For those of you who hike with your dogs, do you bring dog food or high quality treats or something else??

Not looking purely as a weight savings, she carries her own food, meds and bowl, but when we are "out" my GSD generally only eats half the amount of her normal daily dose of dry food.  With sustained activity, I'd like her eat a little more and possibly more healthy.  Granted, I add a little of my jerky or rehydrated meals to her food and she will usually eat it all then.  But that probably not the healthy option and it adds to the mess and chance of bugs or critters.

Whatever I bring for her, I want to feed it to her here and there just to be sure she doesn't get diarrhea or some other issue.

ETA: She is getting old (10) which is why I'm more concerned.  Until this summer, we used to walk around 20 miles a week, mostly around town but a few miles of legitimate hiking.  Now we do a few hundred yards to maybe a mile every day.  I still condition her with the pack on our usual walks prior to trips.  Being a working dog, she knows what the pack means in regards to what we are about to do.  Same with her hunting vest and life vest.  But working dogs are bad about knowing when to stop or slow down.  They will keep pushing if they think you want them to.  I've learned what to watch for with this one, I'm sure others can have their own signs.  But with her age, I'm much more casual with our backpacking now.  6 maybe 8 miles a day with plenty of breaks.  Between the two of us, we average 4-5 liters per day in addition to what she drinks straight from the source while I'm collecting water to filter.

This is the pack she carries.  I believe it's around 6 years old.  But it has served us well.  No longer available

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A tablespoon of of beef or pork liver dried and diced and then added into dry food will get the most reluctant dog to chow down.

Done in a dehydrator eliminates spoilage and keeps well in a freezer.

The ex's two large dogs had their own packs and booties and they carried their own food, treats and collapsible bowls as well as their 1st aid kit.  She kept them on the same food that they were used to so no surprises; hers always had good appetites but anything they didn't eat went back in the Ziplocs (don't leave anything out at night obviously).  Make sure they get plenty of fresh water and watch them closely for signs of exhaustion (nobody likes to admit it but dogs can be pretty stupid, like kids, and keep going until they're in bad shape).  You absolutely must condition them to carrying a pack and wearing booties beforehand, even dogs who are normally considered strong don't do well with packs unless they're accustomed to them (same with people).  Ruffwear and Jandd are two that I'm familiar with but there are others out there.  Take frequent breaks to let them rest and check their feet, attend to any signs of problems when you first notice them and use booties.  Just because you dog goes on walks and plays in the yard doesn't mean his paws are trail ready, especially if the trail is rocky.  Don't leave crap on the trail for the next person to step in- it's one of the things that gets trails closed to dogs.

Dog carried her own water half liter platypus.
Bag of treats. 1 cup of dry food.
Nylon water bowl.
Doggie bags , extra length of rope, spare biner .
Anything heavier i carried on longer hikes.
Now that shes older.
I carry it all.
Its only 2 lbs..and it keeps her from faster fatigue.

Now the 5 month GSD/ROTT.. that bitch should carry my gear so she gets wore out to sleep lol

 Awesome....that is a perfect mental picture of a puppy with energy.

The only reason my GSD gets a pack now is she gets excited with a purpose when I put it on her.  It also has a drag loop on top when aids me when I'm helping her over downed trees.  I let her carry my sunflower seeds for quick access on day trips too!

Yup. Its how my aussie was,still is. With a pack or harness.
I grab my pack..i get a sideways look...i grab my boots, its barkfest 5k till in the truck.
Her pack had a drag handle as well, but i always had her harness under it to attach the leash to.
The gsd_rott is a power house, when with both dogs. She wants to be ahead of the assuie or head to head.
Not all trails allow that.  So on point she goes and our pace goes from 90mph dragfest to a crawl. Lol.
But shes young.
Havent got her under a pack yet but will. Prolly use the aussies pack and let her carry both thier water and food.

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Our older Dane carries his pack with collapsible water bowl and food.

We carry high value treats, first aid and water.

The puppy is learning.

Any of  you ever have any issues between your dogs and wildlife while you're on the trail

So far I have yet to see anything at night in our camp when I have my GSD.  I don't know if it's chance or if just her presence keeps them away.

On the trail is another story, but she sees deer, squirrel and rabbit on a regular basis.  She is well behaved and only chased the ones in her yard.

Aussie hates other dogs coming towards us.
Even on trail she's leashed. Few Times there's been some folks who do not leash and want doggie social time.
I give them good advice to leash or restrain theirs as mine is not socialized well, and I either give then wide room and short leash or just pick her up.
Only dicey time was two big mastif/ridgeback/pit/boxer looking unleash dogs that came around a blind corner... they squared up and went to charge us ..I jumped in front of Aussie and wife and yelled " back" .as they ran at us.. as loud as I could and was returned with the owner telling them to come. And a " they are friendly....." reply.
Ummm...yeah...when your there buddy lol.

Sides that.
Turtles and dillos..she Will Chase,attack. Everything else she watches...

That is next on our list.  We hike with our dogs regularly.. they are great on the trail.  Backpacking is next.  I will probably do one dog at a time before doing both just for sake of ease.

Only incident I recall was with the ex's Chihuahua. We were about 3 miles away from a trailhead and nobody to be seen, so we let him run free to pee or whatever. He wasn't out of sight more than a minute and herd him barking...three seconds later he jets out of an elderberry patch right to us.  Three coyotes were in pursuit. I actually drew my pistol, but when they saw us and stopped, i witnessed one of the coolest things I've ever seen.  All three coyote dropped to the ground where they stopped. The bush patch was winter naked, no leaves. I close the gap to look for them.  All three were gone. Vanished like
Magicians.

Side note: You'd not think a Chihuahua would make a good trail dog, but that would be wrong. He got carried a good bit, but at night, at camp, was when he shined. He would not bark if he heard something you did not detect. He'd perk to the sound and vibrate :). The shaking was enough to wake you and a glance at his ears would show direction.

I brought sweet potatoes and frozen meat for dog on over nighters. I use to buy dog food in retort pouches or in a mre like pouch. I bring pig ears for treats as they are dog crack and should  be given in moderation. My pup was put down in August her hiking days where long over with years ago. Good times enjoy them while you can.

Wonder if the dog is making Boondock Saints comments about Ol Charlie Bronson?

"You and your fucking rope......"

Not an issue per say, but one time we were hiking down a trail and my GSD alerted to something ahead. It was different this time as he’ll usually bark if someone (or a deer or something) is ahead even long before I’ll recognize their presence. But this time he didn’t make a noise and he refused to continue down the trail, but it was clear as day he could see or smell something ahead. He alerted and stopped dead in his tracks ahead of me and just froze. I stopped and scanned for a minute or two, the whole time he was trying to get me to go back the way we came. I started trying to go ahead and he literally laid down and dead weighted on the leash. He has never ever done that before or since. I took his advice and we turned back, I was spooked as hell.

As for food, I bring kibble and dehydrated steak or chicken. If it’s going to be an active day I give him a slightly bigger dinner the night before and very little breakfast the day of. He’s food motivated so if I keep him hungry he’ll listen 1000 times better. The dehydrated meat is for commands and treats throughout the day. Then he gets a big dinner of kibble again, rinse/repeat.

He doesn’t carry a pack.

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Mine is not motivated by food.  She frequently skips meals at home.  But with the extra activity, I'd like her to eat a little better when we are on the trail.

Those GSD's can be stubborn, sometimes to our benefit.

Madog
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I bought a dog first book and created my own dog first kit. I also carried natural tick and flee repellent for dog.

Best thing I ever taught my Rott was a love for fresh trout.

On my hikes in the mountains, brookies were plentiful, so he didn't have to carry as much food.