Did you know that almost 80% of pet parents travel with their pets each year? Cats and dogs are the most popular pet travel companions, which means plenty of fun adventures on the road.

While traveling with your furry friends can be a wonderful bonding experience, it takes a good amount of planning to ensure their dietary needs are covered. For dog owners in particular, traveling with a pup means finding dog food that is easily transportable. Though fresh food from dog food brands like Fresh Pet and Farmer’s Dog is growing in popularity, it may not be the best option while traveling.

To make your trips a bit easier, we’ll cover why fresh dog food can be tough when traveling, the importance of choosing the right food for travel and present holistic food options to support your dog’s diet away from home.

A trip with your dog can be a rewarding experience filled with adventure, bonding, and exploration. However, travel logistics can get complicated, especially around transporting and storing your dog’s food.

One of the biggest challenges when traveling with fresh dog food is its need for refrigeration. Unlike dry, kibble-type food (or even canned food), fresh dog food needs to be kept cold to maintain its quality and prevent it from spoiling.

Because of its temperate requirements, dog parents must have reliable access to a fridge or a cooler with ice packs to store fresh dog food when traveling. Keeping food cold can be especially tricky during road trips, camping trips or when staying in accommodations without a fridge. Of course, warm weather and hot climates make this even more of a hassle, putting a damper on fun summer plans.

Another downside to traveling with fresh dog food is its short shelf life. While dry kibble and canned food can last for weeks or even months, fresh dog food has a shorter lifespan. Even with refrigeration, many fresh dog foods only stay good for a few days to a week.

A short life span becomes an even bigger challenge on longer trips. If you plan to be gone for weeks, you have to either pack enough food to last the full trip or risk trying to find your dog’s food in unfamiliar pet stores. This can add unnecessary pressure and stress to your travels.

The risk of food spoilage is another large concern when traveling because if fresh food isn’t kept at the right temperature, it can become unsafe to eat. Spoiled food may lead to serious health issues for your pup, including food poisoning, which can be especially difficult to manage when you’re away from home and your usual vet.

No matter how careful you are, there’s always the potential for food spoilage. Unforeseen delays due to weather, road closures or airline issues are common when traveling, which puts fresh dog food in danger of going bad. In addition to the stress this adds to travel, it can be frustrating to realize how much money was wasted on spoiled, unused food.

Beyond the practical challenges of traveling with fresh dog food, it can simply be inconvenient. You’ll need to figure out extra storage space for the food, which might mean carrying a cooler or navigating the limitations of a mini-fridge in a hotel room. Not to mention the hassle of preparing your pup’s meals while juggling a busy travel schedule.

These inconveniences have the potential to detract from the fun of travel in the first place. What should be a relaxing experience can quickly turn into a logistical headache and cause unnecessary stress to you and your dog.

It’s clear that having so many concerns with fresh dog food while traveling can make the trip more of a hassle than it needs to (or should) be. Dog food should be the last thing on your mind when you’re trying to make fun memories away from home.

Luckily, there are dry and dehydrated travel-friendly dog foods that make it easier for pet parents to keep their dogs well-fed, happy and healthy on the road. Here’s why it’s important to consider fresh alternatives for your next journey.

Imagine being able to hit the road without struggling to find a refrigerator or constantly replenishing ice in the cooler to keep the food fresh.

With a travel-friendly option, mealtime can be as simple as it is at home. You can drive a few hours without needing to stop and rummage through a cooler, which means more of your focus can be enjoying the scenic route, exploring fun attractions along the way, and spending quality time with your dog. This can translate into a more relaxed and enjoyable travel experience for both you and your dog.

Constantly worrying about keeping fresh dog food cold and how or where you’ll prepare the food can cause anxiety. Most dogs eat more than once per day, which means this issue will be a constant problem during the vacation. Plus, you’ll have to consider how to manage the portions of the dog’s food to prevent spoilage and ensure you have enough for the whole trip.

With the right food option, you can easily pack your pup’s food, store it out of the way, and feed your dog without elaborate preparation.

Routine is vital for dogs’ overall well-being, so it’s crucial to maintain one as much as possible while traveling. Dogs thrive on consistency, and a large part of that revolves around mealtime. Disruptions like irregular feeding times and changes to their food can cause stress and digestive issues, which can make travel more challenging for both of you.

Travel-friendly dog food options make it easier to stick to your dog’s schedule no matter where you are. Whether on an RV road trip, backpacking or staying in a hotel, you can ensure your dog’s routine is minimally disrupted, which reduces strain on your travels and keeps your pup comfortable and well-nourished.

Overall, though fresh and raw food can provide great nutritional value, traveling with it can be difficult. Travel-friendly dog food like dry kibble, dehydrated, or freeze-dried foods can be much more practical than fresh options. Here are the pros and cons for each at a glance:

Fresh Dog Food	Travel-Friendly Dog Food
Pros:	Pros:
Nutritionally dense; minimal processing	No need for refrigeration
Fresh, reliable ingredients	Long shelf life
Supports better digestion for some dogs	Easy to pack and store
	Minimal preparation at mealtime
Cons:	Cons:
Requires refrigeration	More processing than fresh food
Short shelf life	Sometimes less variety in flavor
Potential for spoilage	Can be less appealing for picky eaters

What if there was a pet food option that was as nutritionally dense, minimally processed, and full of veggies as fresh dog food that didn’t require refrigeration and was convenient for travel? Well, dog food from The Honest Kitchen checks those boxes and more!

Our delicious, convenient recipes are ideal for traveling. Check out some of our travel-friendly dog food options below, and consider transitioning your pet to a fresh food alternative a few weeks ahead of your trip for the best results.

For the most convenient and travel-friendly dog food option with all the nutritional benefits, consider whole food clusters from The Honest Kitchen. This dry food is the first human grade, scoopable dry dog food with real, high-quality ingredients you can pronounce.

Whole food clusters are a breeze to store, have a longer shelf life and don’t require refrigeration. Best of all, they come in a variety of recipes even the pickiest of eaters will love including a grain free beef recipe with lentils, carrots, pumpkin and apples. There are also healthy-carbohydrate whole grain options like the chicken and oat recipe that includes cage free chicken, barley, oats, carrots, broccoli and kale.

If you’d like something closer to a home-cooked meal while traveling, consider The Honest Kitchen’s dehydrated dog food. Simply add water to this food at mealtime and you have a convenient option that delivers fresh-like nutrition. Dehydrated food also has a long storage life and doesn’t require a lot of space — making it great for travel.

Dehydrated food from The Honest Kitchen comes in a variety of recipes, including grain free, whole grain, gourmet grain, and limited ingredients. Some favorites include the limited ingredient fish recipe, which contains almost nine wild-caught white fish, a whole pumpkin and over four coconuts. Or try the whole grain turkey recipe, which includes almost nine pounds of cage free turkey, tons of whole oats and a whole head of cabbage!

Choosing a nutritious and convenient dog food is important — especially if you’re among the many pet parents who like to travel with their dogs. Fresh dog food has some perks, but there are also some great alternative food options that are just as nutritionally dense and full of amazing ingredients that are more convenient for a family on the go.

Don’t make feeding time a point of anxiety on your trip. With The Honest Kitchen’s minimally processed dry and dehydrated foods, your pet can enjoy delicious, nutrient-dense food on the go. Our food and treat options come in a wide variety of flavor profiles for even the pickiest palates, and our travel-friendly packaging is simple to serve no matter where you are.

Check out our complete line of dry food clusters and dehydrated dog food options before your next trip!