Wairarapa farmer, Vaughan Marfell, discusses feed times and rates for farm dogs.
Ideally, farm dogs should be fed twice daily. However, where this is not practical, once in the evening is the preferred alternative.
Ultimately working dogs should be fed when the food will increase energy production during exercise and will not affect performance. Therefore, it is unwise to feed large amounts of food immediately before exercise.
In fact, working dogs should not be fed for at least four hours before they are worked[1] to ensure changes caused by eating have time to normalise. Bowel emptying is also encouraged, which will minimise extra faecal weight.
Some experts believe that working dogs should be fed their main meal within two hours after work is complete in order to replenish muscle glycogen stores[2]. Others go further, suggesting that feeding straight after exercise can improve the muscle repair and energy storage for the next day allowing for better recovery and less fatigue[3]. Generally however, it comes down to what time is most practical for the farmer.
It has been found that mean energy requirements for Heading dogs and Huntaway are different between peak and off-peak work periods. Increased weight of feed is commonly used in peak work times. Work in cold weather can further increase energy needs by an additional 50%or more. Working dogs have higher requirements for dietary protein than pet dogs due to the increased protein synthesis and degradation caused by exercise[4].
Many farmers in New Zealand feed home-kill meat to their dogs, often supplemented with commercial dry biscuits[5]. There is a common misconception that this combination is the best working dog food. The major issues associated with these diets are that home kill can be deficient in many micronutrients, while commercial biscuits contain high carbohydrate levels and large quantities of both of these feeds need to be consumed for the dog to meet its nutrient requirements.
[1] Toll and Reynolds 2000; Wortinger 2007
[2] Toll and Reynolds 2000; Wortinger 2007
[3] Bleaken, 2020.
[4] Case, 2005b.
[5] Hill, 2000.