Best food for border collies

[Stinkycat]

What is the BEST dry food to feed a border collie (high energy dog).?

Should I feed, half dry, half wet?

[Frenchy]

I think something high in proteins (kibble) .... have you looked at the food forum ?

[Equla]

I don't own any Border Collies, but I do own a very high energy dog, so here's my bit of humble advice...

I did a little reading on BCs and pretty much everyone seems to say the same thing that "real" food is the best way to go. By that they mean high quality, organic chicken, fish, or beef with like a handfull of veggies and/or brown rice thrown in. Pretty much if you won't eat it, don't feed it to the dog.

Believe me, that is a major pain. I don't even cook that much for myself, so here's how I compensate...

I use an organic kibble that is grain-free (we have allergies around here) and lists some kind of meat as the first or second ingredient. First ingredient is best, but I'm also dealing with picky eaters.

My kids eat DVP's Natural Balance allergy formula (grain free), but there are much better options out there. I hear good things from friends about Canadae (sp?). I don't shop PetSmart (not friendly to bullys), but PETCO seems to have jumped on the organic bandwagon out here, so I can get the Natural Balance easily and pretty cheaply. If you can't find what you are looking for at one of the chain stores, I suggest looking into the little froo-froo shops that sell expensive jackets for cold Chis. Some in my area stock higher quality kibble for clientele that are willing to pay a little more for better quality.

Good luck!

[rainbow]

If you don't want to feed them raw than I would suggest a grain free kibble. The following are my three favourites as they have their own manufacturing plants ....

1. Orijen www.championpetfoods.com
2. Horizon Legacy www.hoizonpetfood.com
3. EVO www.naturapet.com

If you do not want to feed a kibble with that high of a protein content then I would suggest Acana Provincial which is also made by Champion Pet Foods.

[Gail P]

Honestly I don't think the breed matters, a good quality kibble is a good quality kibble regardless of what kind of dog you're feeding. High energy formulas are really meant for working dogs and most pet dogs don't need them unless they can't maintain ideal body weight on a regular maintenance diet. If you take a high energy dog and unnecessarily feed it a high energy feed, you're just winding an already tight spring and something's going to give. Either the dog is going to be bouncing off the walls with pent up energy and bored out of it's mind, or it's just simply going to get fat. I have border collies that are sled dogs and they're eating just a maintenance diet. I've fed high energy when they're working hard, but didn't really find it necessary. I'd usually mix it with their feed on the days they did training runs and just give them the regular on rest days. I didn't have any problems feeding high energy, my guys get lots of exercise even on their days off, I just didn't feel that they really needed the high energy and it was more costly than the maintenance diet.

I use dry kibble sometimes, but when they're in training I cook for them as well. Soups, stews, broth, gravy etc. plus leftovers. We raise our own chickens so I cook a lot of chicken for both us and the dogs when they're training. That way I have a pretty steady supply of broth for them. I generally wet down their food with broth or plain water to make sure they stay well hydrated when they've been working, (or will be).