Your Complete Guide to Fuelling Your Adventure Dog

Alma sits down at the trailhead and looks at me before we start every single time.

It's the 'I know what this means and I am ready' sit. The same energy she brings to the car door, the gear bag, and the sight of trail shoes coming out of the closet.

Alma and I have covered a lot of trail together. The Chief, Alice Lake, the SORCA trails above Squamish when the light comes through the trees and the whole mountain is yours. She shows up for all of it.

For a long time, I had nothing to give her on those days that matched what she was doing out there. So I started paying attention and here’s what I learned.

Why Your Dog Needs More Fuel on a Big Day

There's a version of a day out with your dog that goes like this: 10 or 15 kilometres of trail, a climb that earns a view, a couple of creek crossings, and the descent back to the trailhead. Your dog runs twice the distance you do, investigates every scent, sprints ahead and doubles back, and arrives at the car looking like they could do it again.

Your dog is working! In the same way you reach for a nutrition bar at the summit because a handful of trail mix isn't enough for a full day on your feet: your dog's body is doing real work, and what you feed them on trail needs to support them.

Most dogs on trail get whatever was in the pantry. Training treats, a bag of kibble, maybe a biscuit at the car. Those are fine for a walk around the block. 

Big days need something easily portable and breakable, nutritionally dense, and built to survive the inside of a pocket without turning to mush.

The Trailhead Bribe: Fuelling Before You Start

The trailhead bribe is a moment between you and your dog. It's a small piece of something good right before you start. It's the ritual signal: this is the beginning of a big day, and you and I are doing it together. Alma knows it. The moment she sees me break a bar at the car she's already on the trail in her head.

On the Trail: How to Time Treats on a Hike with Your Dog

Long days on trail call for regular small moments rather than one big reward at the end. Your dog is moving constantly, even when you're not. They're investigating, checking back on you, sprinting to the next corner, and doing it all over again. Keeping them fuelled across the day is less about nutrition management and more about building the shared rhythm of being out there together.

Here are the moments that work best for Alma:

• At the trailhead: the ritual starts with a small piece, but a big signal.
  
• At natural rest points: a viewpoint, a stream crossing, a switchback where you both stop and look around. These are the moments that make a day memorable. Marking them with a small reward for Alma makes them mean something to her too.
  
• At the summit: the summit tax. The treat you both earned when you made it to the top.
  
• On the way down: a long descent is real work on a dog's joints and paws. A small reward at the bottom acknowledges that.
  
• Back at the car: the close of our ritual.

One breakable bar split across a full day of activity helps build the trail moments that turns a dog into a genuine adventure partner.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A HIKING DOG TREAT

The treat needs to survive the conditions before it can do anything else. Here's what actually matters when you're choosing what goes in your pack.

Format First

It's going in your jersey back pocket, your hip belt, or your hydration pack. For hours, possibly in humidity and heat. Soft treats turn to paste, crumbly treats coat the inside of your bag, and freeze-dried treats look promising until a sweaty trail run turns them into beef liver paste in your shorts pocket (trust me, I’ve been there)!

What works: a thin, portable bar in a resealable wrapper that fits flat in a pocket and breaks cleanly when you snap it. No crumble, no residue, no mess while you're in the thick of it. The format is part of the product. A treat that can't make it to the summit isn't a trail treat.

Ingredients worth knowing

For a dog on a big day out, the ingredients doing the most useful work are:

• Named whole protein: at FRAPS, we source wild salmon and beef.
• Functional ingredients: we use things like green-lipped mussel for joint support and wild salmon for healthy fats. These are the ingredients that go beyond basic nutrition and do something specific for a dog who's working hard out there.
  
• Real food in supporting roles: pumpkin, flaxseed, collagen, and honey. Ingredients with a purpose, not fillers.
  

Portability and shelf stability

The treat needs to survive the pack without refrigeration, repack multiple times, and still be appealing when you pull it out at the summit. Air-dried treats are shelf-stable by design and hold up in conditions that would wreck a soft treat.

Camping with Dogs: What to Pack for a Trip

A camping trip with your dog is one of the best things you can do together, and the treat strategy is basically the same as a day hike, just scaled up.

A few things that matter more when you're out for multiple days:

• Shelf stability: anything that needs refrigeration is not a camping treat. Look for air-dried or dehydrated options that stay good without a cooler for the duration of the trip.
  
• Pack-friendly format: a resealable wrapper and a compact format means it fits alongside your own food without taking over the pack.
  
• Bear smart: all dog food and treats are food to a bear. Pack everything accordingly. FRAPS bars are compact enough to fit in a bear canister alongside your own food without a problem.
  
• Enough for the days: bring more than you think you need. Multi-day trips mean more trail time, more rest stops, more summit moments. Pack for the days you're actually having.

Building the Adventure Ritual

The fuelling is part of it. But there's something bigger here worth talking about.

The summit tax isn't just a treat. It's a consistent signal to your dog that reaching the top with you is the best possible outcome of any day. Dogs that are regularly rewarded at summits become better trail partners. They learn the rhythm of a big day out. They push through the hard sections because they know what's at the top.

The trailhead bribe isn't just fuel. It's the start of the ritual. It tells your dog: we're doing something together today, and it's going to be worth it.

Every rest stop, every stream crossing, every 'good dog' on a long descent: these are the moments that build the relationship between a dog and the outdoors. The treat is just how you mark them.

The shared snack on a ridge somewhere in BC, the view you both earned, your dog leaning into your leg while you look at it together. That’s what FRAPS is about.

Reward the wanderer.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What should I feed my dog before a hike?
  

  Feed their regular meal a couple of hours before you head out, so they have time to digest before hitting the trail. A small treat at the trailhead right before you start is a different thing: it's the ritual signal, not a meal. Keep it small.

• Can I give my dog treats while hiking?

  Yes, and it's one of the best things you can do on a long day out. Regular small treats at rest stops reinforce the shared rhythm of the day, keep your dog engaged, and build the trail culture that makes them a genuine adventure partner. Look for treats that are portable, don't crumble in a pocket, and are built from real ingredients.
  

• Are dog treats good for trail energy?
  

  A treat built from named whole protein, with functional ingredients like green-lipped mussel for joint support and wild salmon for healthy fats, does more for an active dog than something that's mostly binder and filler. Think of it the same way you'd think about your own trail snack: what it's made from matters.

• How many treats should I bring on a hike with my dog?
  

  Bring enough for a small moment at each natural rest stop, plus the trailhead, the summit, and the car at the end. For a full day hike that might be anywhere from six to eight treat moments. Compact, calorie-dense treats mean you're not carrying bulk for the privilege.

• What are the best dog treats for camping trips?

  Camping treats need to survive multiple days without refrigeration, fit in a bear canister, and hold up to the conditions. Air-dried treats in a compact, resealable format work well. Look for a named protein first, real food ingredients, and nothing that needs to stay cold. The same treat that works for a day hike works for a weekend out.