Lovingly coined Aussies, Australian Shepherds are medium-sized dogs known for their friendly demeanour and high activity levels due to their herding abilities. With all the energy they come with, it’s important to realise they require a certain to fuel them efficiently. So how much and what do you need to feed an Australian Shepherd?
The amount of food an Australian Shepherd should be fed is dependent on their activity levels and their stage of life.
To meet your Aussie’s dietary requirements, we have you covered with our extensive Australian Shepherd feeding and diet guide!
The best dog food for your dog depends on its life stage as much as anything else. See below for what to feed your dog in each stage best.
Australian Shepherd puppies should be fed approximately 2/3 cups at least twice, up to four times a day, until they are about three months old. After that, you can give your Australian Shepherd puppy about 3/4 of a cup up to 3 times a day.
An Australian Shepherd adult dog should be fed between 360 and 600 grams of food per day, which amounts to about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of food per meal.
As your Australian Shepherd grows old, you can slowly start to reduce their amounts of food again, as they do not require as much energy anymore. 3/4 – 1 1/2 cups once or twice a day should suffice.
If your Aussie is pregnant, you should increase her daily dietary intake by about 15 to 25% and make sure she remains a healthy weight.
Whether you feed your Australian Shepherd with fresh, raw or commercially produced food is secondary as long as you ensure that you have food sensitivities in mind and avoid artificial ingredients, especially sugar.
In general, however, high-quality dog food for a healthy dog is likely raw or fresh and low in carbohydrates (mainly found as grains and vegetables in kibble).
Yes, in small doses, you can occasionally give your Aussie treats.
Similar to other dogs, Australian Shepherds should not be fed dairy products, avocados, grapes and raisins, chocolate, or artificial additives.
No, usually, Aussies are not known to be picky about what they eat.
Adult dogs require about 60ml of water per kilo of body weight daily. Puppies need more water than adult dogs.
Food plays an essential role in all life stages of your dog. A healthy diet means a healthy dog and a healthy dog diet has a high nutritional quality. It should consist of lots of healthy proteins, vitamins, minerals, fats, lots of water and no artificial additives.
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