What do you feed your Collie sheep dogs?

Lialls

Member
Mixed Farmer
We've got 2 collie sheep dogs, one is just over a year old and the other is about 9. They are currently fed ad lib, supermarket own brand premium working dog biscuits, every time we try to introduce tinned meat it upsets their stomachs, the older dog more so than the pup.

Vets couldn't find anything wrong but they are both a bit lean so would like to try and get a bit of covering on them. Anyone else had collies with delicate stomachs? Did you find a certain food good for weight gain that didn't upset their stomach?
 

Tim s

Member
Location
Scotland
We've got 2 collie sheep dogs, one is just over a year old and the other is about 9. They are currently fed ad lib, supermarket own brand premium working dog biscuits, every time we try to introduce tinned meat it upsets their stomachs, the older dog more so than the pup.

Vets couldn't find anything wrong but they are both a bit lean so would like to try and get a bit of covering on them. Anyone else had collies with delicate stomachs? Did you find a certain food good for weight gain that didn't upset their stomach?
We have a dog who has hellish problems albeit not a working collie and he now does great on Skinners salmon and rice Fortunately not horrendous prices
 

Frank-the-Wool

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
East Sussex
Arkwrights biscuits and dead sheep/lambs plus any cooked left overs seems to be fine for our pack. If short on meat Country Choice tins of dog food at no more than half a tin with biscuits seems to work as well.
Don't give ad lib and only feed once in the evenings.
 

HarryB97

Member
Mixed Farmer
I feed mine on Skinners dry dog food. They do loads of different flavours so she gets plenty of variety and it's reasonably priced. She also has bones and horns available all the time as well as getting 'proper' dental chews 3 times a week. I also add joint protection oil onto her dry food. Despite all of this she still cant resist cattle cake and runny calf sh*t the yellower the better!
 

Celt83

Member
Livestock Farmer
I feed mine on Skinners dry dog food. They do loads of different flavours so she gets plenty of variety and it's reasonably priced. She also has bones and horns available all the time as well as getting 'proper' dental chews 3 times a week. I also add joint protection oil onto her dry food. Despite all of this she still cant resist cattle cake and runny calf sh*t the yellower the better!
Calf sh$t is like heroin to ours they just can't resist it!

We add joint aid to their food, brilliant stuff, my mother is even thinking about sprinkling some on my dad's cornflakes. ?
 
Poached eggs on top of meat and biscuits and any meat dripping from the kitchen. We have always given young dogs an egg a day but our newest recruit won't touch an egg unless it's cooked. :rolleyes:
My sighthounds get scrambled eggs daily plus a slice or two of black pudding two or three times a week (as well as kibble and tinned meat), which seems to keep their weight on without overloading them with huge meals.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
I think I must be neglecting my girls. They just have between one & one and a half (depending on weight) mugs full of Chudleys Working Crunch, every night when I put them to bed. I used to split a tin between the three when one used to be a bit fussy, but most tin food is little more than water on a lower spec feed than dry.

Obviously they get to pinch plenty of afterbirth when we’re lambing, and hoover up any green, sloppy muck whenever the sheep are in the yard too.

Been on that for 7 or 8 years now, and seem to do very well on it.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Those of you feeding raw flesh, how do you manage the ‘dog worm’ thing (I forget the name just now)? I don’t feed mine raw flesh, but have loads of footpaths and lots of dog walkers that don’t/won’t pick up.? I always have quite a few with condemned livers through the ‘dog worm’, which seems to build up as the lambs get older. My hoggets for the last couple of years have come back with over 50%, despite being away from those footpaths and fenced on roots crops for 4-5 months by then! Thankfully no financial deductions as yet, but unsure how to stop it without a machine gun.
 
Location
Cleveland
Those of you feeding raw flesh, how do you manage the ‘dog worm’ thing (I forget the name just now)? I don’t feed mine raw flesh, but have loads of footpaths and lots of dog walkers that don’t/won’t pick up.? I always have quite a few with condemned livers through the ‘dog worm’, which seems to build up as the lambs get older. My hoggets for the last couple of years have come back with over 50%, despite being away from those footpaths and fenced on roots crops for 4-5 months by then! Thankfully no financial deductions as yet, but unsure how to stop it without a machine gun.
Neospora...I wouldn’t be feeding dogs raw meat
 

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