Survival Dog Food Basics - For Overlanding or when the SHTF
Posted by Jim Morrison on
It's a smart idea to be prepared for any eventuality, whether a natural disaster, a manmade disaster, or just to get out of town and do some Overlanding.
In these moments, don't forget about your dogs, being prepared for anything keeps you ready to take care of yourselves and your best friends at a moments notice.
You should create a Survival kit the consists of the necessary essential items such as water; food; an emergency pack; first aid; in this post we will touch on the food aspect.
Most store bought food only have a shelf life of up to one year, this is usually printed on the bags or cans of food. To extend this time, somewhat, you should store the food in a cool, dry place. This, of course, is still just a short term solution. The biggest problem is that most dog food contains fats and oils which can, and usually will, go rancid over time. This is not something you want to find out when under the pressure of taking care of your loved one.
You have several options here - you can buy several months of food and continuously rotate it so you are using the older bag first - or buying cans and rotating as well. Cans last longer than dry, but the cost can be prohibitive, and many owners do not take to feeding their dogs canned food. The problem that could crop ump with this method is that you never know how, where, or how long the food has been stored before you even buy it. Without being sure of this information, how can you be sure of how many months of storage life you have left?
For the long term storage solutions for your dogs, you need to pick up some freeze dried pet food, such as Stella & Chewy's Super Beef and Primal Pet Foods Freeze Dried Chicken You can get various flavors and sizes and these will last much longer than regular food. The cost is higher, but you are getting basically a raw food diet, completely sourced and made in the USA or New Zealand, never from a less pet safety concerned country. I would start with a 72 hour supply for emergencies or for when the SHTF and you need to bug out immediately, and then spread out to 2 to 4 weeks supply in case of a larger emergency.