5 Best Dog Foods For Australian Shepherds (Claim Vets)

OUR TOP PICK

Australian Shepherds are energetic, and incredibly active dogs who thrive on exercise and stimulation.

That’s why they need the sort of nutrition that’s been designed to help them to follow their instincts to the letter and prosper no matter what the world throws at them.

And that’s also why they need a protein-rich diet like the one that Nulo’s dry food offers. 

A grain-free dog food that’s packed with up to eighty-five percent protein, all of which comes from the sources that nature intended.

Nulo helps to promote strong muscle growth and maintenance, which are essential to helping any working dog to thoroughly enjoy their life.

Completely free of any and all chicken and egg proteins.

Nulo contains a balanced amount of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids to nourish your Shepherd’s skin and coat and is enriched with their patented probiotics to support healthy digestion.

It’s a one-stop kibble that your Shepherd won’t be able to get enough of, and will help him to stay active and always be happy. Especially when it’s dinner time.

One hundred percent American made.

Nulo is a small, independently owned brand that’s produced solely in Austin, Texas. 

They know that your Shepherd is part of your family, and nothing is more important to them than making sure that your four-legged family member is always fed nothing but the absolute best. 

Pros

• Completely natural, Nulo only uses animal proteins that are ethically sourced and homegrown and raised.
  
  
• Nulo knows what goes into a single bite of their dog food so that you can feed your Shepherd knowing that they’ll be eating only the finest of natural ingredients.
  
  
• Packed with probiotics and fatty acids
  
  
• Nulo is designed to promote good digestion so that your Shepherd can fully absorb all of the nutrients that this kibble contains and will help their skin to stay healthy and keep their coat shiny.
  
  
• Grain, chicken, and egg protein-free if your Shepherd does have any food sensitivities.
  
  
• Nulo is a perfect diet to feed him on. All of the things that usually trigger food sensitivities and allergies aren’t on the Nulo menu.
  
  
• And Nulo, unlike a lot of other protein-rich natural dog foods, is incredibly affordable. 

Cons

• Some long time Nulo devotees swear that the brand must have changed their recipes, as their dogs, who were previously committed to the Nulo cause, have started to turn their noses up at the food they used to love. 

EDITORS CHOICE

Royal Canin Medium Breed Adult Dry Dog Food

No matter how big or small a dog is, Royal Canin has developed a dog food that’s been specially designed to help your dog get the most out of every single day. 

Founded by a veterinarian who was determined to promote pet health through a better diet,

Royal Canin has spent the last fifty years improving, and helping to shape, the lives of dogs all over the world. 

They know that each and every dog is different, which is why every bit of their kibble has been made to fit the size of your Shepherd’s mouth.

And the exclusive design of the kibble has been formulated to encourage your dog to chew it and release every single bit of goodness that each bite contains.

And talking of the goodness that it contains, Royal Canin is a protein-rich food that contains the exact amount of nutrients that your Shepherd needs to thrive.

As well as all of the fatty acids, probiotics, and antioxidants that his skin coat and digestive tract need in order to remain in optimal condition.

If we didn’t know better, we’d swear blind that Royal Canin made this kibble solely for Australian Shepherds.

Royal Canin has built its reputation by making the sort of dog food that owners and their faithful companions both adore.

They care about one thing and one thing only. The health and wellbeing of your dog and every morsel of food that they make prove their unfailing devotion to their cause. 

Pros

• Royal Canin has been purposely designed to appeal to medium-sized dogs and every bite of this kibble has been made to fit medium-sized mouths.
  
  
• A company formed by a vet who believed that the key to better canine health lay in a better diet.
  
  
• Royal Canin has been making the lives of dogs better for the last half a century. That’s the kind of record that any company can be proud of, and any dog owner can get behind.
  
  
• Crammed full of pre and probiotics, antioxidants, and fatty acids, Royal Canin will help your boy to enjoy every second of every day to the absolute fullest.

Cons

• All of the science and expertise that has been utilized to create this formidable kibble comes at a cost and that cost is reassuringly high. But, what does the price matter as long as your boy is healthy and happy? 

BEST VALUE

Hills has a simple philosophy. They believe that all animals should be loved and cared for during their lifetimes

Which is why they made it their core mission to help enrich and lengthen the special relationships between dog owners and their best friends.

Just like their founder, Dr. Mark Morris Snr did, Hills still believe that nutrition is key to helping them fulfill said core mission and that’s why Hill's Science Diet is the primary menu choice of owners and dogs the world over.

A completely natural dog food that uses high-quality, easy to digest ingredients

Hill’s is purpose-designed to fulfill all of the energy requirements of your fully grown Australian Shepherd.

Thanks to using premier proteins, it promotes and aids the development of lean and long muscles

And its precisely balanced vitamin and fatty acid content also helps to keep your dog’s skin healthy and coat shiny.  

Hill’s have also packed their science diet full of natural fibers to make it easy for your Australian Shepherd to digest and reap the benefits of all of the nutrients that are crammed into each and every mouthful of this dry food. 

The number one veterinary recommended diet in the world.

Hill’s is an American made dog food that only uses the finest ingredients from all over the globe.

Committed to sustainability, Hill’s was founded to reinforce the bond that you share with your dog.

Everything that they do is designed to make sure that you can both, you and your Australian Shepherd, make the most of every minute of each and every day that you spend together.

Pros

• Hill’s believes in keeping things natural and following Nature’s example, so the food they make adheres as closely as possible to one that your dog would naturally choose.
  
  
• Their natural approach is bolstered with a little scientific know-how that is used to enrich their dry food with all of the nutrients, vitamins, probiotics, and fatty acids that are added to make your Australian Shepherd’s life even better than it already is. 
  
  
• It’s the number one dietary choice of veterinarians all over the world, which just proves that Hills must be doing something right. After all, that many vets can’t be wrong, can they?

Cons

• It isn’t grain-free, so if your Australian Shepherd does have food allergies, it might be worth having a consultation with your local veterinarian before committing your best friend’s diet entirely to Hills.

RUNNER UP

Canidae Pure Grain Free, Limited Ingredient Dry Dog Food

Canidae take great pride in everything that they do. From the first truckload of dog food that they shipped to the latest batch that’s cooking in their Texas-based kitchen, they’ve rigidly clung to the belief that they can make dog food better. 

Committed to better nutrition, better flavor, and better canine health, this pet food brand was started by pet lovers for pet lovers and has spent the last twenty-five years doing exactly that. Making dog food better.

Using eight simple ingredients, so that you (as well as Canidae) know exactly what’s in every mouthful of their food.

This limited ingredient dry food is packed with premium, clean proteins, antioxidants, and fatty acids to promote the general health and wellbeing of your Australian Shepherd and make sure that every bite tastes better than the last.

Sourcing all of their ingredients with care, Canidae don’t believe in second best, and when it comes to their food don’t believe that you, or your pup, should settle for anything less than the very best.

Thoroughly committed to a sustainable business model and having invested heavily in regenerative agriculture.

By committing to the Canidae dietary cause, you’re not just helping to make your dog’s life better, you’re also helping to save the planet and making the future that little bit brighter. 

Sometimes, you and your pup need to stand and be counted and do the right thing, and feeding your dog the Canidae way is the right thing to do.

Pros

• With a limited ingredient list (eight in total), you’ll always know exactly what you’re putting in your best boy's bowl if you feed him the Canidae way.  Less, in this case at least, really is more. 
  
  
• A completely natural dog food.
  
  
•  Candiae is also grain-free so if your Shepherd is prone to food allergies, it’s a perfect way to keep his sensitivities at bay and make sure that when dinner time comes around, he’s always the first to arrive and the last to leave.
  
  
• Everything Canidae does is done with you, your dog, and the future of the planet in mind.
   
• They are a lean, green forward-thinking machine that believes that your dog’s health, happiness, and well-being comes before everything else.

Cons

• All of that investment in doing things the right way, making tomorrow better for everybody, and making dog food better than it’s ever been comes at a price.

RUNNER UP

Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Natural Adult Dry Dog Food

Everything at Blue Buffalo starts with a simple idea. Love them like family, feed them like family.

That’s why Blue Buffalo only uses high-quality, natural ingredients, and why meat always comes first.

There’s no wheat, corn, or soy in their dog food and they don’t believe in using bulking agents or padding their product with unnecessary fillers.

Blue Buffalo believes that protein should always come first. 

One of the things that no-one ever tells the uninitiated about Australian Shepherds is that, just like all working dogs, they have a high appetite for life.

And their appetite for life includes their appetite for their chow, which means that they have a tendency if it’s unchecked, to pile the pounds on.

Blue Buffalo’s Life Protection has been formulated with reduced calories to make it easy to control your boy’s weight and make sure that he stays lean, trim, and fighting fit.

All of Blue Buffalo’s dry food also includes their patented LifeSource Bits which are a precise blend of vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants created by holistic veterinarians to promote and accentuate health and well-being at every stage of your best friend's life. 

It all started with a promise made to a dog named Blue, and ever since they made that vow

Blue Buffalo has been doing whatever they can to help every dog live their best life possible by creating the tastiest and healthiest dog food they possibly can.

Promises are everything and Blue Buffalo always keeps theirs.

Pros

• If your Australian Shepherd likes to over-indulge at mealtimes, the best way to control their weight is with a diet that has been specifically designed to help them to control the amount of weight that they put on.  
  
  
• As well as being high in protein and refusing to subscribe to the philosophy of using artificial bulking agents.
  
  
•  Blue Buffalo comes packed with LifeSource Bits which make sure that your pal gets all of the vitamins, nutrients, fatty acids, and antioxidants that they need to make the most out of every single day.

Cons

• Some dogs that suffer from food allergies have a hard time digesting Blue Buffalo, so if your boy is bothered by food sensitivities, it might be worth talking to your veterinarian before you begin to feed him on Blue Buffalo. It never hurts to ask.