What’s the Best Food for Your Australian Shepherd? A Complete Feeding Guide

The Australian Shepherd is a rancher’s ultimate herding dog. Also known as an Aussie, these medium-size workers are full of drive and intelligence. Australian Shepherds are also good with young children, making them great family pets. Fueling their activity for top performance and maintaining a healthy, lean body condition are key considerations for Australian Shepherd nutrition.

If you’re wondering, “What do Australian Shepherd dogs eat?” the good news is that many different diets are appropriate for this breed. However, the best food for an Australian Shepherd depends on your dog’s age, activity level and overall health. Learn how to choose the right diet for your loveable Aussie.

Australian Shepherd Puppy Feeding

For optimal growth and development, Australian Shepherd puppies thrive on a high-quality diet that provides the right essential nutrients. As you select from the variety of available puppy foods, remember to also plan for their transition by understanding when puppies can eat adult dog food. To know what to feed an Australian Shepherd puppy, look for a statement on the pet food label that says the diet meets “the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO [Association of American Feed Control Officials] Dog Food Nutrient Profiles” or has undergone feeding tests using AAFCO procedures to substantiate that the diet provided has a complete and balanced nutrition for the growth of puppies. Also, puppy food with a higher protein content, such as Pro Plan® Sport Development 30/20 Chicken & Rice Formula Dry Puppy Food, can better support active puppies undergoing training and/or who burn through more calories regularly. You can also look for puppy food that contains fiber and probiotics to promote gut health, antioxidants to support the immune system and DHA, a type of omega-3 fatty acid, to help with vision and brain development and improve trainability.

Offering your Aussie puppy a variety of foods, including dry and wet food, can help to reduce picky behaviors by exposing them to different tastes, flavors and textures. Just make sure to establish a regular feeding schedule, offering meals for only a limited amount of time and not changing the food just because your puppy won’t eat it. Following these rules will help encourage the development of good eating behavior early on.

An Australian Shepherd puppy’s feeding schedule changes as they grow. For puppies under 4 months of age, they should be fed 3-4 times per day. This can be reduced to 2 meals per day when your puppy is around 5-6 months of age. Another important consideration is how much to feed your Aussie puppy. Too little will stunt their growth, but overfeeding will cause them to be overweight, which can set them up to be overweight and obese adults. So, monitoring growth rates and feeding to maintain a good body condition during puppyhood is essential. Consulting a puppy feeding chart can be very handy to keep your puppy on track.

Adult Australian Shepherd Feeding

Australian Shepherd puppies finish growing around 12 months of age. After this, they can be transitioned onto an adult diet. When feeding an Australian Shepherd, choose a diet with high-quality proteins to support muscle building and repair after exercise, particularly if you have an active sporting or trained working dog. Dog food for active dogs, such as dry food made for performance, also contains higher levels of fat and calories, which helps provide sufficient energy for your Aussie’s work. However, if your Aussie lives a less active, more sedentary lifestyle, these diets are easy to overfeed and could cause your dog to become overweight. In these cases, the best dog food for your Australian Shepherd might be a standard medium-breed adult diet or even a lower-calorie diet.

To work out how much to feed an Australian Shepherd, a good place to start is by following the feeding guides on pet food labels or using a dog feeding calculator. Always remember, though, that you will likely need to adjust the amount of food up or down from that starting point to individualize the amount for your dog. Do this by checking your dog’s body weight weekly or once every 2 weeks and adjusting their food as needed to maintain a healthy weight. Your dog’s veterinary clinic is a great place to do regular weight checks.

Senior Australian Shepherd Feeding

Australian Shepherds are considered seniors from 9 years of age. When feeding a senior Australian Shepherd, remember that their slowing metabolism and reduced activity level often mean they require fewer calories. Since individual needs vary, understanding when to switch to senior dog food is crucial for tailoring their diet appropriately. When choosing an Australian Shepherd diet for your older dog, focus on senior diets that are rich in EPA and DHA (types of omega-3 fatty acids) specifically to help support joint function and improve mobility that can decline with age. Also, look for diets that contain antioxidants and nutrients such as medium-chain triglycerides, foods like Pro Plan® Adult 7+ Complete Essentials Shredded Blend Chicken & Rice Formula Dry Dog Food, which can help maintain cognitive function in your Australian Shepherd. Wet food can help increase hydration in senior dogs, as well as be easier to eat if your dog has dental disease or worn teeth.

General Health Considerations

Coat Health Through Proper Nutrition

Australian Shepherds are known for their thick, waterproof double-layer coat, which comes in blue merle, red (liver) merle, solid black or solid red colors. A dull coat or thin and brittle fur can be one of the first signs that a diet is not the best food for an Australian Shepherd or of a problem with the digestive tract. Ensuring your Australian Shepherd’s dog food is properly formulated for their life stage is important to help prevent nutrient deficiencies that can affect coat quality. Feeding diets that are also enriched in nutrients, such as linoleic acid, can improve skin quality and help to maintain a thick and shiny coat.

Healthy Digestion Through Proper Nutrition

Diet plays a big role in how well a dog digests and absorbs nutrients. Feeding Australian Shepherd dogs a poorly digestible diet not only means fewer nutrients are absorbed, but more food enters the large intestine to be fermented by the gut bacteria. This can lead to increased flatulence, in addition to larger and softer feces. The best food for Australian Shepherds promotes good nutrient absorption and gut health.

Weight Management and Obesity Prevention Strategies

It’s important to maintain a healthy weight for Australian Shepherds. Because Aussies are naturally active dogs, their risk of becoming overweight is lower compared to other breeds. However, even Aussies can become overweight if they are fed too much. Body condition scoring (BCS) is a really simple way to monitor their weight at home without needing a scale. With their thick coats, feeling their body is the best method of assessing body condition. Always adjust how much you’re feeding so they maintain a lean and healthy condition. You can also switch them to foods that aid with weight management, such as Pro Plan® Weight Management Shredded Blend Chicken & Rice Dry Dog Food.

Adequate Hydration for Overall Well-Being

Deciding whether to feed your Australian Shepherd dry food or wet food should take hydration into account. Maintaining hydration is important, particularly in senior dogs, active dogs and all dogs during hot weather. Water is needed for many bodily functions, including temperature regulation, digestion and toxin excretion. Always ensure there is fresh, clean water around to encourage drinking, especially if you choose dry dog food for your Australian Shepherd. Feeding a high-moisture wet food can be helpful to increase water intake.

Veterinary Allies

If you have an Australian Shepherd that is gaining weight or losing significant weight, or who has digestive signs (vomiting and/or diarrhea), it’s worth bringing them to their veterinarian for a checkup. Your dog’s veterinarian can make sure there are no medical causes for their clinical signs and advise on specific dietary needs, if any.

Feeding Schedules and Techniques

Here are some tips when it comes to feeding your Australian Shepherd:

• Feeding 2 meals per day is most common, but you can feed less or more often. Establishing a feeding regimen that works best for your dog, your schedule and any training schedule will help your dog develop good eating habits.
• Use a cup that is clearly marked at the right level or a kitchen scale to correctly portion your dog’s diet. Eyeballing amounts can be wildly inaccurate and can lead to overfeeding your Australian Shepherd. Feeding charts can also be useful in determining the right portion size. Remember, the feeding recommendations for dry food are given in 8 oz cups.
• Use puzzle feeders, snuffle mats and other feeding toys to provide enrichment for your Australian Shepherd. Slow feeders are also a great way to reduce the speed of eating of particularly greedy Aussies.
• Treats should make up no more than 10% of a dog’s daily calories to avoid unbalancing their main diet and to avoid overfeeding by giving too many calories. For training, you can use high-reward treats, such as lean pieces of dried meat, but be careful not to overdo these.
• It’s always recommended to transition your Australian Shepherd’s food gradually over to any new diet to reduce the risk of causing digestive upsets. Do this over at least a 3-day period (or longer for more sensitive dogs) by gradually increasing the proportion of new food to the old food.

For more expert tips on feeding your dog, explore our other dog feeding guides.