A PASSION for breeding ‘all-round’ working dogs that can perform in any situation has proven to be a winning formula for Kevin and Kay Howell, with their Karana Kelpie stud acknowledged as one of the most successful in the breed’s history.

Over three decades, Karana has amassed more than 200 wins in yard and utility trials, including 10 national championships and 13 runners-up. In 2001, three different Karana dogs were placed first, second and third in the Australian Yard Dog Championship, a feat not achieved before or since.

Like all champion breeders, Kevin and Kay pay close attention to their dogs’ diet and are staunch advocates of the COPRICE WORKING DOG LIFE STAGE range. Made with real beef or chicken, Australian whole-grain rice, cereals, vegetables and added nutrients, these quality rations are scientifically-formulated to meet the dietary requirements of working dogs at three critical stages of their life.

“One of the most common questions I get asked is, ‘How do I get the best performance from my dog?’,” Kevin says. “The answer is simple: working dogs need to be fit and strong to work day-in, day-out in all types of situations.

“To do this, they need to be fed properly. A racehorse is not going to perform well if it’s not fed well. Sheep and cattle don’t look good at the sale yards if they’re not fed well. It’s the same with your dogs. If they haven’t got proper nutrition, then they can’t perform at their peak.”

Growing pups up to 18 months of age are fed COPRICE WORKING DOG PUPPY, which provides extra nourishment needed for optimal bone, muscle and brain development to prepare them for a life of hard work.

“The pups really like it,” Kevin says. “They do well on it, they look good and their stools are firm and dark in colour. I reckon there are three indicators of good health: the brightness of their eyes; the softness and the shine in their coat; and the firmness of their stools.”

Kevin also feeds COPRICE WORKING DOG PUPPY to bitches before joining and throughout pregnancy and lactation. He has noticed a marked improvement in litter size, lactation rate and pup health.

“As soon as my bitches came on season, I started them on COPRICE PUPPY FOOD and fed the puppy food right through until they reared their pups,” he says. “They’ve gone from having four and five and six pups in each litter to having eights and tens, so it certainly works.”

All working and trial dogs are fed COPRICE WORKING DOG ADULT, which provides a rich source of protein, fat, energy, electrolytes and antioxidants to maintain strength, stamina and alertness throughout the day. 

“With ADULT, I know the dogs are getting exactly what they need and they’re going to be able to perform the long hours of work because they’ve got plenty of energy stored up their bodies and their recovery is going to be a lot quicker,” Kevin says.

Senior or retired dogs over seven years of age are fed COPRICE WORKING DOG SENIOR, a unique formulation that contains quality proteins and other nutrients to help maintain muscle, bones, cartilage, joints and general condition.

“Older dogs are inclined to run too fat because they’re not doing as much,” Kevin says. “SENIOR is lower in fat and a little bit lower in protein than the other rations. The other good thing about it is that it’s got high glucosamine levels, which is good for the joints.

“My old dog, Duke, is 17 years old. He was very stiff and didn’t look well at all. We put him on SENIOR about six months ago and within a week he looked like a different dog. Even our dog sitter asked us what we’d done to Duke because suddenly he wanted to play! It really is an amazing product.”

Kevin says it’s important to feed your dog according to its size, age and workload. As a rule of thumb, he recommends one cup – or 110 grams – a day for each 10 kg of bodyweight . . . and then one extra cup for dogs that are working extra hard.

“Feed your dogs to keep them in a good healthy condition,” he says. “I like to think that you can just see the last two ribs through their skin – just a slight wave in their skin of where their ribs are. If you can’t see the last two ribs, they are too fat, but if you can see more than two ribs, they’re too thin.”

Need more info on the nutritional break down for each product? You can find that here - https://coprice.com.au/products/dog/

Or you can check out some more information on our adult formulation here -