Wondering about additional calories during hunting season

B

Bob Peters

Well-known member
I hunt with a field golden, she is 5.5 years old. I am a working stiff and lots of hunts are weekends or days off during the week. Often we hunt a long day because I'm a public land hunter and to be completely honest I've never hit a limit. There was a day in Iowa where we hunted from the opening bell to the close and she hunted great the whole day but was really pooped out for a few days after. My longest hunt as far as consecutive days was in SD and we went 4 days near the end of season. I could tell near the end of day four she was tired, although she still ran hard in the field and made a great retrieve on a rooster right at the closing bell. It depends on the trip, but often it is just her and I and so she doesn't get any days off. I'm cognizant of not burning her up when we go out of town. She lost weight during hunting season, but nothing too drastic and overall stayed really healthy and didn't miss any time in the field. The only time I seen her sit down in the field was when she coursed through a thick patch of cockle burrs and they got in between her paw pads. I pulled them out and she ran hard the rest of the day. Sorry if this was long winded, but do you do anything different with your bird dog as far as nutrition during hunting season? Extra food or nutritional supplements? I've heard so much from feeding the dog hard boiled eggs, canned pumpkin, supplements, extra food, or not changing anything. I know every dog is different so I'm just looking for ideas. Thanks in advance, this is such a great website with lots of great input from experienced dog owners.
 
Myself I make sure to feed a higher fat and protein from about a month prior to hunting season through about a month after the season. 30/20 protein to fat content. I feed Pro Plan during the season and then just a good quality "regular" dog food in the off-season.

Another thing I do while hunting (also a weekend warrior) is I buy cans of wet dog food that I add in to their regular amount of dog food a couple days prior to the hunt. I buy Purina Beneful Medleys. It's a 3 oz can so it's not alot of extra food but my dogs can be finicky with eating so when I want them to eat, I add that into their dry food and they chow down the whole bowl of food.

I also don't feed them the morning of a hunt. But when I get done and feed them after, I feed them their daily portion of dry food and a can of wet food like I mentioned above. I figure it's a good treat for them to have when they work so damn hard all day. They think of it as a treat because they like it and I think of it as a tool to get them to eat because they are finicky eaters and I want them to fuel up after working so hard.

Also, make sure they have plenty of water at night. My dogs are babied and sleep on my bed whether I'm at home or a hotel that allows dogs (I lay down a blanket I bring if I'm in a hotel). Many times I've woken up at night to one or both dogs drinking their hearts out. I think they get so dehydrated hunting even if they're being given water throughout the day, they wake up thirsty as hell. So even if your dog's are kenneled at night, it may be wise to slip a small bowl of water in their kennel in case they wake up thirsty.

A word of caution tho, don't buy big cans of wet food and feed them their regular amount of dry food and a whole can of wet food. It doesn't go well or smell great. Ask me how I know...
 
If you are feeding a quality dog food like ProPlan Sport 30/20 during the hunting season you should not really need to supplement the food. I would just increase the daily ration the day before the hunt, the days of the hunt and the day after the hunt. However, there are times when some kind of supplement is warranted. I have a Brittany that has become Hypoglycemic during cold, wet weather so giving her some extra food or supplement before and during the hunt has helped eliminate the problem. Other than that I only feed once a daily in the late afternoon or early evening.
 
Try adding some extra fat in their food. Dogs use fat more than anything else for sustained energy. Sardines packed in water is high in fat and protein. A tablespoon or two of Olive oil is extra fat. Or simply increase calories especially the night before a big hunt. It all boils down to calories consumed versus calories expended. If you find you need to feed more than say 4 cups/day to maintain might be time to look into a feed with more Kcals/cup.
 
When my dog was hunting hard day after day I would add some liver to his diet. Because I am in the beef business it was easy for me and inexpensive.
 
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