# Agility and Dog Food



## dmykins (Apr 1, 2015)

I signed up my puppy for agility classes. Granted we are in foundation classes and nothing crazy yet. My question is for dogs that are inm agility what types of food are you feeding? Anything special I should look for? Right now he is on orijen puppy, after this bag he will be on adult orijen and i am gonna start off with 6 fish. Thanks everyone for all the input.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Any food that your dog does well on is fine.


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## Wolfiepaws100 (Jan 8, 2016)

Feel free to use any food. The best foods have a high meat content and little to none wheat or grain. Look at the ingredients, if the first one is meat. It should be a good food. I feed my dog raw, so i dont have a lot of experience with dried food. I find the more meat, the more energy the dog has, That helps a lot when agility training.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

CptJack said:


> Any food that your dog does well on is fine.


Yep, agreed. Nothing special is needed, just whatever food your dog does well on.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

elrohwen said:


> Yep, agreed. Nothing special is needed, just whatever food your dog does well on.


I think a lot of people think it needs to be different based on commentators and their 'olympic athletes of the canine world'. Lol. No.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

CptJack said:


> I think a lot of people think it needs to be different based on commentators and their 'olympic athletes of the canine world'. Lol. No.


Well, usually they're just selling Pro Plan anyway. Haha. Which I've heard good things about honestly, but it's not like it's *the best* for some reason.

I do think that real working dogs need more calories, and probably higher protein and fat than most foods have (though Orijen is already at the top of that spectrum anyway). But a dog taking an agility class once a week is really not in the same category as a dog who herds for hours a day every day, or does SAR, or whatever.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

elrohwen said:


> Well, usually they're just selling Pro Plan anyway. Haha. Which I've heard good things about honestly, but it's not like it's *the best* for some reason.
> 
> I do think that real working dogs need more calories, and probably higher protein and fat than most foods have (though Orijen is already at the top of that spectrum anyway). But a dog taking an agility class once a week is really not in the same category as a dog who herds for hours a day every day, or does SAR, or whatever.


Honestly, even herding dogs are probably not working multiple hours most days. SAR dogs, hounds who are out actively hunting, stuff like that, yeah. But dog sports? Even doing it several days a week it just doesn't burn that many calories. Might be an argument for slightly higher protein for muscle building in some? IDK. 

Bt olympic level athlete Kylie is NOT.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

CptJack said:


> Honestly, even herding dogs are probably not working multiple hours most days. SAR dogs, hounds who are out actively hunting, stuff like that, yeah. But dog sports? Even doing it several days a week it just doesn't burn that many calories. Might be an argument for slightly higher protein for muscle building in some? IDK.
> 
> Bt olympic level athlete Kylie is NOT.


I was thinking working farm dogs who are out moving cattle every day. Even if they're not herding all the time, they're following ranchers around, etc. Not talking like, hobby herders or people doing it as a sport.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

I meant farm dogs too. There's only heavy work for most dogs I know a few months of the year. Rest of the time it's pretty sporadic. Like maybe 15 minutes a given day - maybe - and sometimes nothing at all for months, depending on set up. Like out of the barn and back in, or in the same pasture for weeks (with shelter), where the only bringing in is happening because of health issue or because it's time for worming or lambing or sheering or slaughter.

But I know mostly sheep people. No clue how often cattle get moved around.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

CptJack said:


> I meant farm dogs too. There's only heavy work for most dogs I know a few months of the year. Rest of the time it's pretty sporadic. Like maybe 15 minutes a given day - maybe - and sometimes nothing at all for months, depending on set up. Like out of the barn and back in, or in the same pasture for weeks (with shelter), where the only bringing in is happening because of health issue or because it's time for worming or lambing or sheering or slaughter.
> 
> But I know mostly sheep people. No clue how often cattle get moved around.


Oh yeah, I don't think working sheep dogs are working that hard every day. I get the feeling cattle are moved around a lot more, but most of that work by be done by horse and atv and not so much dogs.


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## sydneynicole (Apr 2, 2015)

The ACD at my barn eats something like 4.5lbs of raw a day and he only weighs 60lbs (and is really lean), granted some of that could be a fast metabolism, but still. He is specifically working (whether it be the goats sheep or small herd of cattle) for probably 2-3 hours a day, the rest of it he just spends running about the farm and chasing horses around the arena. 

Pastures need to be rotated almost year round and often on a small farm where the grass gets grazed down quickly in the relatively small pastures, minus the 3ish months that there is no grass anyways. During those months he does get an off season.

Most 'sports' dogs aren't 'working' dogs, even though they might be more active than just a 'pet' dog, if that makes sense. 

Grace went from 2 cups a day to 3.5 when we were logging about 30 miles a week to keep her lean and not too skinny.

Still, unless you have a hard time getting the dog to eat enough, it still stands that whatever the dog does well on will work fine. It's just the amount that might change. But I personally think that muscle tone and overall fitness will develop more easily feeding something that doesn't have corn among the first 3 ingredients.


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