[pct-l] Re: Dog Food

[ninskyaroo at hotmail.com (Erin Reading)]

Hello Jo and other dog-loving hikers,

I would definitely recommend feeding a freeze-dried food, as it is by far 
the lightest for its nutritional content. I usually feed Nature's Variety 
Prairie Freeze Dried Food to my dog whenever I go hiking. You would probably 
want to transition your dog to this type of food gradually, though, if he is 
used to regular dry dog food. N-R-G also has a dehydrated food that is 
light, though not nearly as light as the freeze dried. These foods aren't 
cheap, because unlike most dog food, they are actually made with human grade 
ingredients. It sounds like you really want the best for your dog, though.

If you do decide to go with a normal dog kibble, I would make sure you buy 
one that also is made with human grade ingredients, and definitely without 
any by-products whatsoever, fillers such as corn meal, or any ingredients 
with a generic names like "animal fat". This would put all grocery store dog 
foods, and many veterinarian foods (especially anything made by Hill's like 
Science Diet, which is notorious for its poor quality ingredients) out of 
the picture. With the physical stress of hiking, he'll need the high quality 
nutrients. You might also want to supplement with a some sort of Omega-3 oil 
beforehand to help keep his joints healthy.

Here is link is to an article about dog food at a store that has links to 
the freeze dried and dehydrated foods:
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/Articles.asp?ID=108

Feel free to contact me with any other questions and I hope this helped 
some!

Regards,
Erin & Kosmic