Feeding the Working Dog
Working dogs need more energy and protein to maintain peak performance and condition. This means that the energy density and digestibility of the diet must be higher than that for normal maintenance. Simply feeding more of a basic maintenance food generally leads to overfeeding, poor digestibility, fading work performance and loss of condition. The working dog needs higher proportions of fat and protein in the diet so that the daily food intake does not become excessive and is maintained at around 5% of the dog’s body weight. This includes water intake as well as solids. Feeding a basic maintenance food can result in daily intakes in excess of 10% of the body weight. This is not sustainable for a working dog.
Energy is derived from the protein, fat and carbohydrate in the food the proportions of which depend upon the required activity level. The amount of metabolisable energy (ME) in a food depends upon the digestibility of the protein, fat and carbohydrate (determined by ingredient quality and processing) and the amount of residual solids (ash and fibre). Ash provides essential minerals (eg calcium, phosphorous, iron and zinc) and a small amount of fibre is necessary for stool formation but an excess of either reduces energy density and can be harmful. An excess of fibre causes poor digestibility; an excess of calcium can cause bone disorders in immature dogs. A properly formulated diet provides all the nutrients in the correct proportions to ensure that there is no excess or deficiency and that the energy density is optimised to meet the required performance without the need to over or underfeed to control body weight.
Champ Max dog biscuits are formulated to provide more energy and protein than is required for normal maintenance. Champ Max is suitable as a solus feed for light work but for heavier work is best used to complement Champ Dog Roll. Champ Dog Roll offers a higher energy density and a higher proportion of protein, sufficient to sustain heavier work and is recommended whenever work demands are high or climatic conditions are more extreme. Both products are complete diets and may be fed in any proportions to suit desired performance and body condition.
Number of biscuits or kilograms of dog roll vs size and work level
Body Weight Resting Light Work Work (full day)
Kilograms Biscuits Dog Roll Biscuits Dog Roll Biscuits Dog Roll
15 10 0.7 11 0.7 14 0.9
20 12 0.8 13 0.9 17 1.2
25 14 1.0 16 1.1 20 1.4
30 16 1.1 18 1.2 23 1.6
35 18 1.3 20 1.4 25 1.8
