in the evening bowl, covers most dogs on most days. Then watch:

• Finishing the bowl and still looking for more after a few big days means a bit more is fine.
• Leaving food means the day was easier than you thought, or your dog is too tired to eat. Let them rest and try again.
• Ribs easy to feel, visible waist from above means you are in the right range. Keep going.

If you are out for a week or more, your vet can give you a target for your dog. The feeding guide has the full chart.

When to feed

Feed the main meal at camp or back at the car, after your dog has rested and had water. A full stomach right before a climb is no fun for anyone. A small snack an hour or two before you set off is fine for most dogs, and a few bites at a long break can help on a big day.

Water comes first, always. Offer it at every break, not just when your dog looks thirsty. The water you add to the food counts toward their day too. Hot days have their own rules, and here they are.

How to feed freeze-dried food on the trail

Add warm water. It is the one step new buyers miss, and it is the difference between a crumbly snack and a real meal.

Measure the dry food, pour in warm water from your stove or an insulated bottle, stir, and wait a minute. Feed. After rehydrating, remove and discard any leftovers after 2 hours, and pack them out. A collapsible bowl and a small sealed bag per day keep it simple.

Let them carry a day or two

A day of AlphaPak for a 25 lb dog is about 80 grams, so a couple of days of food is a light, even load in a fitted pack. The Kobuk bladder that comes with our packs carries the water for the soak. If your dog is new to packs, start with how much weight a dog can carry. For the full trail setup, read the best dog food for backpacking.

AlphaPak is a food, not a medicine, and nothing here replaces your vet's advice. Want a starting amount for your dog before the next trailhead? Find your recipe takes about a minute.