Spring Road Trip Treats for Dogs That Never Melt in the Car
Windows down, paws out: that is our kind of spring road trip dog day. The Camaro does not need a destination on a Saturday, just decent weather and something in the pouch that will not turn into a mess on the seat. Our freeze-dried treats travel the way we do, no cooler, no wrappers melting into the upholstery, just the bag and the dog.
On the road
Spring is when we start taking the long way to everywhere, gravel roads through the woods, a loop around the lake before we double back toward home. Ella rides in the back seat with the window cracked, and the treat pouch lives in the door pocket where it is easy to reach without taking our eyes off the road for more than a second. Nothing in that pouch needs to stay cold, which matters more than it sounds like once the afternoon warms up and the car has been parked in the sun for an hour at a stop.
Most of these drives do not have a real destination. We pick a direction, follow the gravel roads out past the edge of town, and stop wherever there is a spot to park and let Ella stretch her legs before the drive back. The treat pouch comes along on every one of these, since a stop for a stretch is also a stop for a treat, and neither of us minds the excuse to pull over for a few extra minutes before getting back on the road.
Why freeze-dried travels well
Freeze-drying pulls the moisture out, so there is nothing left in the bag to melt, drip, or turn the door pocket into a mess by the second stop. We pack a mix on longer drives, something small like Freeze-Dried Sardines for quick rewards at a red light, and something that takes longer to work through, like Air-Dried Chicken Feet, for the stretch where Ella needs to settle in and ride. Everything is single ingredient and freeze-dried in small batches, so the ingredient list on a long drive is exactly the same as the one at home.
We have tried packing regular treats on hot afternoons before and learned the hard way that anything soft ends up stuck to the inside of the bag by the time we stop for gas. Freeze-dried pieces stay exactly as they were when we packed them that morning, whether the drive is twenty minutes or most of the day, which is one less thing to think about once we are actually out on the road. It also means the same bag works for a short loop around town and a longer haul out toward the mountains, so we are not swapping treats depending on how far we plan to go.
What to bring
Our short packing list starts with our freeze-dried treats, then the road trip gear that keeps the back seat in one piece. We keep the list short on purpose, since the whole point of these drives is that we can grab the pouch and go without checking a longer list first.
- Freeze-Dried Whole Sardines, small and quick, good for short stops.
- Air-Dried Chicken Feet, a slower chew for the longer stretches of highway.
- Freeze-Dried Pink Salmon, another single ingredient option we rotate in.
- Dog Car Seat Covers, shipped by 4Knines, for keeping the back seat clean between stops.
From the shop
A short list for the glovebox and the door pocket, our treats first, then the gear that goes with them. Everything here is something we actually keep in the Camaro, not just a list we put together for the sake of it.
- Freeze-Dried Whole Sardines, single ingredient, freeze-dried in small batches.
- Freeze-Dried Pink Salmon, another quick option that rides well in a bag.
- Air-Dried Chicken Feet, our slow chew for the long stretches.
- Our Trail and Travel page for the rest of what we bring along.
- Road Trip Essentials, the gear we reach for before a longer drive.
Questions
Do freeze-dried treats need to stay cold in the car?
No. Freeze-drying removes the moisture, so there is nothing in the bag that needs a cooler or an ice pack. We keep ours in the door pocket, no different from how we would store them at home, and they come out of a hot car in July looking the same as they went in.
What do you pack for a longer spring drive?
A mix of something quick, like Freeze-Dried Sardines or Salmon, for short stops, and something slower, like Air-Dried Chicken Feet, for the stretch of highway where Ella settles into the back seat and rides for a while without needing anything from us.
Where do you usually end up on these drives?
Mostly the lake and back, sometimes further if the weather holds. We bring more than we think we will need, since a good stretch break usually turns into two or three treats instead of one, and we post where we are headed, car shows and meetups included, on our events board, so check there before you plan a route of your own.
For more of what we're doing this season, visit our Explore page.
