March 2020

Alpha is a family run, British brand, built on a dedication for optimising the health, vitality and performance of your pet with our range of world-class quality foods.

Alpha has always championed local suppliers. Shopping locally and supporting independent retailers is a strong part of our ethos.

During this unprecedented period, we feel there has never been a better time to support your local pet store by buying locally. Not only will you be supporting what is likely to be a family owned and run business, you will also be investing in the British economy, which is going to be key over the next twelve months.

Feeding Champions

Alpha remains the top dog of the pet foods industry for a good reason. With a team of specialist nutritionists striving tirelessly to craft the most nutritionally balanced recipes – our range satisfies all breeds, and our high standards continue to set the bar. We have been feeding champions for years.

Geared towards working breeds; Alpha specialises in feed fit for ‘Dogs with a Purpose’, and dogs of action! With a fully comprehensive range of performance dog feed, Alpha caters for the most dynamic of dogs; so, it’s only natural that our brand plays proud sponsor to BSHRA – British Siberian Husky Racing Association.

The complete range

Tried and tested, and upheld by science, each of our recipes fits into one of three categories;

1. Resting/At Home

2. Working/Sporting

3. Racing/Competing

Made up of the finest ingredients blended for most significant nutritional advantage; Alpha’s range spans from resting, or older dogs, to pups and nursing bitches, to full-time working gun dogs, show dogs and racers. Most of our meats and cereals come from local suppliers, to guarantee quality, freshness and traceability. Vitamins and other supplements hail from only the most trustworthy suppliers. Protein levels range from 19% to 32% to suit a variety of workloads and conditions.

Never negotiating on the quality

Alpha’s ingredients are of the highest order; each recipe is clean, simple, and scientifically backed. Sourcing natural ingredients regionally where possible, our team works hard to not only champion local farmers and suppliers but to support the British industry on the whole. Firsthand connection with suppliers guarantees 100% knowledge of each ingredient’s origin.

Moreover, in times of BREXIT scepticism, a longstanding relationship with our local suppliers means, well, less uncertainty and more reassurance of continuity, so you can be sure that your dog will still enjoy his perfectly balanced diet!

Sustainability and independence

Standing firmly by our values as an independent brand, we strive to champion the smaller independent retailers. With this in mind, you’ll never find Alpha on the shelves of big-name supermarket corporations.

With a resolute commitment to the environment; 2020 will mark a massive overhaul of the Alpha feed packaging, as we bring it up-to-date with the needs of a planet struggling for resources and suffering environmental unbalance, and the fierce consumer demand for sustainability in packaging.

Moving to fully and widely recycled material for the bag; the enhanced packaging will experience not only a more premium look but also a tangible commitment to minimising its environmental footprint.

By shopping locally, you too can reduce your carbon footprint – you may be able to simply walk to your store and, at the very least, your local pet store will only be a short drive away.

In a nutshell

Since the first bag rolled off the production line, until now, Alpha continues to ceaselessly champion and cherish their legacy of honesty and quality. Your animal’s health and vitality are our life’s work and with a longstanding commitment to producing nutritional excellence – Alpha products make for happy, strong and healthy dogs.

You won’t find Alpha on the shelves of any high street or big brand supermarket. Why? We want to stay loyal to support the independent retailer, providing them with a product that cannot be purchased from larger competitors.

Many of our customers tell us that they value the personalised service and the specialist knowledge that only independent retailers can provide them. Why not visit your local pet store and experience this for yourself? For more information on our products please visit our website www.alphafeeds.com. Alternatively, call us on 01522 778000 and we’ll be happy to offer help or advice or talk anything working dog.

Alternatively, call us on 01522 778000 and we’ll be happy to offer help or advice or talk anything working dog.

Today, husky sled racing around the world is a highly popular sport. Intense, exciting and requiring incredible teamwork and skill, it draws in a vast crowd.

But you don’t need to live in Alaska or Siberia to enjoy this fantastic sport. Here in the UK, the BSHRA (The British Siberian Husky Racing Association) exists for one reason only – to deliver the annual BSHRA British Husky Racing Championship. Formed by a determined group of Britain’s leading Sled Dog Drivers; it’s now enjoying its 24th season. There is no membership fee, just a commitment to keeping the UK’s racing scene thriving!

With all the thrill and excitement of today’s modern sport, it’s easy to forget the brutal and intense work these fantastic dogs once undertook, and the lives they changed. Here’s one particular champion with a story so epic it inspired a Disney film.

Togo and the 1925 Serum Run

Nome, Alaska, USA; In January 1925, child mortality was at an alarmingly high rate. Infected with diphtheria, each day, another son or daughter was struck down by the deadly respiratory disease. Nome’s solitary physician, Dr Curtis Welch, feared an epidemic was unfolding. He ordered a quarantine but knew in his heart that only an antitoxin serum could halt the rapidly-spreading disease.

The nearest batch of the life-saving medicine was more than 1,000 miles away in Anchorage, and Nome’s frozen harbour meant that sea transport was impossible. Moreover, the closest train station was 700 miles away, and the open-cockpit planes of the time couldn’t fly in Alaska’s brutal subzero bitterness. The best hope for the children of Nome was its dog teams.  

Sledge dogs regularly battled the snow to deliver the mail, and knowing this, the territory’s governor, Scott C. Bone, recruited the most skilled drivers and dog teams to attempt a frantic relay to transport the serum from Nenana to Nome through the most brutal of conditions.

On the night of January 27, 1925, the first team left from Nenana. Musher “Wild Bill” Shannon bound the precious parcel to his sledge and pushed on his nine malamute pack. 

With temperatures plunging to 60 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, by the time Shannon handed the serum to the second team, he was already showing signs of frostbite hypothermia, even though he had run by the side of his faithful dogs to keep his body temperature up.

Illuminated by the northern lights the country’s most renowned musher, Leonhard Seppala, took the next leg. He left Shaktoolik on January 31 on a substantial 91-mile run, the longest and most intense leg of the entire journey.

Seppala’s lead dog, 12-year-old Siberian Husky Togo – our hero – was by now an old dog and had run tens of thousands of miles in his life. But this would be his last, and most significant. Togo, born the runt of a litter, was from birth deemed too small, and far too naughty to join a sled team. He was so cheeky that Seppala gave him to a pet store to sell on. However, Togo had other ideas. Breaking out of the store, he made his way home to a surprised Seppala. Noting the dog’s loyalty, Seppala saw him in a renewed light – and the rest is history.

Togo and his 19 fellow dogs skidded and slipped across the sheer ice face underfoot – struggling for traction. Togo, with incredible instinct, strength and fearlessness led them with staunch determination.

Charlie Olson took the baton from here. Charlie, after 25 miles handed over the serum to Gunnar Kaasen for the second-to-last leg of the relay. Kaasen’s team went on the battle through severe blizzards, delivering the vital antidote to the desperate town.

The aftermath

The teams involved saved the lives of thousands, and the media frenzy alerted the rest of the world to the dangers of the deadly virus. Although more than 150 dogs and 20 drivers shared the poignant relay, with numerous dogs sacrificing their lives to the cause, it was Balto, who led the final miles that became a superstar. Togo, who had undertaken the most dangerous and arduous leg of the journey, sadly only received his recognition and celebration years later. Would he have ever imagined he’d be starring alongside Oscar-winning William Defoe, in his own Disney movie? Who knows? He died happily of old age, at the age of 16, in 1929.

So, from delivering life-saving serum’s, all the way to taking their mushers across the finish line of the race track, Huskies continue to thrive as a popular breed in a modern world. At Alpha, we’re proud to sponsor The British Siberian Husky Racing Association – keeping this incredible working dog thriving in what he does best – being a champion.