We are always being asked what do we feed our dogs, how much, how often, how to tell if your dog is underweight, overweight.

There is no real set in stone rule to feeding dogs, every dog is different so the diet may need to be adjusted for individuals within one household, similar to the way humans eat.  One person can eat a entire cake daily and not put on weight, another person has to just think about eating the cake and a couple of kilos are gained! 

We feed a complete BARF (Bones and Raw Food) diet here.  Even when away for shows, our dogs still receive the Raw food, just means another esky full of meat, bones etc for them.

Below is what we feed typically for a week for an Adult Amstaff (approx. 25kg).  The average cost per adult Amstaff at moderate exercise is $11.00 a week.

We source 95% of our dogs food from Pet Mince Direct.   Some odd items are purchased elsewhere as we find it.

*Mince Varieties

We feed a variety of BARF Minces, Red Mix, White Mix, Duck, Beef, Roo, Turkey, and Lamb.  

Extra added to our Mince & Chunk Meals - Eggs, Liver (Beef, Lamb, Pork), Offal,  Weasand, Giblets, Tuna, Chicken Feet, Sardines, Pork Snout, Duck Wings.  Not all at once but varied over a week.

**Bone Varieties

The type of bones we feed are as follows: Turkey Necks, Lamb Necks, Beef Brisket, Lamb Brisket, Roo Tails, Whole Large Fish, Pork Soft Bones.

***Chunk Varieties

The type of chunks we feed are as follows: Beef, Lamb, Emu, Camel

NOTE: Camel chunks are farmed camels, it is dangerous to feed your dog wild camel.

****Green Tripe

We use the K9 Natural Green Tripe Booster Cans for our dogs meals.

*****Frames

We alternate between chicken frames, duck frames and turkey frames.

The main thing you need to remember when feeding is, if you are seeing every rib or backbone on your dog, increase their intake, double the mince, chunks or bones.  If you are unable to see the last rib or a good tuck in the waistline, reduce their meals, half the bone intake, mince, chunks.....  You do not have to balance a dogs meal every day, a balance over a week is fine.

Below are photos of our dogs at various weights, what I consider to be healthy and what I consider to be overweight.

The Good

Staffwild All The Aces ~ 5yr old Amstaff Bitch.  I consider this girl to be at a beautiful weight in this photo.  The rib cage is visible, but you cannot see every individual rib or any backbone, lovely tuck at the waistline.

Aust Ch. Havfun Bad Habit ~ in this photo he was approx . 3yr old.  Again, no individual ribs showing, however you can see the outline of the ribcage and the tuck in the waistline.

The Bad

Staffwild Holierthanthou ~ 7yr old Amstaff Desexed Bitch ~ Overweight, way overweight.  Holly's new owner was being a little too loving, this weight puts undue stress on their joints, heart and overall health, it is a quick way to kill them with kindness.  You can just see Staffwild Mastaofpuppets in the background, he was the same.  These two dogs went from one extreme to another.  The 2nd photo of them below was taken approx. 12mths earlier when I took them back from an their owner who believed they were in good fit weight!

Below are photos of ours dogs at shows and lure coursing, we do prefer to keep our dogs on the leaner fitter side, purely for health and joint reasons.