kibble for active/working dogs

[finn's mom]

I know I'm going against a lot of raw feeder "rules", but Finn could honestly use a bit of carb. Sure, protein is good for the long run and for building muscles, but it's carbs that give him quick energy boosts. Evo is unique in the sense that it doesn't use grains. However, it uses potato, which is, of course, starch (aka - carbs). If you'd like to continue feeding raw, how about adding some pasta/macaroni/brown rice/potatos/etc.?

Actually, I was thinking that, too. He's really getting enough protein, and, some fat, I probably need to get more fat and some carbs. Maybe carbs the night before an event or something. I know that's what human athletes will do sometimes...I wonder, with the digestive system being faster in dogs, if they'd need the carbs only a few hours prior to an event as opposed to overnight...

The racing dog diet sounds interesting, I will read more about it once I PM you for the ingredients.


Thank you all for the ideas, as soon as I can, I am going to take a day and go to a few stores and really look and compare. I have a list handy that Im compiling from suggestions I'm getting from several sources.

I appreciate all the replies, by the way, thank you! And, I'm sure Finn does, too, because it just means more food for him.

[finn's mom]

Ok, here is where I run into problems. hahaha, I love researching diet, whether it be for people or dogs.

This food, Acana, states that carbs aren't important because dogs are adapted to produce energy from meat sources, and aren't really adapted to assimilate starches (carbs), so their extreme formula is low carb (15 or 16%).

But, Momentum, another high performance dog food, states this on their site:

"Momentum uses oatmeal and rice as its primary carbohydrate sources. Oatmeal and rice are both highly digestible and a good source of energy and nutritional balance.

Why include carbohydrates in the diet if fat is the important energy source?

Although fats are a very concentrated energy source, carbohydrates are an important energy source, too. Rice is a highly digestible, easily available energy source and oatmeal is used because of its impact on regulating blood glucose. Blood glucose is the primary energy source for many bodily functions, and there are less blood glucose fluctuations after a meal containing oatmeal than with other carbohydrate sources. Steady blood glucose levels are what we want, hence the oatmeal and rice."

I know, when it comes down to it, I'm just going to go with my gut and what I feel like will benefit Finn. Plus, I will probably switch the kibble every four or five months anyway. but, it's still interesting to read up on the different sites and food out there. I'm trying to learn, hahaha.

[Glacier]

This food, Acana, states that carbs aren't important because dogs are adapted to produce energy from meat sources, and aren't really adapted to assimilate starches (carbs), so their extreme formula is low carb (15 or 16%).

.

I feed Acana to my working dogs. We call it the "Mushers' Red" bag up here, but I think it's actually the extreme performance formula. They package it differently when you buy it by the tonne!

The dogs have done extremely well on it, even the hard keepers eat it and maintain their weight. I do have to feed more to Ozzy and Pacer--they both drop weight just by breathing hard!

A good friend of mine is an I-rod musher. She feeds Eagle Pack and her sibes thrive on it.

[finn's mom]

I feed Acana to my working dogs. We call it the "Mushers' Red" bag up here, but I think it's actually the extreme performance formula. They package it differently when you buy it by the tonne!

The dogs have done extremely well on it, even the hard keepers eat it and maintain their weight. I do have to feed more to Ozzy and Pacer--they both drop weight just by breathing hard!

A good friend of mine is an I-rod musher. She feeds Eagle Pack and her sibes thrive on it.

I remembered Acana from your posts...and Eagle Pack is one that's been suggested to me a couple of times. Definitely something I'm looking into.

[Glacier]

I remembered Acana from your posts...and Eagle Pack is one that's been suggested to me a couple of times. Definitely something I'm looking into.

Just checked what my friend feeds....it's the Eagle Ultra Power formula.

[finn's mom]

Just checked what my friend feeds....it's the Eagle Ultra Power formula.

Thank you!

[Giselle]

Hey, PM'd you the track diet for racing greys. Also, I was looking into lure coursing with Giselle a while back, but I didn't have the time or resources to condition her for that so I dropped the idea. However, I did buy a book from a prominent lure courser who wrote a lot on diet. I know she wrote a lot about carbs and its role in a canine athlete's diet, but I packed it away temporarily because we're re-doing our hardwood floors. I can get you an excerpt tomorrow, though.

The way I see it, dogs, as a species derived from wolves, may be better adapted to utilizing proteins and fats. However, to say that carbs are unnecessary is a bit of a stretch and, imo, not completely true. I'm not a die-hard "dogs-must-eat-meat-and-nothing-else" person, so my opinion may be skewed. However, biologically speaking, it's probably best to keep a canine athlete on a protein/fat heavy diet. Yet, it's probably not economical and it's not always feasible. Dogs may digest faster than us, but, from what I've learned, the body's cells run heavily on glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids. You get the latter from protein sources, but you get the former from carbs. So to eliminate carbs completely from a canine athlete's diet is not very beneficial, IMO. For the sedentary dog, sure, a no-carb diet might work. But for an athlete who performs strenuous work, I think eliminating carbs would be more harmful than helpful. My two cents