Feeding Time

4shot

4shot

Well-known member
I listened to a great episode of the On the Wing podcast 254 the other day. Talked about twisted gut and feeding times and wetting down kibble. I started adding water to the food dish and my little guy loves it. I was wondering if others do this too? Also do you guys feed the morning of the hunt or give more food to your dogs during the hunt? Any other philosophies of getting your dog nutrients for the actual day of the hunt or ways you get dog more hydrated.
 
I water the dog food but mainly because my one dog has some trouble swapping dry food so it just helps with that. Other dog doesn’t drink a ton so the wet food also helps get him some extra water. We feed at the end of the day when we are done hunting. Not uncommon after the last bird of the day is killed to put their food bowls out there at the truck and get them fed while I enjoy a cold one and we reminisce on the days activities. Gives them time to eat and process food as early as possible and leads to a good nights sleep for them. At least that is the theory. Have tried the n the last with feeding a partial early in the morning but didn’t like it so we stopped
 
I do not feed in the morning if they are going to be hunting, doing a hunt test or doing a lot of running. I spike their morning water with some soft food to encourage them to drink before the day starts but that's it. I wait at least an hour after hunting before feeding andI float their food in water for hydration. I normally don't feed at the truck.

My dogs aren't big eaters, especially when they are tired. Having a food topper to mix into their kibble and/or water helps. I do add extra food in their food bowls on longer hunts.
 
if morning hunt no food in the morning. Extra the night before. Will grab dog a burger on way home. If afternoon hunt I’ll feed normal amount in the morning. I don’t put water in food, just something I don’t do I guess.

When return home from hunt I make sure dog is relaxed and then I split the meal in two. Give a little break in between.
 
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No food in the morning for my dogs on the day of a hunt either. One thing I've tried (with mixed results) is spiking their water in the morning with a splash of Gatorade. Just a couple drops to give it some taste to make them want to hydrate up. Sometimes they drink a bunch, other times no more than usual.

At the end of the day I'll feed them as soon as I get back and mix in a food topper. My dogs have usually been finicky eaters after a hunt so if I don't mix in something good, a lot of times they won't want to eat and just want to crash.
 
Feed as normal if I can feed them at least 2 hrs before the start of a hunt. If less time before starting the hunt, I'll feed half. In both instances I offer a large handful of food every couple-few hours throughout the day. Water every time we're at the truck and occasionally in the field. With MN being a 9am start, I'll feed at 6 when we leave the house and by the time we get to where we're going and get to legal hours they've had plenty of time to process the food from the stomach.

I have worked or hunted many times dehydrated and without eating prior or during and it is not fun. Dogs are tougher than I am but the science behind energy and hydration doesn't change between the two species. Need to have food to have energy and prevent crashing, and need to have water to keep the body in nutrient balance.
 
MNMEAD said:
have worked or hunted many times dehydrated and without eating prior or during and it is not fun. Dogs are tougher than I am but the science behind energy and hydration doesn't change between the two species. Need to have food to have energy and prevent crashing, and need to have water to keep the body in nutrient balance.
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Dogs are actually built differently than us. Dogs get 80-90% of their energy from fat, not calories. Which is why premium dog food has a high fat content. Whereas humans get the bulk of our energy from calories. Imagine if you ate a diet that consisted of 25% fat haha

With this, a dog going hunting today is using energy from a meal yesterday or more likely 2-3 days ago as their bodies take the carbs and fat from food and convert to energy. Humans take the calories from a meal this morning and are using that energy this afternoon.

So while you're dog may be hungry in the morning, biologically speaking, they don't need that energy to go hunting that day. Absolutely feed however has been working for you, not saying you should or need to change feed habits, but it's not a requirement for dogs to eat the morning or a hard hunt, again biologically speaking.
 
My dogs aren't big eaters either. After a hunt/hike, I take their normal serving of food, add the k9 athlete supplements which is powder, float that so the powder is dissolved. Then add a full can of wet dog food on top to make it more appetizing to them. They seem to recover very well the next day with that combo.

I don't do any food in morning, only some treats here and there. As mentioned, dogs use more of the previous days fat for energy rather than carbs from the current day. It's basically a keto diet which humans can be on as well, but tasty carbs are tasty.
 
Munster your spot on to what the vets said in the podcast I listened to. It got me thinking about prepping the dog days before the hunt. Getting the dog hydrated and water helping with the digestion of the food. They were not big fans of feeding dogs before intense activity with the fear of twisted gut. I feel like a lot of the ways and routines we have with our pups are not necessarily life and death but with some small changes can really create some difference in performance.
 
4shot said:
Munster your spot on to what the vets said in the podcast I listened to. It got me thinking about prepping the dog days before the hunt. Getting the dog hydrated and water helping with the digestion of the food. They were not big fans of feeding dogs before intense activity with the fear of twisted gut. I feel like a lot of the ways and routines we have with our pups are not necessarily life and death but with some small changes can really create some difference in performance.
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I feed my dogs in the evening all year long wether hunting or not I usually float the kibble in water mainly to slow them down from wolfing the food
Have heard that morning feeding could cause stomach problems when hunting
 
Citori16 said:
I feed my dogs in the evening all year long wether hunting or not I usually float the kibble in water mainly to slow them down from wolfing the food
Have heard that morning feeding could cause stomach problems when hunting
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I’m considering switching to once a day in the evening year around. Seems simpler
 
Springer22 said:
I’m considering switching to once a day in the evening year around. Seems simpler
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That's what I do. Been doing it for years on the advice of breeders, field trialers and vets. There has been one exception with my current dog. In cold, snowy and wet weather she has become Hypoglycemic a couple of times. She runs so hard and burns a lot of energy plus burning energy trying to stay warm. On those type of days I do give her a little kibble in the morning topped with Karo syrup a few hours before the hunt. I also carry some honey or Karo syrup with me in case I would see any signs of Hypoglycemia.

As for spiking water to get the dog to drink more, a guy at a field trial told me to add just a little milk to the water to encourage drinking.
 
Dakotazeb said:
That's what I do. Been doing it for years on the advice of breeders, field trialers and vets. There has been one exception with my current dog. In cold, snowy and wet weather she has become Hypoglycemic a couple of times. She runs so hard and burns a lot of energy plus burning energy trying to stay warm. On those type of days I do give her a little kibble in the morning topped with Karo syrup a few hours before the hunt. I also carry some honey or Karo syrup with me in case I would see any signs of Hypoglycemia.

As for spiking water to get the dog to drink more, a guy at a field trial told me to add just a little milk to the water to encourage drinking.
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Same here, I feed once a day year round in the evening with water in the kibble. Good tip on the honey, I snag a few packets from the condiment section of a restaurant for easy packing. I got caught too far from the truck this year on a day that turned hot, dog started to loose balance and coordination. That honey made a huge difference and he got to the point where he could walk out at heal. Damn scary situation!
 
Nice to hear most feed post hunt. Big chested retriever type dogs are prone to gut twist on morning feedings. Make sure to water them a couple hours prior to hunt , to allow the moisture uptake thru stomach., thru kidneys and bladder. You do Not Want To Water heavily right before leaving the truck on a hunt . Some canned tuna in drinking water , like an ounce or two can help water load an excited dog. A big load of water can twist a gut if recently drank!!!
 
I run labs which seem prone to twisted gut, but thankfully we are now on our 6th generation and have never had a problem, not that it can't happen. I do only feed a small amount the morning I hunt and then add to the evening feeding "just in case". I don't try to overload my dogs with water just before they hunt, but I do allow them to drink. I hunt upland game almost exclusively anymore and find carrying enough water for two labs is tough. Some days a single hunt will last 4 hours or more in dry and often warm conditions. Without water, they are done pretty quickly so I suck it up and load my vest with water. At least it gets lighter as the hunt stretches on!
 
I run GSP's and feed them around 6:00 pm. I feed dry kibble on flat cake pans. They have to chase the food around and can't get big mouthfuls of food. On the day of the hunt, I will give them peanut butter bars to keep energy up. Water as much as they want.
 
I feed extra before a day of hunting. If it's a full day of hunting, I let the dog eat all it wants the evening before But nothing the morning of a hunt. Always put water on it per the vet's recommendation.
 
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