Dog data to flow from comp

Cobber dog food has launched the Cobber Challenge which is testing eight of Australia’s best working dogs in their natural environment.

Dogs from each state have been fitted with a GPS collar and their activity tracked over a period of three weeks.

The Cobber Challenge started on November 21 and each dog’s data – distance travelled, duration and top speed – is being uploaded daily to www.cobberchallenge.com.au so that people can follow the performance of individual dogs and barrack for their state representatives or favourite dog.

This data will be used to select the best of the best, who will be awarded the Cobber Challenge trophy. 

Cobber dog food, manufactured by Ridley animal nutrition solutions, is providing the fuel for these dogs, as it does for thousands of other working dogs across Australia.

Ridley has sponsored the Cobber challenge to promote the unique abilities of Australian-bred working dogs and their ability to help Australian farmers day in and day out in some of the most demanding conditions in the world.

Ridley nutritionist David Nash say Australian Working dogs can travel up to 60km during the course of a working day.

"That is like us running a marathon and then a half marathon back to back," he said.  

“Working dogs need to be on their game both physically and mentally at the end of the day as much as at the start of the day.”

According to Ridley, working dogs will quickly lose condition and drop off in performance if not provided with the right balance of key nutrients to fuel their work day and assist in recovery and repair during down time.

“Cobber has formulated its diets using the knowhow from working side by side with farmers and their working dogs for over 30 years,” Mr Nash said.

“Cobber Working Dog has the perfect balance of proteins that are rich in essential amino acids for muscle condition, energy dense fats and carbohydrates for sustained energy, antioxidants to help reduce and protect muscles from oxidative damage, and Omega Essential Fatty Acids for mental alertness and its noted anti-inflammatory effects.

"The Cobber Challenge will also provide useful data to help us continue to refine our diets so that working dogs can run harder for longer.”