Alpha Feeds

Active dogs like working, sporting, and hunting dogs, burn a serious amount of energy – up to four times more than that of your average dog. To counteract and support this extreme athleticism, they require a suitable high-energy feed.

Joint health is also crucial to your dog’s longevity, be it farming, policing, sporting and so on. Your active dog is invaluable to your team, and a carefully thought out diet will mean a long, happy, healthy and action-packed life.

When deciding on your dog’s diet, ensure it covers the following;

• The food should be doggy-delicious.
• The feed should provide your dog with enough energy to work hard, play hard and thrive.
• Your dog’s food should support a healthy digestive system, help build lean muscle and aid in muscle recovery after strenuous athletic activity.
• If your dog is extremely active, his feed may need additional nutrients to support joint health and mobility.
• Your working dog is an athlete; his food will need fortifying with essential vitamins and minerals.

When to opt for high energy food

If your working or sporting dog is exceptionally active, chances are he’ll need a high-energy feed to match his energy outputs. Fat is your dog’s primary source of energy. Specialised high energy foods – alongside additional minerals, vitamins and highly digestible ingredients – possess a high fat content to meet this requirement.

Keeping weight on your sports dog

Highly active dogs are prone to weight loss. The correct feed will nourish your dog, help maintain a healthy weight, and provide all the energy he needs to perform. However, if your dog seems to be losing weight without cause, speak directly to your vet; they may need to conduct a complete physical exam to rule out any underlying health issues.

Joint health

For working and highly active dogs, joint ailments can be a real problem. Dogs that were once performing athletic movements and covering vast distances can begin to feel pain and discomfort – leading to slowing down and disengaging from the sports they once loved. When pain is obvious, and you see a decline in your dog, veterinary advice is required ASAP.

Founded over a century ago, Alpha is a family business, forged on a passion for optimising the health, vitality and performance of your pet with world-class quality foods.

Located on the North Nottinghamshire/Lincolnshire border and firmly established within the pet food industry, The Alpha brand is a trusted and highly reputable name – one synonymous with science, nutrition, excellent service & outstanding value.

This fiercely independent company champions local producers and distributors, with regional farmers growing most of the natural ingredients and shipping them directly to the factory. This firsthand contact with the growers ensures in depth knowledge of our ingredient’s provenance.

Take a walk around Alpha’s manufacturing plant, and you’ll witness the enormous investment made in their team, research, development, factory, packaging and operational systems to ensure that Alpha products dominate the market and continue to deliver excellence.

With a highly dedicated team of skilled people, who are passionate about the quality of their products and the service they provide – Alpha products are now more in demand than ever.

Moreover, not only is this brand consistently providing the market with their innovation, duty of care and flavours; they’re also enormous advocators for sustainability. With an unwavering commitment to the environment; packaging materials used are sourced from sustainable forestry and are 100% recyclable.

Furthermore, Alpha sticks firmly to its values as an autonomous brand and continuously supports independent retailers. You won’t encounter Alpha on the shelves of big-name supermarkets.

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 their life’s work and with a longstanding commitment to producing nutritional excellence – Alpha products guarantee a healthy, happy and thriving working dog.

Greyhounds are lean, powerful dogs, with a keen hunting eye and a knack for sprinting. Once owned exclusively by royalty, this magnificent breed dates back to Egyptian times.

Not only are they regal in looks and gentle in character, but they’re also relatively low maintenance. Contrary to popular belief, the breed is more couch potato than a sprinter – needing only one hour of vigorous exercise a day.

Fact file:

• Lifespan – 10 – 14 years
• Height – Male: 71–76 cm, Female: 68–71 cm
• Weight – Male: 27–40 kg, Female: 26–34 kg
• Temperament – Affectionate, Intelligent, Athletic, Quiet, Even Tempered, Gentle

Movement

Greyhounds, while mostly docile, are very energetic in short bursts. Their action is graceful and elegant, moving smoothly and sleekly with the minimum of effort, and able to turn quickly while in full flight, without losing pace or their balance. They are renowned for incredible speed, used mostly at track races.

Exercise

The Greyhound will live a happy and fulfilled life with one significant workout per day. This session will be full speed, high octane and interactive – this breed loves to play. Many owners take their canine friends ‘lure coursing’ which is an excellent way for them to let off steam whilst also enjoying something they were born to do.

Temperament

Greyhounds usually get on well with other dogs, but instinctually chase cats and other small fluffy animals – and being so lightning-fast, they may catch them, much to the distress of your neighbour.

While this breed may act aloof, and a little nervous around strangers – they’re incredibly loyal and affectionate with their family.

Prey drive

Deeply embedded in the psyche of a Greyhound, chasing down prey is such a powerful instinct, that your neighbour’s cat may be in real peril, should they meet. For this reason, a well-fenced garden is necessary – as greyhounds can jump up to six feet.

Separation anxiety

Highly intelligent and emotional, Greyhounds form strong family bonds and don’t like being left alone for long – they’re the perfect dog for someone who works from home. Greyhounds in isolation are vulnerable to separation anxiety, leading to destructive behaviour. Unfortunately for your sofa, ripping things apart is their way of relieving any stress.

For information on our range of working dog food, including our High Performance and Racer feeds, speak to your local stockist, or get in touch with us through our website.

Golden Retrievers are a gundog breed that were originally trained to find live game and retrieve any game that had been shot and wounded.

They first came from black Wavy Coated Retrievers crossed with the Tweed Water Spaniel, which gave them their distinctive yellow coat. In 1913 the Golden Retriever Club was formally recognised by the Kennel Club.

The fact that these dogs are incredibly easy to train, as well as calm natured, makes them ideal working dogs to work with people and other dogs. This includes roles such as guide dogs, tracking and explosives detection.

Fact file:

• Lifespan – 10+ years
• Height – Female: 51–56 cm, Male: 56–61 cm
• Weight – Female: 25–32 kg, Male: 30–34 kg
• Popularity – They are the 2nd most popular dog in the UK
• Nickname – Goldies

Temperament:

Golden Retrievers are very hardworking, playful and loving dogs that are incredibly intelligent and easy to train. They are a popular family dog as well as a working dog, because of their gentle nature and are great with children, given early socialising.

They are described as very kind, as well as fun-loving and with a streak of mischief too. They seem to tick every box which may well be the reason they are the second most popular dog in the UK.

Exercise:

Golden Retrievers love frequent exercise and being outdoors. Their high energy levels, ability to track and love of water make them ideal dogs for hunting and exploring.

Grooming:

They have a very thick, medium length coat that requires grooming 2 or 3 times a week to keep it in tip-top condition. Their thick coats help to keep them warm all year round.

Working Roles:

Their ability to sniff out and retrieve downed game over both land and water gained them huge popularity as gundogs, but they also make excellent sporting dogs, assistance dogs, working with the police and military.

For any information on our range of working dog food and your local stockists, contact us or get in touch with us on 0844 8002234 for more information.

Although quality nutrition is important for all types of dogs, working dogs require the best quality nutrition available in order to endure a higher amount of exercise.

Just like with humans, canine nutrition is closely connected to both their physical wellbeing. The right kind of diet helps them not only run faster and for longer, but will help them to avoid fatigue, it will help to keep their muscles working hard and their blood flowing too.

Working dogs are more prone to accidents

Due to the high-risk nature of their working day, working dogs benefit from a stronger immune system. They face much higher amount of physical stress due to demanding activities, and a quality nutritional diet will help them to recover quickly from any injury or illness.

Working dogs need to be alert more than regular dogs

A nutritional diet also helps dog build a better nervous system. When a nervous system benefits from nutritional support it can help to promote alertness and improve concentration levels of the working dog.

Working dogs need their energy levels to last longer

Due to the long hours and endurance they face during their working day, working dogs need a significant amount of protein in their diet, the recommended minimum is 18-25% of protein to feel good, but this can go as high as 32% depending on the type of work they undertake.

Working dogs need to be fed well from an early age

Nutritional support from a young age can help a dog to develop everything they need for their working life. This includes well-developed muscles, bones, and joints, which are all particularly important for a working dog. Alpha Sporting Puppy food is ideal for young working dogs and puppies – https://www.alphafeeds.com/product/alpha-sporting-puppy-15kg-and-3kg/.

How much should you feed your dog?

This varies depending on breed and size of your dog, but the easiest way to determine how much to feed your dog is to adjust their food intake to maintain their optimum body weight and condition. Always refer to the recommended portion size on the back of the packet as a useful guide.

A leaner build is best for a working dog. In general, this means that ribs should be easily felt but not obviously seen, and there should be a waist visible from the side and above. Lean dogs also live longer and have fewer joint problems.

Browse our range of working dog food here to give your working dog everything they need from their nutrition – https://www.alphafeeds.com/product-category/dog/.

If you have any questions about any of our dog food products, please get in touch on 0844 800 2234 and we’ll be happy to help.

A gundog, by nature, is at higher risk of eye and ear injury due to their active lifestyles. However, active dogs are also incredibly resilient and often mask injuries that could turn more serious if left untreated.

So, what signs should you look out for after a day out in nature?

Squinting – If your dog is squinting and has tears coming from an eye, they may have scratched their cornea. If the eye surface has been damaged, you could also see the third eyelid coming over across the eye.

Saline eye drops can help to reduce irritation but if problems persist you must visit the vet. If the injured eye has a smaller pupil it could be a sign of uveitis and can lead to long-term damage if not seen to.

Swollen eyes with discharge – Running through long grass with dust or pollen can cause conjunctivitis which shows as red, swollen eyes and sometimes with a green discharge.

If the dog is rubbing its eyes, it’s time to step in. Cold black tea or saline drops can help to give the eyes temporary relief, but if the eyes are still producing discharge the following day, it’s best to see your vet.

Cloudy eyes – Cloudy eyes are common in dogs of an older age, but if your dog’s eyes are rapidly whitening it could be due to cataracts and a vet should be contacted immediately.

Surgery can help to recover eyesight from cataracts.

Bulging eyes – Red, bulging eyes are often severely painful for your dog. This can be either one eye or both and can be brought on by infection or a tumour behind the eye.

Glaucoma is another factor which could be either due to damage or an inherited disease in some breeds. Either way, you must seek medical attention as an emergency.

Lots of head shaking – Ears can easily catch grass seeds that can get trapped into the ear canal, causing pain and lots of head shaking in an attempt to free them.

Sometimes the seeds dislodge themselves but if the head shaking continues, then a trip to the vet is usually required for removal. Remember to never poke anything into your dog’s ear.

Bleeding from cuts on ears – Ear cuts seem to bleed more than other areas. The best thing to do is apply pressure and a head bandage, to prevent further bleeding or irritation.

If bleeding persists, it’s time to go to the vet.

If you’re worried about your dog’s health, always seek professional advice from your vet by calling your local surgery. For information on First Aid in the Field.

Sadly, ferrets are very misunderstood animals. There is a common misconception that ferrets can be difficult to care for and are often mistaken for rodents. This, however, cannot be farther from the truth – not only do ferrets make lovable pets, but they are also very effective working animals.

About ferrets

Ferrets originate from the carnivore family of the Mustelidae and their closest ancestor is the European polecat so they are very curious and love to explore, often assessing most items with their mouths and nose. They rely on their senses of smell, taste and hearing as their eyesight is quite poor.

Ferrets use postures and vocalisations to indicate emotions. It is important to explore the behaviours of your breed of a ferret to ensure that you understand key emotions such as when they are feeling excited, an excited ferret will make a ‘dook’ sound.

As well as using smell to hunt, ferrets use scent to communicate with each other. They can tell if another ferret is male or female, strange or familiar and if the mark was left recently or a day ago, just by sniffing a mark left by the other ferret’s bottom.’

They become familiar with their ferret friends by using smell to hunt and communicate with each other. Don’t panic if your ferret sleeps between 18 and 20 hours a day don’t panic, that’s the sign of a healthy Ferret.

Caring for a ferret

A ferret can be both great fun and a treasured companion, but it is also important to realise that they can be quite challenging and a big responsibility and long-term commitment – healthy ferrets can live up to 10 years of age, however, their average lifespan is 6 years.

It is also very important to provide your ferret with a healthy, balanced diet which is why Alpha Ferret Feast has been carefully formulated as a premium complete diet to meet all the nutritional needs of working, pet and show ferrets of all ages.

Why Alpha Feeds Ferret food?

• 36% Protein
• Wholesome Ingredients – No Added Artificial Colours or Flavours
• High-Quality Chicken & Fish Proteins
• Fish Meal & Linseed for Essential Omega 3 Oils – Aids Healthy Skin & Coat Condition
• Crunchy Extruded Nugget to Help Clean Teeth
• Nutritionally Formulated for Health and Vitality
• Easy to Digest and Highly Palatable
• With Taurine Added

It is also very important to provide your ferret with a healthy, balanced diet. Ferrets are obligate carnivores, which means they need to eat meat to survive. That being said, they should never be given cat or dog food, which is full of plant matter that ferrets cannot digest.

Be sure to stick to dry food specifically provided for ferrets or indeed, provide fresh meat. Ferrets are also lactose intolerant and dairy can really harm them. Feeding your ferret a healthy, balanced diet will ensure they are fit to endure a full day’s work.

Where to find them:

The best place to find a working ferret is with a reputable breeder. Always be sure to visit the breeder, see how they keep their kits and also how knowledgeable the breeder is. A good breeder will be able to provide advice, support and the equipment you will require.