New Zealand farmers are a unique bunch - they are lauded the world over for their ingenuity and lateral thinking skills. They are also envied the world over for an asset that is an invaluable resource, especially on our rugged hill-country - the working dog.
These dogs go where no machinery can, where man and horse are often unable to reach, for hundreds of kilometers over rough ground and then do it all again tomorrow! When you take into account the salary you would pay a human worker for the equivalent hours and effort put in, these dogs should be dining at the Ritz! Jokes aside, it is important to be aware that what you get out of a working dog is often directly related to what went in.
Dogs, like humans, evolved as omnivores, so they are designed to eat a diet incorporating both animal and plant protein, energy, vitamins and minerals. That said, not all protein and energy sources are created equal. How much to feed depends on the dog's size and activity level and the quality of the food. It is very important to read the label. A product may not claim to be ‘complete and balanced' unless it has been tested in feeding trials.
Many of the cheaper dog biscuits are based on cereal by-products. These do not provide dogs with adequate energy as their intestinal system is unable to digest many of these by-products, so a large proportion is excreted as faeces. They are also often based on "meat and bone meal", which can be a very poorly digestible protein and vitamin source.
The maintenance energy requirement for a non-working dog is 60 kilocalories of energy per kg bodyweight per day. For an average 20kg heading type dog, this equates to 1200kcal/day. This can easily be supplied by many foods; for example this would work out to 400g of standard Tux biscuits.
However, a dog in hill-country work needs two to three times this amount, i.e. 120-180kcal/kg, or 3600kcal for our average heading dog. If this dog was still fed standard Tux biscuits, it would need 1.2kg of biscuits per day to meet its energy requirements!
As a rule, adult dogs should be fed twice a day and not directly prior to work, as work on a full belly may predispose some dogs to a twisted stomach (see Vetnotes August 2009). If a dog is only fed once a day, it must be fed a diet of sufficient quality to get all its requirements in one meal. 1.2kg of dry biscuits can be a bit hard to stomach in one sitting!
So, taking all of this into account, an ideal dog food is high in protein and energy, balanced in terms of vitamins and minerals, convenient to feed, easily digestible and cheap! This is where the premium diets come into their own. While the price per bag may seem much more than the lower grade brands, their economy becomes apparent when you calculate the amount actually required to feed a dog.
Owing to their dense concentration of highly digestible proteins and fats, the volume required to sustain an adult animal is surprisingly small, and therefore the number of feeds per bag is a lot more than poorer quality brands.
Within the premium brands, there are product differences too, and more energy-rich diets are available for those extra-hard working dogs that run all day and can't seem to keep any weight on.
If you have any questions about the nutrition of your working dog, or would like help ensuring your team is getting a balanced diet, please feel free to contact the staff at the Feilding branch of Totally Vets.
