Dog feeding

[birdshooter]

As I said, I do what has been working well for me.

Hunting is not trialing, nor is it training.

Correct, call it what you will but they are all considered strenuous exercise. Chestle, you sound very much on the defensive here. Glad you are not having issues, but the science is there should you choose to believe it. Chill my man..

As for food in the stomach, Purina also recommends feeding a sports performance bar just 30 minutes before activity.

Course they would, after all they are in the business of selling their products to.

As to an "empty stomach", just how long does it take for a dog's stomach to empty? UC Davis vet school says two hours. So...my dog's stomach is empty when we start to hunt.

False. You need to research that topic a little closer. Individuals may vary but on average dry kibble can take up to 8 to 10 hours to process thru the Upper GI (stomach)

This would conflict with what you posted earlier, would it not?

Actually no it didn't. I stated I USED TO feed a portion 2-3 hours prior. Once I educated myself I stopped feeding before hunting / training/ trialing or what ever term you want to call strenuous exercise.


The whole point of me posting the link that I did was to educate people on "feeding for performance". As it turned out some were thankful of the info as they had no idea there was such a thing.

 

[Hoster05]

good topic. I agree with not feeding in the morning before a hunt but my question is when do you feed on non-hunting days? I have a lab that I run after work each night for 30-45 minutes. If I feed her in the morning her stomach wont be empty by the afternoon run and I obviously don't want to feed her after the run in the evening when shes heated up. If I don't get her running outside at some point during the day she will be jumping from the dinner table onto the drapes trying to get outside!

 

[A5 Sweet 16]

good topic. I agree with not feeding in the morning before a hunt but my question is when do you feed on non-hunting days? I have a lab that I run after work each night for 30-45 minutes. If I feed her in the morning her stomach wont be empty by the afternoon run and I obviously don't want to feed her after the run in the evening when shes heated up. If I don't get her running outside at some point during the day she will be jumping from the dinner table onto the drapes trying to get outside!

Can't just wait for an hour or 2 after your run?

 

[birdshooter]

good topic. I agree with not feeding in the morning before a hunt but my question is when do you feed on non-hunting days? I have a lab that I run after work each night for 30-45 minutes. If I feed her in the morning her stomach wont be empty by the afternoon run and I obviously don't want to feed her after the run in the evening when shes heated up. If I don't get her running outside at some point during the day she will be jumping from the dinner table onto the drapes trying to get outside!

If your not having issues you should be fine.


I would certainly wait at least an hour after running hard or at least until the dog seems back to his or her normal heart rate before feeding dinner though. Don't forget plenty of fresh water !!

 

[Dakotazeb]

Excellent article in the Winter 2018 edition of the Pheasants Forever magazine on feeding strategies for a hunting day. As expected, the article recommended feeding the dog the evening of the hunt and not in the morning. "Feeding the dog an excellent meal the night before an upcoming day of hard hunting allows that food to digest. The protein, fat and calories can become available to burn." Fed in the morning the food will not properly digest and sit in the dog's stomach unavailable for the dog's use.

 

[Dami0101]

I'm trying to figure out if I'd rather have a dog that is food motivated and like I have where they are never interested in their food, makes it hard to give them a little extra the night before a hunt...

 

[westksbowhunter]

Excellent article in the Winter 2018 edition of the Pheasants Forever magazine on feeding strategies for a hunting day. As expected, the article recommended feeding the dog the evening of the hunt and not in the morning. "Feeding the dog an excellent meal the night before an upcoming day of hard hunting allows that food to digest. The protein, fat and calories can become available to burn." Fed in the morning the food will not properly digest and sit in the dog's stomach unavailable for the dog's use.

Read that article tonite.

 

[jackrabbit]

Interesting posts, my lab is now 5.5 years old and I researched this a lot when I got him, but haven't done any research on it since then.
Our routine:Non hunting days, 2 cups at 7 am, and 2 cups again sometime in the evening when time allows.
Hunting days, 3-4 cups the night before. I also put a fair amount of water in his food bowl, forcing him to get hydrated for the following day. Then about 3-4 cups plus water in the evening after the hunt.

After reading some posts in this thread, I will have to do a little more research about putting water in with the food the night before. There was a post on here that heavy water drinking around food time can lead to slowed down digestion of the food and therefore increased stomach problems. My lab does have several runny stools all day long while hunting, but I have no problem with his energy levels or ability to hunt all day for 5 days in a row, so I guess I haven't thought much of it.

 

[birdshooter]

I'm trying to figure out if I'd rather have a dog that is food motivated and like I have where they are never interested in their food, makes it hard to give them a little extra the night before a hunt...

You could top it with some beef or chicken broth to entice him to eat it or even a tin of sardines packed in water. Generally that does the trick for finicky eaters. Makes the whole mess much more attractive.

 

[birdshooter]

Interesting posts, my lab is now 5.5 years old and I researched this a lot when I got him, but haven't done any research on it since then.
Our routine:Non hunting days, 2 cups at 7 am, and 2 cups again sometime in the evening when time allows.
Hunting days, 3-4 cups the night before. I also put a fair amount of water in his food bowl, forcing him to get hydrated for the following day. Then about 3-4 cups plus water in the evening after the hunt.

After reading some posts in this thread, I will have to do a little more research about putting water in with the food the night before. There was a post on here that heavy water drinking around food time can lead to slowed down digestion of the food and therefore increased stomach problems. My lab does have several runny stools all day long while hunting, but I have no problem with his energy levels or ability to hunt all day for 5 days in a row, so I guess I haven't thought much of it.

I always give a little warm water with the kibble. I don't drown it but just moisten it up a bit. They always drink fresh water after their meal. No issues here.

 

[Dakotazeb]

I know a lot of field trialers that put water in with the kibble for added hydration. I've never heard of that causing any problems. My Brittany has become a little picky about eating this past month so I add some hot tap water to the kibble mix it up to form a gravy and she chows it all down.

 

[jonnyB]

Been feeding my Golden the dry stuff for years and I know he tires of it. I mix about a tablespoon of the canned food with gravy and he loves it. When we're hunting for 3-4 day's he gets more of the canned stuff mixed in and inhales all of the food.

 

[westksbowhunter]

Interesting posts, my lab is now 5.5 years old and I researched this a lot when I got him, but haven't done any research on it since then.
Our routine:Non hunting days, 2 cups at 7 am, and 2 cups again sometime in the evening when time allows.
Hunting days, 3-4 cups the night before. I also put a fair amount of water in his food bowl, forcing him to get hydrated for the following day. Then about 3-4 cups plus water in the evening after the hunt.

After reading some posts in this thread, I will have to do a little more research about putting water in with the food the night before. There was a post on here that heavy water drinking around food time can lead to slowed down digestion of the food and therefore increased stomach problems. My lab does have several runny stools all day long while hunting, but I have no problem with his energy levels or ability to hunt all day for 5 days in a row, so I guess I haven't thought much of it.[/ RQUOTE]

4 cups a day on non hunting days, what are you feeding? My male is 91 lbs and only gets 3 cups on non hunting days. I bump him to 4 during the season. Runny stools are generally from a poor quality food or over feeding.

 

[jackrabbit]

Interesting posts, my lab is now 5.5 years old and I researched this a lot when I got him, but haven't done any research on it since then.
Our routine:Non hunting days, 2 cups at 7 am, and 2 cups again sometime in the evening when time allows.
Hunting days, 3-4 cups the night before. I also put a fair amount of water in his food bowl, forcing him to get hydrated for the following day. Then about 3-4 cups plus water in the evening after the hunt.

After reading some posts in this thread, I will have to do a little more research about putting water in with the food the night before. There was a post on here that heavy water drinking around food time can lead to slowed down digestion of the food and therefore increased stomach problems. My lab does have several runny stools all day long while hunting, but I have no problem with his energy levels or ability to hunt all day for 5 days in a row, so I guess I haven't thought much of it.[/ RQUOTE]

4 cups a day on non hunting days, what are you feeding? My male is 91 lbs and only gets 3 cups on non hunting days. I bump him to 4 during the season. Runny stools are generally from a poor quality food or over feeding.

I feed Diamond Premium Adult, linked here https://www.diamondpet.com/our-brands/diamond/premium-adult/ . My 5.5 year old male lab is about 75-80 lbs and in great shape and well built, stomach tucked up, ribs slightly showing. Once he was off of puppy food, this is the only food that he has been on his entire life and about the same amount his entire life too.

 

[Toad]

Interesting posts, my lab is now 5.5 years old and I researched this a lot when I got him, but haven't done any research on it since then.
Our routine:Non hunting days, 2 cups at 7 am, and 2 cups again sometime in the evening when time allows.
Hunting days, 3-4 cups the night before. I also put a fair amount of water in his food bowl, forcing him to get hydrated for the following day. Then about 3-4 cups plus water in the evening after the hunt.

After reading some posts in this thread, I will have to do a little more research about putting water in with the food the night before. There was a post on here that heavy water drinking around food time can lead to slowed down digestion of the food and therefore increased stomach problems. My lab does have several runny stools all day long while hunting, but I have no problem with his energy levels or ability to hunt all day for 5 days in a row, so I guess I haven't thought much of it.[/ RQUOTE]

4 cups a day on non hunting days, what are you feeding? My male is 91 lbs and only gets 3 cups on non hunting days. I bump him to 4 during the season. Runny stools are generally from a poor quality food or over feeding.

FWIW, I have fed my dogs once per day for as long as I can remember. Always in the evening on days when we will hunt or run, and always waited for a few hours after running them also. So I would safely say they have always been fed 12+ hours before hunting, and not less than 3 hours after hunting. I never mixed in any water with the food, but my dogs always have access to water.

My golden would ALWAYS crap until his guts were dry on every hunt. It was a guarantee that he would have one normal BM almost immediately in the field, and then he would have multiple quick squirts and failed BM attempts until he knew his system was completely empty. This all took place in the first 15-20 minutes of running.

I'm 99% sure it was just the excitement of hunting. He was totally normal at home, but he would make at least 5-6 attempts to poop in the first field, and then he was good to go for the rest of the day. I don't think there was anything wrong with his digestion, I think it was all just because he was an intense dog. I think he would get super wound-up in the first field, and his body's natural reaction was to purge the system. After 1/4 mile into the first field, he never tried to go the rest of the day.