Good idea I dont know why I didn't think of that before. Think the week of I'll add some water to his food.
Recovery
- Thread starter George
- Start date
westksbowhunter
Well-known member
I always add water to my dogs food during hunting season and do it the entire season. About 2 cups of water. Let it set 5 minutes before giving it to them. Also, I feel it is important to feed one time a day versus. Dogs digest food much differently than humans.
Yea I normally feed twice a day during the offseason, but during the season I switch to once a day during the evening.
Munster927
Well-known member
One trick I do after a hunt is mix in wet food with their dry food. Purina Benefit has small cans of food (3 oz I think) that I'll mix in at the end of the day. My dogs can be finicky about eating at the end of a hunt for whatever reason, mixing a can of that in makes them eat better.
gimruis
Well-known member
My dog turned 10 last February. She is in fine shape for a 10 year old lab, but she still has limits and I have seen that limit wane over time, especially the last couple years. The first time I take her hunting (usually in mid-November), she is noticeably sore and tired the following day or two. Every time after that, there is an improvement in her recovery time.
I need to start preparing her better and more often in advance of that first hunt of the season. Additionally, I also need to give her days off in between hunts. I've never been much of a back to back hunt kind of guy since I prefer to give my spots several days or a week off before I hunt them again anyways.
Heat generally isn't an issue here when I start hunting in November either. Our season opens in October, but I haven't hunted before mid November in a decade because of the warm temps and standing crops anyways.
I need to start preparing her better and more often in advance of that first hunt of the season. Additionally, I also need to give her days off in between hunts. I've never been much of a back to back hunt kind of guy since I prefer to give my spots several days or a week off before I hunt them again anyways.
Heat generally isn't an issue here when I start hunting in November either. Our season opens in October, but I haven't hunted before mid November in a decade because of the warm temps and standing crops anyways.
Straightup82
Active member
A couple of thoughts. Dogs get their energy from fat. Move to a food that is above 20% fat and at least 30% protein. If you put your dogs on the ground day after day and for more than 3+ hours a day, they get depleted in a hurry. I run pointers and typically have them on the ground 4 days all day before resting a day or more then back into that cycle. High mileage when on the ground and in tough areas of Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska. I’m a believer in Glycocharge. It helps restore the energy dogs use. It works for me. I’ve used for 15 years
BritChaser
Well-known member
my feeding routine for hunting:
1. the evening b4 a day of hunting - let the dog eat all the food it wants
2. the morning of a day of hunting - no food
3. the evening after a day of hunting with no hunting the next day - double rations
4. the evening after a day of hunting with hunting the next day - all it wants to eat
i do not feed snacks, treats, supplements, or anything like that. my dog goes full bore all day. i also feed Purina One which can be found in any Walmart or food store so as to avoid a sudden change in diet which can be difficult for the dog.
1. the evening b4 a day of hunting - let the dog eat all the food it wants
2. the morning of a day of hunting - no food
3. the evening after a day of hunting with no hunting the next day - double rations
4. the evening after a day of hunting with hunting the next day - all it wants to eat
i do not feed snacks, treats, supplements, or anything like that. my dog goes full bore all day. i also feed Purina One which can be found in any Walmart or food store so as to avoid a sudden change in diet which can be difficult for the dog.
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dakotasj
Well-known member
BritChaser -- My routine is a little different.
For as long as I can remember I've been concerned about twisted stomach (bloat or Gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV). It's rare but I've been told very dangerous, can be deadly for dogs and one of the causes is extreme exercise immediately before or after eating.
Its more common in deep chested dogs. Setters, Brits, etc.
To avoid the possibility, my routine when hunting my dogs is to feed some more than they get at home, judging by how hard their day was.
Mornings I let the dogs do their business then feed about 3 hours before I hunt. Plenty of water but not with the dry food and not all at once. I do wet it a little with wet food. May split it into 2 feeds 30 minutes apart if they are eating too fast.
Evenings they cool off for about 3 hours before I feed, and I split the evening meal into 2 feeds, half each time separated by 30 minutes or, so they don't fill up too fast.
I'd be interested to see what others think.
Munster927
Well-known member
This is pretty much my routine as well. Non hunting season (or during the week when I'm not hunting) they get fed once in the morning and once at night. But on a hunt, they only eat in the evening. Mornings they don't get anything to avoid any stomach twist.
westksbowhunter
Well-known member
It takes a dog 12 hours to digest food. Feeding 3 hours before you hunt does nothing for the dog. There is a reason sled dog racers feed their dogs early in the evening to give them as much opportunity as possible to digest their food before the morning run.
westksbowhunter
Well-known member
Dog Feeding Strategies for a Hunting Day
How you feed your hard-working hunting dog leading up to, during and after a hunt is critical for top performance
pheasantsforever.org
westksbowhunter
Well-known member
Best Time to Feed a Hunting Dog
When it comes to hunting dogs, it’s important to make sure they are fed the night before heading out to hunt. This gives the dog food about 12 hours to be digested. The reason we do this is to meet the dog’s nutritional needs for energy to retrieve, stay warm and to perform at his best.
www.mossyoak.com
Munster927
Well-known member
Agree with the above. Since dogs get their energy from fat (and not calories like us) the food they eat needs to digest and become turned into fat for them to burn. That meal 3 hours before a hunt isn't getting used as energy until the next day at minimum. That days hunt your dog is relying on the food it ate yesterday or even the day before.
Quailnerd
Well-known member
I agree completely, I’ve also never understood adding a different food to the routine when they need to be at peak performance. Unless you do this on a regular basis it could create upset stomach=diarrhea =further dehydration.
Feed my dogs in evening all year long increasing according to activity level. Could never figure the need to feed twice a day
GetTothePoint
Well-known member
Paralysis by analysis. I've fed my dogs whatever is the cheapest that I can keep them in good condition with. I have hunted them hard for multiple days in a row for years and never have fed a supplement in my life. I've never felt my dogs lacked any steam or fall off on long trips. To each their own I guess just relaying my experience, I feed a 24/20 from orscheln that runs $32/bag and I still think that's too high lol.
A5 Sweet 16
Well-known member
How old is he & what "issues" were you seeing? 3 days of hunting isn't terribly much, but it's still significant & you should expect to see an impact of some sort on your dog.
And define "good shape". There's a big difference between being in decent shape & being in "hunting form". My dog's in good shape all year, but it still takes several hunts (cooler weather helps too) before he starts to get back into true hunting form, where he can hunt hard for a few hours, multiple days, & seem like it doesn't phase him (while hunting anyway). That said, at night after hunting, he's still pretty wiped out, which is normal. If your dog is middle-aged or older & seems stiff/sore in the evening &/or morning, here's something that's helped me in the past. Aspirin in the morning before hunting & in the evening afterward. Buffered. 5-10 mg per pound of body weight. (Always best to consult your vet.) That can really help with general sluggishness.
I've had great luck w/ PPP 30/20. Plenty of water while hunting is key, especially in warm weather. But if we're going to start hunting at 10:00 (SD shooting time), Ace doesn't get breakfast. He's really excited about his breakfast though, so I'll give him a little bit just to take the edge off & let him know I still love him. Much of the season though, we don't hunt until 2:00, 3:00, or sometimes even later. So he'll get kind of a medium-light breakfast those days. Evening meals are big enough to offset anything he was denied that morning, and then some. When I first learned about not feeding in the morning before hunting, it made a small but noticeable difference in my dog's energy level during hunting. It increased.
Golden Hour
Well-known member
Some good advice here and most of it echoes my thoughts. I start hunting doves and ducks/geese well before pheasant season starts. But that first day of resident opener when it's 75 degrees and a wily rooster leads us on a 300 yard track is tough on any dog. Conditioning and water and never be afraid to rest. Some of my favorite moments in the field are those few minutes when I kneel down with Sage and just take it all in.
Gus just turned 6, last year was the first time heading out to South Dakota. Hunted 3 days which is the most that he has done so I think the combination of the amount of days in a row hunting and the warm weather may have taken a good chunk of his energy. First day it was 60 and the final 2 were up in the 70's this was beginning of November. He was fine that first day and hunted hard like he normally does, but that second day i could tell he was lagging a bit. I think It was my fault for putting too much on him and not doing my part prior to the hunts.