The Honest Kitchen Dehydrated Dog Food Review: Trail-Tested on the AT

When you’re planning a three-month thru-hike with your dog, food is the single biggest logistical challenge. We chose The Honest Kitchen dehydrated dog food for our 900-mile Appalachian Trail section hike with Toby — here’s an honest review after feeding it every day for three months.

Why Dehydrated Food for Backpacking?

Weight. On a thru-hike, every ounce matters — and your dog is carrying their own food in a pack. Dehydrated food saves approximately 30–40% weight versus traditional kibble while delivering the same calories.

Toby’s daily food weighed about one pound dehydrated, allowing him to carry 4–5 days worth in his Ruffwear Approach Pack. With kibble, that same caloric load would have been significantly heavier.

What We Used

The Honest Kitchen Free Range Chicken Organic Wheat Blend. They offer both grain and grain-free options — we went with the wheat blend because Toby has no sensitivities and it was more cost-effective.

All ingredients are human-grade and organic. That matters less for marketing and more for the fact that we could smell and see the quality of the food when rehydrating it. It looks like real food, not processed pellets.

Cost Breakdown

We spent $340 on 68 pounds of dehydrated food, purchased in bulk before departure. That covered three full months on trail.

Is it expensive? Yes. Significantly more than kibble. But we’d argue it’s worth the peace of mind and light weight when your dog’s health is your responsibility 24/7 in the backcountry.

Feeding Protocol

• Two meals daily — breakfast and dinner
• Pre-measured portions — 2 cups of dehydrated food per meal, packed into individual plastic bags before the hike
• Rehydration — mixed with 2–3 cups of water per serving
• Hydration bonus — each meal delivers 4–6 cups of water, which significantly helps with trail hydration

We added a splash of olive oil to each meal to boost calories and encourage Toby to finish every bite. He never turned down a meal in three months.

Calorie Performance

Toby’s calorie needs increased from an average of 1,100 calories at home up to 2,100 calories on trail. The Honest Kitchen’s caloric density made it possible to meet those needs without overloading his pack.

At the 2,100-calorie level, we were going through roughly 4 cups of dehydrated food per day — about one pound of pack weight.

What We Liked

Rehydration speed. Add water and it’s ready in minutes. No cooking required — a real advantage when you’re tired at camp.

Digestibility. Zero stomach issues through the entire three months. We transitioned Toby to the food four months before departure, which we strongly recommend.

Hydration support. The water mixed into each meal kept Toby better hydrated than kibble ever could. On hot days, this mattered.

Shelf stability. We mailed resupply boxes to ourselves along the trail. The dehydrated food kept perfectly in every condition.

What We Didn’t

Price. There’s no getting around it — $340 for three months of dog food is steep. Kibble would have cost a fraction.

Bulk prep. Measuring and bagging 180+ individual meals before the hike was tedious. But it saved time on trail.

The Verdict

For multi-day backpacking and thru-hiking, The Honest Kitchen is the best option we’ve found. The weight savings alone justify the cost when your dog is carrying their own food. The hydration benefits are a bonus.

For day hikes? Just bring extra kibble. The price premium doesn’t make sense for short trips.

A healthy dog on trail will make or break your thru hiking experience. Test any new food at home for at least a month before committing to it on a long-distance hike.