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What to feed my Border Collie?


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My 16 month old BC isn't big on dog food, wet food gives him an upset tummy and he will only eat a little dry food, I have tried all the dog foods I have come across in Australian Pet Stores. At this stage I feed him a good puppy dry food and cook him good beef mince, veggies and pasta. Is this diet okay for long term? Any suggestions?

 

He isn't unhealthy in anyway and he is very active, my only concern is his weight. He is a little too far on the lean side.

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Border collies -- all dogs really -- should be lean. Unless he's emaciated, I wouldn't worry about it. He's probably just self regulating.

 

Far too many people are used to seeing overweight dogs and don't even know what a dog at a healthy should look like. Here's a chart you can use to assess your own dog: http://www.depi.vic.gov.au/pets/dogs/dog-health/dog-condition-score-chart

 

At his age, I don't see why he should be on puppy food any more. My concern with what you're feeding is that he may not be getting enough calcium. The kibble should be balanced, but if you're supplementing it, especially to the degree that it sounds like you are, then you have to make sure the rest of what you're feeding him is nutritionally adequate on its own. It needs some bone -- preferably raw, imo -- to provide calcium. Not sure why you're cooking the mince, either.

 

Personally, my preference is a raw diet, which is what I feed.

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I agree with Roxanne in questioning why you are feeding puppy food at this age. Most people I know and respect with regards to their dog care and management only feed puppy food (at most) to pups under the age of about three months, and then switch to a good quality adult or all life stages food.

 

I don't feed raw like Roxanne does but I do supplement the good kibble that I like with raw (raw bones for their tooth-cleaning and mouth health attributes; raw organ meat from our own cattle; some raw meat and meat scraps from our own cattle; and raw fat trimmed from our own meat; and occasional raw meaty chicken, pork, or lamb bones).

 

I do feed some cooked veggies, usually our leftovers, and they love them and (I believe) benefit from the fiber, particularly in winter when they do not have access to grass to graze (my dogs are avid grazers). Usually this is beans, asparagus, beets, sweet potatoes, broccoli, or whatever else comes out of our garden and off our plates or is left over.

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When one of my dogs was sick I cooked for him, to make sure his food was providing him with what was nessecary I hired a animal nutrionist to guide me what to feed him and was amazed at the amount of calcium one small 40lb border collie needed, plus other vitamins. He had digestive problems so raw was not appropriate for him, which is why he got supplements not bone.

 

My current dog is exceptionally picky, he gets bored of a kibble flavor after one bag so I am always trying new food to find something he will like, usually I have to add tasty things to his meals to get him eating but it is only a couple of tablespoons that I mix in really well so the kibble is well coated and he can't pick the tidbits out, the majority of his calories come from kibble.

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My current dog is exceptionally picky, he gets bored of a kibble flavor after one bag so I am always trying new food to find something he will like,

 

This is actually a good thing. ;)

 

Contrary to the old adage (promulgated by kibble manufacturers back in the day when each only had one formula -- or "flavor" -- and they wanted to ensure loyal customers) that you should stick to the same dog food all the time, nutritionists now recognize that a variety of protein sources offers the best nutrition in the long run. Different meats form different species (and some meats within the same animal) have different nutrient profiles, so it's better to feed variety in order to get a wider range of nutrients. And the vitamins that are naturally occurring (if they're not all destroyed by the high processing of kibble) are better than synthetic vitamins added after the fact, as well.

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One thing I have noticed by changing kibbles frequently is that his digestion is not affected, the only change we see is the output changes color :) I don't mix kibbles as by the time we get the end of the back he has usually lost intrest and I want the new flavor to be intersting to him.

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This is slightly OT and may only apply to people in the US, but AAFCO only recognizes 2 nutrient profiles, Growth and Maintenance. If a food qualifies for Growth, the company may choose to label it All Life Stages. ALS food is puppy food. I know some companies choose to label one food for puppies and another ALS, but they are all puppy foods and all puppy foods are ALS foods, unless they don't also meet the standards for lactation, which I've only heard of one food ever in that category, and I think they pulled it off the market.

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This is slightly OT and may only apply to people in the US, but AAFCO only recognizes 2 nutrient profiles, Growth and Maintenance. If a food qualifies for Growth, the company may choose to label it All Life Stages. ALS food is puppy food. I know some companies choose to label one food for puppies and another ALS, but they are all puppy foods and all puppy foods are ALS foods, unless they don't also meet the standards for lactation, which I've only heard of one food ever in that category, and I think they pulled it off the market.

Thank you for clarifying this. I wonder just how many people don't have a clue about this, like myself.
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Thousands and thousands, believe me!! I think it is one of the best kept secrets in dog food. The thing that many don't get is that there is NOTHING in puppy food that isn't just fine for adult dogs, except that they may be higher in calories, so you have to watch weight, which you have to do anyways. However, the reverse is not necessarily true. Adult levels for minerals are not as tightly controlled, so adult food may have too much of some minerals. Puppies can't regulate their calcium uptake until they are about 8 months old, which is a real problem for large breeds, and can be a problem for individuals of medium and small breeds.

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I am feeding him puppy dry food beause adult dry food tends to upset his stomach (very runny stools) and our vet said to keep him on puppy food, until he is at least 24 months, which as was said above has nothing bad for adult dogs but will help him put on weight.

 

He gets raw bones and raw meat (chicken, beef and lamb) a couple of times a week but I cook the mince for him with the veggies and pasta so he'll eat them. I tried with rice but he doesn't like rice and I have tried mixing raw meat through the pasta and veggie but he picks out the meat instead of eating it all together like he does with cooked mince. I also give him a little natural yoghurt once in a while, which I believe is good for dogs.

 

I have been told too keep an eye on his weight in case he gets thinner as he matures because he was a thin puppy and didn't put on as much weight as the vet would have liked from an early age.

 

I only ask here because I would like the suggestions from other BC owners who may have had similar experiences, our vet has little experience with working breeds and has advised me to do additional research and I was worried basing his diet on puppy food and the mince, he would miss out on necessary vitamins.

 

Thank you all for your advice and thank you GentleLake for chart.

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Are the bones you give him edible? IOW, can he consume the whole bone, or at least a good portion of it, or are they things like marrow bones that are more a chew toy?

 

In order for him to get the calcium he needs with your supplementation, the bones need to be edible, and raw.

 

Weight bearing bones from large animals that are too hard for him to chew up can break his teeth, Slab fractures in the molars are a real risk that can require removal of the tooth.

 

As for the condition chart, I was going to make a comment (I ended up not because I wanted you to look at it without any preconceptions) that many border collies will be between thin and ideal, especially when they're young. Many will never carry a spare ounce of fat throughout their lives, but some will get a little, and others can gain excess weight. The skinnies among them can throw a lot of people off thinking they're too thin, especially people who aren't really familiar with border collies. Some can rival sighthounds in their lack of fat -- and it's important for you vet to know to use anesthesia appropriate for sighthounds if the need ever arises. Most in the US have abandoned the drug combination that can be problematic, but make sure your vet does and/or is aware of this.

 

If Duke's self regulating like that, I'd say he's just fine. ;)

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Both of mine are lean and muscular, but at 8 months they were their leanest. If they are actually too skinny, their body will start to use it's own muscle mass for fuel, so the thing to watch is the size of the muscles in the rear legs. If they aren't wasting away, then your dog is just self regulating his caloric needs and will likely put on what you think is a better weight when he is completely done growing up. That's not a bad thing.

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I do occasionally give him marrow bones and also leg bones (lamb) because he enjoys them but mostly I go to my butcher and get him dog bones which are smaller, meatier and easier to eat.

 

As for the problem with anesthetic, I go to our regular vet for check ups only, anything else I go to the animal hospital, which is the best animal hospital in my state, maybe even country. But thank you for bringing that up, I will make sure to speak to a vet before hand.

 

Thank you all, I feel much better about his weight and now know what problems to look for.

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