Nutrition for working dogs

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Dogs undertake many different types of work, ranging from traditional farm activities to more sophisticated search and rescue roles performed by sniffer dogs, patrol dogs, police and army dogs. I have also found that many people practice working dog activity for the pure pleasure of enjoying the exercise and bonding time with their best mates.

All breeds of working dog are highly trained and use significant amounts of energy. Working dogs need specific nutrition to provide the energy levels required for their most demanding tasks, and also to help regenerate their muscles from repetitive strain on their bodies.


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What is the best diet for working dogs?
A diet with plenty of easily digested fats, loads of high quality raw animal proteins, some low GI carbs, soft raw bones with attached cartilage, and a weekly bone fast is a great balanced diet to keep your working dog in tip top condition.

When it comes to providing fuel for activity, it has been assumed that carbohydrates are a good source of energy. The liver does store a fuel source called Glycogen, which is called upon for immediate energy needs, but the reality is, fat is by far the best and most efficient source of fuel for working dogs.

Fat is easily burned by the body and converted into fuel, and yields approximately 2.5 times as much energy, gram for gram, as either carbohydrate or protein.


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To fuel up a working dog, you need to feed them fat.
Animal fats work just fine, but you can also use coconut oil, which is cheap, clean, and carries some additional significant health benefits. The basic food for sledding dogs on the Iditarod race is a liquid mush of almost pure animal fats, oils, and organ meats.

Protein is also very important for working dogs.
Protein provides all the critical biochemical factors – vitamins, enzymes, co-factors and of course, body muscle that working dogs need. The best way to utilise dietary protein, is to make sure there is enough fat in the diet to fuel the body, leaving the protein available for the most important bodily repair jobs.

Repair mechanisms for working dogs.
Working dogs sustain repetitive micro injuries during the work they do, and the body needs to be able to switch on the repair mechanisms every night. Dietary supplements like dietary glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate assist with bone, cartilage, ligament and all soft tissue repairs in working dogs.
It has been demonstrated that the body actually kicks into maximal repair mode when it is fasting, so including a ‘bone fast’ on Sunday, as I do, is a critical part of the overall maintenance of working dogs.