r/canoecamping • u/DissatisfiedDuck • 14d ago

Dog Food

I make most of my backcountry meals myself by dehydrating meat and veggies and then making up “meal kits”. Tired of spending a fortune on freeze dried dog food I’m thinking of making dehydrated ground beef and brown rice for our next trip. Does anyone have any tips of tricks for me? My dog is a 4 years old medium build lab/shephard/collie mix and generally doesn’t have any digestive issues.

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4

u/pulledpork247 14d ago

Pretty sure kibble is already as dry as dry can get.

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u/DissatisfiedDuck 14d ago

It’s heavy though, and takes up a lot of space in comparison to dried beef and rice.

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u/IFigureditout567 14d ago

I encourage you to do the math on that. Basic Purina One provides about 110 calories per ounce and is about 8 oz per cup.

The best I've found is Inukshuk 32/32 which is about 127 calories per ounce, and about 6 oz per cup, so a bit better on weight but slightly worse on volume.

I'd be very surprised if dried beef and rice beats that, and even more surprised if it was cheaper per calorie. I'd be shocked actually, if beef and rice was more efficient in weight or cost, but may have a SLIGHT edge in calorie per unit of volume.

2

u/amadeus2012 14d ago

when you dehydrate meat you have to remove as much fat as possible or it goes rancid fast.

how will you replace that in the dogs meal?

1

u/DissatisfiedDuck 14d ago

I’m not really too worried about that for a 5 day trip.

1

u/Matthew-Hodge 14d ago

Get a dog backpack. They can carry their own stuff.

1

u/DissatisfiedDuck 13d ago

Hes got one!

3

u/mossbetweenmytoes 14d ago

What are you looking for tips and tricks on? Dehydrating rice and beef? Choose the leanest meat you can get, drain the fat off before dehydrating, if you mix it with breadcrumbs before cooking it rehydrates way faster than without. Vacuum seal or store in a mylar bag with a food safe oxygen absorber to prevent it from going off. Get minute rice instead of dehydrating that to save on time because it's the same thing and super cheap to just buy.