Skinner's: Starting the Season - Feeding for Performance and Recovery
Written by Zoe Russell, BSc (Hons), ANutr, Nutrition Officer, Skinner’s
Just like that, the working season is upon us once more. Whether it’s your first one with your dog, or you’re a seasoned professional, Skinner’s have all the nutrition tips to get your season started.
Feeding the right diet
As we head towards the start of the season, it’s often useful to start moving your dog onto a more nutrient-dense diet such as Field and Trial Muesli, Working 23 or Working 26 about a month before. When changing diet, we would suggest doing this slowly over a period of 7-10 days to allow the digestive system to adapt. As your dog becomes more active, it can also be beneficial to increase their daily intake, while keeping an eye on their weight and condition.
Mealtimes
We typically suggest dividing your dog’s daily intake into two meals per day, to help ensure maximal digestion and to help keep them fuelled throughout the day. However, for some dogs they are not very food orientated, particularly when it comes to the working day. Therefore our Field and Trial wet food makes the perfect ‘topper’ to your dog’s Skinner’s dry food. Made with up to 60% meat, our wet food recipes are highly palatable and come in three delicious flavours; chicken, lamb and salmon. The recipes are also balanced and complete, so provide all the nutrients a healthy dog needs.
Feeding for energy
A working day will often push your dog’s fitness and stamina capabilities, especially at the start of the season. That’s why we have designed the Field and Trial Energy bar, to help give dogs a ‘boost’ during periods of intense activity. The bar is weighed towards fat, as dogs will preferentially use fat as a source of energy particularly for endurance activity. It also provides a digestible source of protein from chicken to help support muscle integrity. The bar can be easily broken into squares and fed throughout the day when your dog needs a little ‘boost’. Its handy size means it can be easily slipped into pockets and fed when needed.
Contact us
If you need any advice about Skinner’s, then please contact their nutrition team at [email protected] or call them on 01379 384247