Ask ten people on a shoot day what they feed their dog and you will get ten different answers, and at least three of them delivered with total conviction. Working dog food is one of those subjects where tradition, habit and genuine science all overlap, and it can be hard to tell which is which.
The starting point is simple enough. A dog that quarters heavy cover for six hours is not doing the same job as a dog that walks around the block twice a day, and it should not be eating as though it is. What changes is not just the quantity in the bowl but the make-up of what goes in it.
Here is what actually matters when you are feeding a working gundog, and why so many handlers end up moving towards a high meat content diet.
Why working dogs need a different diet
A spaniel hunting hedgerows in December may burn two to three times the calories of the same dog resting at home in August. That energy has to come from somewhere, and simply piling more of a low-grade food into the bowl is a poor way of finding it. You end up with a dog carrying a large gut load, working harder to digest a lot of filler, and still running short of fuel by mid-afternoon.
The better approach is to increase the quality of the calories rather than just the volume. A more concentrated, meat-rich food delivers the same energy in a smaller, more digestible meal — which means less bulk in the gut on a working day and less waste out the other end.
Fat is the endurance fuel
This is the part that surprises people. For sustained, steady work of the kind gundogs do, fat is the primary fuel source, not carbohydrate.
Endurance-trained dogs are remarkably efficient at using fat for energy, and research in working and sled dogs has consistently shown that fat-adapted animals sustain effort for longer than those relying heavily on carbohydrate. Fat is also more than twice as energy-dense as carbohydrate, which is exactly what you want when you are trying to fuel a hard-working dog without overloading its stomach.
That does not mean pouring oil over the dinner. It means choosing a food with an appropriate fat level for the workload and building up to it gradually over several weeks rather than switching the week before the season opens.
Protein does the repair work
If fat is the fuel, protein is the maintenance crew. Working dogs accumulate small amounts of muscle damage every time they go out, and they need a steady supply of quality amino acids to repair it.
Diets built around good animal protein support muscle recovery, help maintain condition across a long season, and have been associated with a lower rate of soft-tissue injury in hard-working dogs. Just as importantly, protein from real meat is highly digestible, the dog can actually use it, rather than passing much of it through.
This is where the phrase "high meat content" earns its keep. Two foods can show a similar protein percentage on the bag while delivering very different results, depending on whether that protein came from named meat or from cheaper plant-based fillers bulking out the analysis.
Timing: when you feed matters as much as what
A few principles that hold up well in practice:
- Do not feed a large meal immediately before work. A full stomach affects performance and, in deep-chested breeds, carries a bloat risk. Give the dog time to settle.
- Feed the main meal after work, once the dog has properly cooled down and its breathing has returned to normal — usually at least an hour.
- Small and often beats one big bowl on heavy days. A modest snack mid-day can help maintain blood glucose on long outings without weighing the dog down.
- Water comes first, always. Dehydration will flatten a dog's performance long before hunger does. Carry water and offer it regularly, particularly in the cold, when dogs drink less than they should.
Your vet is the right person to talk to if you are managing a dog with a specific condition, and none of the above replaces that conversation.
Condition scoring beats guesswork
Weigh the dog. Then put your hands on it.
You should be able to feel the ribs easily under a thin covering, see a waist from above, and see a tuck-up from the side. A working dog carrying extra weight is working harder than it needs to, and one that is too lean will start pulling condition off its own back halfway through a season.
Check every couple of weeks during the season and adjust portions accordingly. Dogs vary enormously in metabolism, and the feeding guide on the bag is a starting point, not an instruction.
Feeding through the off-season
The mistake many handlers make is keeping the dog on a working ration through the summer. Workload drops, calorie needs drop with it, and the dog quietly gains weight over a few months.
Step the food down as the work tapers off, then build it back up gradually — over three to four weeks — as training and fitness work resume in late summer. Any change of food should be phased over seven to ten days, mixing the new in with the old, to give the gut time to adapt.
What we see in the spaniel world
We have spent a lot of time recently among working spaniel people, not least through our involvement with the International Spaniel Team Challenge at Papermill Park in Shrewsbury. Spaniels are a particular case: small dogs with enormous engines, working flat out in dense cover rather than at a steady pace.
That style of work burns through energy fast, and it is very common to see a hard-driving cocker or springer struggling to hold condition through a season on a standard maintenance food. For those dogs especially, a concentrated, meat-rich diet often makes a visible difference within a few weeks — in coat, in recovery, and in whether the dog is still going properly at four o'clock.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I feed a working dog? Start with the manufacturer's guide for the dog's weight, then adjust according to body condition and workload. Expect to feed noticeably more during the season and less through the summer.
Is a high protein diet bad for dogs' kidneys? In healthy dogs, no. The long-standing concern about protein and kidney damage has not been borne out in healthy animals. Dogs with diagnosed kidney disease are a different matter and should be fed on veterinary advice.
Can I feed a working dog once a day? Many people do successfully, though splitting the ration into two meals is generally kinder on the gut and helps maintain energy across a long working day.
How long does it take to see a difference after changing food? Give it six to eight weeks. Coat and condition changes in particular take time to show.
Fuel the work
Every Just For Friends recipe is built on a high meat content, because we think that is what a working dog's diet should start from, real meat, properly digestible, doing the job it is supposed to do.
Whether you are running spaniels through cover or keeping a retriever in shape between seasons, we can help you find the right recipe for your dog's workload.