As current massively increasing grain and other ingredient cost pressures continue to mount on manufacturers of foods 
made ‘to a price’ we present a guide to the three best indicators of quality nutrition; stools, coat and performance
1) STOOLS: QUALITY AND QUANTITY
There really is no better immediate next day clue as to the quality of food you are using than stools. When a dog is depositing a volume of waste that is remarkably similar to the volume of food that you gave the evening before, it does not require great deductive powers to realise that a large amount of the food given has passed through the dog in a largely unused state. This is a huge waste of money and also presents a big clean up problem.
With really poor quality foods you have to give so much of them to hold a dog’s weight that the shear amount of food consumed is almost certain to cause very loose motions. Try feeding Australian Formula after using such a food and you will be amazed at the small volumes of well formed, easily cleaned up waste that is created.
Persistently loose motions are a very good indicator of a diet that is not suiting the dog at all – of a diet that is being poorly digested and not being used correctly. The other serious problem they cause is a gradual erosion of the dog’s body salts with a substantially increased risk of cramp like symptoms.
In other words: the looser the stool, the higher calorific value contained within the stool and therefore the bigger waste of money the feed is and the less chance you have of coaxing out each dogs true potential.
With Australian Formula you are feeding relatively small amounts of a diet that is very well suited to the greyhounds dietary needs. The calorific value of the stools is low and as a consequence, the stools are generally perfectly formed and neither too hard or soft.
2) THE COAT : THE BEST GUIDE TO A DOG’S NUTRITIONAL HEALTH STATUS
Many customers have told us about dramatic changes in their dog’s coat condition a short time after changing to Australian Formula. We view coat condition from the point of view that it is a very good barometer as to the general nutritional status of a dog.
We believe that there is no better long term indicator of a poor diet and therefore anticipated poor performance than bad coat or skin condition.
The skin is the largest and most exposed organ that a dog has. Poor nutrition and food allergies are two of the most common causes of skin and coat problems. Healthy skin is soft and flexible and acts to protect the underlying tissues and resists infections. Additionally, healthy skin will heal much faster from cuts, scratches and infections. The coat acts to protect the skin.
The skin acts as a nutritional reservoir holding electrolytes, water, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and proteins. This is one of the reasons that the skin and coat are such good indicators of the dog’s nutritional health.
Hair is made primarily of protein and dietary protein therefore plays a huge role in the health of the coat. Balanced Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are also very important nutrients as essential and balanced fatty acids prevent a dry skin and coat and actually work to promote a thick glossy coat.
Other important skin and coat nutrients are vitamin A, copper and Zinc.
Biotin, a B group vitamin, is also important for coat health and also for nail strength and health. A dull, flaky coat is a good indicator of insufficient biotin in the diet and therefore an increased risk of nails breaking and growing poorly. Biotin is quite expensive and therefore unlikely to be present in sufficient levels with cost driven feeds.
When moulting, dogs need up to 25% of their daily protein intake just for hair growth! this is not really surprising as hair is composed almost entirely of protein and dogs have millions of hairs!
Essential Fatty Acid Deficiency
EFA deficiency gives rise in dogs to a coarse dry coat, dandruff, brittle hair; poor wound healing and scaly skin. Essential Fatty Acids are also needed for manufacturing cell membranes, kidney function and reproduction.
Protein itself is rarely in short supply in greyhound diets, but protein of the correct quality may be. With adult dogs such deficiencies are slow to show themselves but with pups they are soon seen with poor growth and a poor coat as evidence.
Mineral And Vitamin Deficiencies
Mineral deficiencies may result from mineral imbalances or from the presence of mineral antagonists in the food.
Secondary zinc deficiency for example may result from the over supplementation of calcium, which competes with zinc at the point where it is absorbed.
Or the zinc may be unavailable because it is bound by phytate in the diet. Phytates are found mainly in fibrous cereals and bind with zinc interfering with its absorption from the gut.
Vitamin A deficiencies in particular are quite common. Vitamin A is often deficient in low fat diets that rely heavily on lean muscle meats or poor quality complete dry feeds.
It is not hard to see how a well meaning person can actually cause dietary deficiencies by feeding a diet based on lean meat (vitamin A deficient), over supplementing with calcium (blocking the uptake of zinc) and mixing with a cheap dog food (vitamin A deficient, essential fatty acid deficient, biotin deficient).
The resulting ‘diet’ will show its deficiencies with a dry, flaky coat. The real harm will be under the surface though as the dog will without question not be reaching its full athletic potential largely due to essential fatty acid imbalances.
3) BELOW PAR PERFORMANCE: OR WHY YOU CAN’T WORK A DOG HARD ON A CHEAP FEED
Most trainers are not interested in the science. They simply want their dogs to run faster and poor nutrition harms performance. Fact.
This is because several things happen when a dog begins an exercise regime; Heart and respiration rate start to increase, the muscles start to contract more strenuously, the lungs work harder, food is converted to energy and a process of adaptation begins. Skeletal muscles may be stressed to the point that micro fractures are caused. The bloods oxygen carrying capacity is pushed to its limit. Electrolytes are in serious demand.
The purpose of training is assisting the body to adapt to a particular workload so that what was an effort becomes just a little easier. Eventually this results in faster times being recorded. Principally, this sprinting athlete’s body adapts to allow him/her to sprint for that little bit further.
The vital importance of correct diet is to provide the energy and nutrients needed to support training, racing and recovery (via a carefully balanced electroylte). Never forget – you are not feeding a pet, but a highly tuned athlete who places high demands on his/her body.
Ingredient quality
The guaranteed quality of the oils, fats, protein and vegetable constituents of Australian Formula really make a difference when it counts. Proteins of a high biological value, oils and fats that are blended to provide exactly what the dog needs and carbohydrate sources such as rice combine to help in the vital recovery phase.
THE ULTIMATE THOUGHT ON WHY ‘AUSSIE’ IS WORTH IT
The differences between individual dogs is greater than the difference between feeds. Hence, no matter how good our feed, it cannot turn
a low grader into a Derby dog. That fact is not in dispute.
However – in most cases, dogs will not be asked to compete against significantly superior physical specimens. They will be looking for a
small but significant advantage over animals of very similar ability.
In a sport where hours are spent in preparation – yet ultimately 0.01 seconds can separate a winner from a loser – do you really want to feed second best?
