Working Dog's Diet: A Nutritional Guide

WORKING DOG'S DIET: A NUTRITIONAL GUIDE

All dogs enjoy protein-rich diets, but working dogs require that little bit of extra nutritional nourishment to get them through their day. In this compact guide, we’ll break down what you need to know when it comes to your working dog’s diet. Ultimately, we want every dog to be fit and healthy through his or her lives. Follow our advice, and you can be confident that you’re doing right by your canine companion.

ENDLESS ENERGY

The fact of the matter is, working dogs need to ensure they have high energy levels through the day.

The tricky thing is, it’s important that you strike the right balance between giving your pet the calorific and nutritional intake it requires to work optimally, and only giving your canine friend what they need to maintain their body weight.

Sadly, there’s no magic formula, but if you choose the right food for your pet, they should get what they need to maintain a well-balanced, healthy diet.

THE ATHLETES CURSE

Being a working dog is a bit like being a superstar athlete: it’s hard work, and puts a lot of extra pressure on your dog’s body. This means that supplementing your working dog’s diet with the nutrients it needs is essential.

Excess muscle contractions require extra nutritional attention, and there are many long-term side effects of being a working dog, such as proneness to injury.

THE THREE NUTRITION GROUPS TO REMEMBER

The three main nutritional groups that you need to think about are fat, protein and carbohydrates.

• Fat – Along with providing essential forms of fatty acids, and facilitating the necessary absorption of essential fat-soluble vitamins, fat is the single largest provider of the all-important energy.
• Protein – The best source of protein comes from high quality, animal based sources, but plant based sources are an option too. Providing both would help produce a balanced diet. Lower cost dog foods tend to use mainly vegetable based protein sources, whereas higher cost foods mix both, or are strictly animal based. If you really want to give your canine companion the best chance at leading a healthy working life, an animal-based source of protein is recommended.
• Carbohydrate – These provide your working dog with the ready energy they require from the very moment they need it. Complex carbs like corn, rice, wheat and potato are a rich source of energy, but it’s vital that you don’t just give your pet a carbohydrate-based diet: they need a little bit of everything.

WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT SKIPPER'S WORKING DOG FOOD?

Hopefully, it’s now clear that if you have a working dog, you need to take special care over their diet to make sure they’re getting the additional nutrition they need to be effective.

Here at Skipper’s, we provide working dogs with the full balanced diet they need through our special ingredient: dried fish.

Fish is a fantastic source of nutrition for your dog. Fish is an excellent source of protein, and is also high in necessary Omega 3, while being low in Omega 6 poly-saturated fats that make your pup pack on the pounds.

The essential oils in fish makes it the perfect supplement to your dog’s diet, and can help to boost their immune system, as well as reduce risk of heart problems. Oily fish like salmon can even help to keep your dog’s skin healthy and fur shiny for longer, so you can give them sharp relief from skin-itches and decrease their shedding.

Ultimately, here at Skipper’s, we just want what’s best for your dog, so head over to our Dog Treats page to see our huge range of healthy, delicious fish-based products for your working dog.