Summer holidays are upon us, and for those of us lucky enough to travel with our dogs, that means prepping their food in advance of hitting the road. Whether you’re feeding commercial dry or wet foods, home-cooked meals, or a raw diet, we’ve got you covered with tips, tricks and tools to ensure your pup’s meals are holiday-ready.
As my husband and I will be hitting the road shortly with our own dog Boone, I thought this would be a great opportunity to share my personal strategies for prepping Boone’s food for a multi-day trip.
Our Rhodesian Ridgeback Boone has thrived on a number of different diets over the course of his four years, and we have travelled with him through his various culinary phases, including commercial dry, commercial wet, and fresh/frozen raw diets. As of this July, Boone is eating a human-grade commercial raw frozen diet, so we will need to prepare portions of his food prior to our trip, as well as develop strategies to keep his food safely refrigerated. Since we’ll be living out of our built-out VW T6 transporter van for the duration of our trip, we’ll share our tested strategies for safely managing his fresh/frozen raw food diet without access to a kitchen.
Before getting into the specific requirements of individual diets, let’s address an area that applies to all of us, regardless of the type of food we’re feeding our dogs.
DETERMINING FOOD PORTIONS
Whether you’re feeding wet, dry, gently cooked, or raw food, first things first: we need to pack enough food to last the duration of our trip plus an extra 24-48 hours’ worth of food (minimum) in case any contingency requires an extension of our intended travel dates. (Otherwise be prepared to hit up local pet supply shops or supermarkets in search of suitable temporary food solutions for your dog. Who knows, it could be an adventure in its own right!)
While road tripping through Switzerland in 2022, we sought out reputable local pet supply shops to ensure that Boone had access to appropriate raw food during our travels. Here I am in a Swiss parking lot / our living room prepping the complete lamb recipe that we found for Boone. My forehead wrinkles speak multitudes lol.
So how much food will you need? For ease of calculation, I recommend using our free Sundog Daily Calorie calculator tool. Use the multi-day planning feature to calculate the total amount of each food needed for extended periods:
Step 1: Determine your dog’s daily food portion by entering your dog’s weight, neuter status and activity level along with the calorie content of your dog’s food as declared on the packaging or manufacturer’s website. The calculator will then provide their daily feeding recommendation.
Step 2: Simply enter the number of days you’ll be away and the calculator will determine the exact quantities required for this period. With this information, you can buy exactly the amount of food needed for your journey.
PRE-PACKING PORTIONS
Commercial Wet & Dry
For those feeding commercial dry or wet foods, you’ll have the simplest prep work ahead of you: packing enough packages or cans of food to sustain your dog for the duration of the trip. Simply store the correct amount of packaged food in a cool, dark location like a box or compartment that you can keep away from the heat of the sun and the car, which can be substantial in the high temperatures of summer. Be sure to bring storage clips, lids and sealable freezer bags as needed for airtight storage, and of course always refrigerate open cans of wet dog food, using these within a few days of opening. Assuming you have access to a fridge in your accommodation, this should be not much different from your routine at home.
Commercial Gently Cooked
If you’re feeding commercially prepared gently cooked meals from subscription services like The Farmer’s Dog in the US or HelloBello in Germany, or from the fridge and freezer section of your pet supply shop like Open Farm Fresh & Gently Cooked Recipes in North America, simply pack enough for the trip. If you have full access to a fridge and freezer, you’re good to go! Just keep in mind that fitting your dog’s food along with your human family’s food might involve some high-level Tetris skills to get it all in there.
If you’ll be camping out of a tent, car, or van without access to a private kitchen, stick around because we’ll have helpful tips about keeping your dog’s food safely cooled below!
If you’ll be completely off-grid, your best bet will be temporarily switching to an easy-to-store commercial dry food that doesn’t require refrigeration and that your dog is known to tolerate. Consider dried versions of your dog’s current food from the same brand, which will likely use the same ingredients. For example, if you’re feeding Open Farm’s gently cooked recipes, consider opting for Open Farm’s freeze-dried menus with ingredients that correspond to your dog’s present diet. Please, please, please: Test the novel food first prior to your trip to avoid causing your dog digestive distress that could throw a wrench into your holiday adventures!
DIY MEALS
Get the sealable freezer bags and disinfected tupperware ready! We’re going to pre-pack individual portions of your dog’s food to last for the duration of the trip, with a surefire strategy to freeze and refrigerate these safely for the duration of our vacation.
Home-Cooked
For those home-cooking DIY gently-cooked meals for your dogs, you’ll be bulk-cooking enough food to last your dog for the trip. So off to the kitchen you go!
Once the freshly cooked food is cooled to room temperature, portion out individual meals by weight using a kitchen scale, packing these into resealable freezer bags or clean Tupperware to be frozen and refrigerated. You can keep approximately 5 days’ worth of meals refrigerated, freezing any meals beyond this to be safely defrosted for feeding.
Raw
Use a kitchen scale, freezer bags, or disinfected Tupperware to portion out your dog’s individual meals into separate containers. As our raw food comes frozen in cubes, I simply measure and package Boone’s individual portions by weight using a digital scale, an easy-to-clean scoop (like a plastic measuring cup) and freezer bags. If possible, portion out your dog’s individual meals while the food is still frozen to mitigate increases in pathogenic bacteria. For food safety reasons, we only want to thaw frozen raw foods once, before serving the food to our dog at room temperature. For fresh and frozen raw food diets, preserving the cold chain is of utmost importance to ensure food safety. Once thawed, raw dog foods stored in sanitized packages (like new freezer bags or clean Tupperware) can be kept in the fridge for approximately three days safely. Discard any raw meat that has been left at room temperature for two hours or longer. The risk: Raw dog food left too long above refrigeration temperatures can experience increases in pathogenic bacteria that create health and safety risks for dogs and for humans handling the food.
Remember that for raw feeders, preserving the cold chain for your dog’s meals will be your top priority. Assuming you have access to a fridge and freezer in your holiday accommodation, you’re golden and set up to safely nourish your dog. If, however, you’re camping out of a tent, car, van, or motorhome, you're going to need to find appropriate storage solutions to keep that food safely frozen and refrigerated!
Here I'm prepping a pre-packed raw meal for Boone comprised of lamb muscle-meat and offal (Sensitivmenü Lamm from Graf Bar, which is bone-free) supplemented with carrot and potato baby food, salmon oil, probiotics and calcium. One trick I learned on the road was that vegetable baby food (onion-free, garlic-free) functioned as a great veggie supplement for meat-based raw menus when kitchen access was restricted.
Fridge & Freezer Options for Campers
Communal Fridges at Campsites
Campgrounds and campsites with amenities generally offer fridge and freezer access to registered campers. Ask campsite employees in advance about the possibility of storing your dog's food in the communal fridge. Don't forget to label the packages of your dog's food stored in the communal fridge with your name so no one throws it out or takes it away by accident!
Van and Motorhome Fridge and Freezer
Campervans and motorhomes are generally fitted with a fridge and freezer combo that runs on electricity, solar, or propane. Dedicate enough space to accommodate your dog's food along with your own human food to ensure that raw food is stored at safe temperatures.
Portable Travel Fridge/Freezer
Consider purchasing an additional travel fridge/freezer that can be plugged into an electrical socket, either at your accommodation or in your car or van. We personally use a fridge/freezer designed for VW's T5 & T6 models: the Carbest Compressor Cooler to store our dog’s raw food while we're on the road. This model costs 419 Euros (it was considerably more affordable when we bought it back in 2021), has a storage volume of 9 liters and can be set to temperatures ranging from -18°C to +10°C.
We have used this device both as a freezer and as a fridge with great results and can only recommend it. A major advantage of this model is its versatility: you can plug it into a standard wall socket at your accommodation (220-240V), use it in your car or van’s 12V outlet, or connect it to a larger caravan’s 24V system.
Important battery consideration: While this cooler adapts to multiple power sources (12V/24V/220-240V) and only draws 35 watts, it can still drain your car or van battery if left running without the engine on or adequate battery monitoring. Always keep tabs on your battery level when using it while parked.
No Fridge? No Freezer? No Problem!
Freeze-dried raw food formulations to the rescue! For off-grid adventures, your best bet is to switch to a freeze-dried version of your dog’s raw food diet. These foods remain technically raw since the freeze-drying process preserves the nutritional integrity of the raw ingredients without cooking them. Moisture is simply removed through sublimation, leaving you with shelf-stable raw nutrition that just needs water to rehydrate.
To mitigate the chances of digestive disturbances, I recommend finding a freeze-dried version of your dog’s current food from the same brand (likely made from the same ingredients), or to select a novel freeze-dried food that uses a recipe as close to your dog’s regular diet as you can find, consisting of the same animal ingredients and vegetables, fruits and herbs, if possible. Remember to always have your dog test any novel foods prior to your trip to avoid any digestive surprises!
Freeze-Dried Raw Menus for Travel
Boone is currently eating Graf Barf's human-grade raw chicken and vegetable complete and balanced menu that’s available for purchase from the freezer section of our local pet supply shops here in Hamburg, Germany for 6,44 €/kg. It’s sold along with an accompanying supplementary oil containing direct marine sources of EPA and DHA, Vitamin D3, as well as linoleic acid, which is essential for dogs. While we will be pre-packing at least a week’s worth of this exact food to store in our van’s fridge and freezer and portable fridge/freezer, we do want to take this opportunity to trial the travel version of this formula, which is sold as a freeze-dried version, specifically designed for use during holiday travel.
At first glance, the freeze-dried travel recipe appears significantly more expensive than the frozen version at 61,32€/kg versus 6,44€/kg. However, the freeze-dried version has had virtually all moisture removed (fresh raw foods are typically 70-80% water), making it much more concentrated and nutrient-dense per gram. When you factor in the reduced moisture content and higher concentration of all ingredients, the actual cost difference per feeding portion is more reasonable than the per-kilogram price suggests. (Note: I have no affiliation with Graf Barf, I just have good experiences feeding their raw fresh/frozen menus to Boone and want to try the freeze-fried chicken recipe for our next road trip.)
Check out your dog’s favourite raw food brands to see if they sell freeze-dried versions of their recipes, or search specifically for freeze-dried raw recipes with formulations that most closely match your dog’s current food. If you need advice sourcing appropriate food options for your dog, please reach out as I’d be happy to help!
Note: If switching your dog’s regular food for a more travel-friendly alternative, ALWAYS test the novel food in advance of your trip to avoid your dog experiencing digestive distress in response to the change! There’s nothing quite like explosive diarrhea, or a dog in discomfort to disrupt your holiday!
Keeping It Clean!
If you have restricted access to dishwashers, sinks and hot water during your travels, keep in mind that you’ll need an effective strategy to disinfect your dog’s food and water bowls. This is especially important for dogs consuming raw food that is known to carry pathogenic bacteria. Always disinfect your dog’s food bowl between each meal, as well as thoroughly clean their water bowl regularly to prevent bacterial buildup! If you can’t use hot, soapy water, then use an alcohol-based disinfectant and a clean paper towel to thoroughly disinfect your dog’s bowls. I personally use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that I buy from a health food shop to ensure that it doesn’t contain ingredients like fragrances, colourants and emollients that I wouldn’t want on my own plates and cutlery.
That's a wrap!
What are your tips, tricks, and favourite hacks for prepping your dog’s meals before a holiday? Let me know in the social media comments!
Thanks for reading and happy travels!
