Working dog food in NZ: feeding farm and sport dogs raw

Heading dogs, huntaways, pig dogs, security dogs and dogs in sport all burn through a lot more than a dog that walks twice a day. Raw feeding a working dog comes down to the amount, the timing, and keeping the freezer stocked.

How much a working dog eats

Our feed calculator uses 3% of body weight a day for a very active or working dog, compared with 2.5% for a moderately active pet:

Treat 3% as a starting point. A dog mustering all day in winter can need more, and the same dog in a quiet patch needs less. Check their shape every couple of weeks: you should feel the ribs easily under a thin layer, without seeing them. If they’re dropping weight, add about 10%. If they’re getting round, take 10% off.

When to feed around work

Most handlers feed the main meal after the day’s work, once the dog has cooled down, rather than sending them out on a full stomach. On long days, a small meal in the morning and the main meal in the evening works well. Have fresh water available all day, especially in summer.

Many owners of big, deep-chested dogs also avoid hard exercise for an hour or so either side of a meal.

Foods that suit working dogs

• Active Dog Mix is beef, horse, offal and green tripe, made with busy, active dogs in mind.
• Breeders Mix is beef, horse, goat and offal, built for volume feeding when you’re feeding a team.
• Beef Neck Bones and Beef Brisket Bones match both blends, as they’re beef-based.

Rotating between the two blends is an easy way to add variety without changing the routine. If horse is new to you, our guide to horse meat for dogs explains where it fits. If a dog needs to stay off beef, Wild Mix is horse, goat, venison and alpaca with offal.

Shepherds that work or do sport sit at the top end; our guide to raw food for German Shepherds has daily amounts from 22 to 40 kg.

Feeding a team

Work out each dog on its own, then add them up. Three 25 kg working dogs eating 750 g each get through about 16 kg a week, about 14 kg of it mix, so plan on about one and a half 10 kg cartons of mix a week, plus bones, and a chest freezer to hold them. Our guide to raw feeding more than one dog covers mealtimes and keeping the peace, and a subscription every few weeks means you don’t have to remember to reorder.

The delivery fee is per order, so ordering a few weeks at a time spreads it. Our delivery page explains how our raw dog food delivery works.

Delivery is $5 an order whatever the weight, so a month’s order for a team costs no more to deliver than a single box. Each carton is 36 × 27 × 18 cm, about 17.5 litres, and a 100 litre chest freezer holds about five on paper, so a bigger team usually runs a dedicated freezer.

Thawing for a team

1. Every second evening, move two days’ worth for the whole team from the freezer to big lidded containers in the fridge. For three 25 kg dogs that’s about eight or nine blocks of about 500 g.
2. At feeding time, weigh or scoop each dog’s share into its own bowl and take it out to the kennel.
3. Pick up bowls after the meal, and keep thawed food no more than two to three days.

On a big day, keep breakfast light and give the bigger share in the evening, once the dogs have cooled down and had a drink.

Through the seasons

A working dog’s needs move with the farm calendar. Mustering, lambing and docking weeks, and long days in the cold, can need more than 3%. A quiet patch in summer, or a dog laid up for a week, needs less. A simple way to manage it is to set each dog’s amount for the season, check their shape every couple of weeks, and move by about 10% at a time. Writing each dog’s current amount on the freezer lid saves remembering it.

Hunting dogs and pig dogs

Dogs that hunt work in bursts: a big day out, then a few quieter ones. The same rules apply: a light meal before a hunt, the main meal after, water on hand all day, and the daily amount set by how they look over a few weeks rather than by the last outing.

What a working dog costs a day

A 25 kg working dog at 3% eats about 750 g a day, the same as a 30 kg pet at 2.5%. Feeding that from our boxes comes to about $5.10 to $6.10 a day per dog. Our cost guide has other sizes at the pet rate; add about a fifth for a working dog.

Common questions

Do working dogs need a different food, or just more of it?

Mostly more of it. The mix of muscle meat, bone and organ stays the same. What changes is the amount, and sometimes how it’s split across the day.

What about dogs in sport, like agility or canicross?

The same approach: start at the very active amount, watch their shape, and adjust. A dog training a few times a week may sit between the moderate and working amounts.

Can I feed raw to a farm dog in the kennel?

Yes. Plenty of farm dogs are raw fed. Keep food frozen until the day before, thaw it in the fridge, take each dog’s meal out to the kennel at feeding time, and pick up anything left after the meal.

How many boxes does a team of working dogs need?

Work it out per dog and add them up. Three 25 kg dogs at 3% eat about 2.25 kg a day between them, so about one and a half 10 kg boxes of mix a week, plus bones.

What’s the difference between this and feeding a pet Collie?

Mostly the amount and the team logistics. Our guide to raw food for Border Collies covers the pet and sport Collie, whose amount moves between 2% and 3% with the week.

Should a working dog eat on a rest day?

Yes, the usual amount. Over a run of quiet weeks, drop about 10%, and adjust by watching their shape rather than day to day.