rest before a hunt?

[naperdog]

Does everyone usually give their dog any rest days before a hunt? We are finally going out for the first time of the year Friday. I plan on running Kona tonight, but how about tomorrow and thursday? Thanks for your input!

[hpvizslas]

Naper,

Not that I know what I am doing but I don't usually rest my dogs before a hunt. I try to keep them in good condition throughout the year, so they are ready to go when season opens. I will let them take it easy after the season is over but they are normally ready to go whenever I am. By the evening they are ready to crash but the next morning they are ready to get back at it. My oldest dog is a little slower getting up but once she stretches out, she is back to herself. I would make sure that the dog has been checked by a vet, given the ok, and then keep them in shape and ready to go.

Good luck and Happy Hunting.

[BigShooter]

If you are working your dogs so hard they are stiff in the mornings and have kind of a hard time getting loosened up then you should back off a couple of days before you go hunting. I doubt there are very many people that have that situation. If they get up fine each morning and are rarin' to go then they don't need any days off before you head out. JMO

[big steve46]

I have to get a lot of rest before and after a hunt, but my dog is always ready.

[BigShooter]

big steve,

I don't need much rest before hand and even have driven through the night and gone straight out hunting but after hunting, I like a couple of days of lighter than normal activity.

[Sharon]

Actually, for dogs and people they are supposed to have a day of rest after any hard work out - conditioned or not. Muscles need that day to heal. If they don't get that day off, the chance of a muscle injury increases. Athletes who train every day, work out a different set of muscles then the day before.

Not very practical for dogs going on a week's hunting trip, I know, but those are the facts when it comes to muscles.

[BigShooter]

Good point Sharon but maybe we almost need to talk about hours - not days. Sunset is 6:17 PM right now & sunrise is 8:06 am. If you exercise your dog right up until sunset one day & then were hunting afield at 1/2 before sunrise @ 7:36 am the next day the dog would have about 13 1/2 hours of rest. That's not much time after a hard workout. On the other hand if you exercise your dog in the mornings there are typically at least 24 hours before the next day's hunt. Many people like me travel on Friday afternoon & evening to where we will be hunting so our dogs could never be exercised less than 24 hours before hunting.

Severity of exercise, conditioning & nutrition affect time of recovery. IMO an hour of free running the night before would affect most working dogs very little the next day compared with resistance roading the dog for 1 1/2 hours. Like I said before it's kind of common sense. With a dog's exercise regimen what you're monitoring is how the dog is doing the next time you take it out. Whatever length of time is needed before the dog is rarin' to go again during the regular exercise program you have in place is the yardstick you use for the rest period needed before you head out hunting.

[Shadow]

Actually, for dogs and people they are supposed to have a day of rest after any hard work out - conditioned or not. Muscles need that day to heal. If they don't get that day off, the chance of a muscle injury increases. Athletes who train every day, work out a different set of muscles then the day before.

Not very practical for dogs going on a week's hunting trip, I know, but those are the facts when it comes to muscles.

we had a family gathering in South Lake Tahoe- ski trip- one brother and his wife said they must rest one day to ski two- meaning the wear and tear was so great that they couldn't ski two days in a row- and that's how they had been doing it for a couple years -I laughed- skied 4 days running- and I hadn't been on skiis in 26 years

[Sharon]

You missed a vital sentence in my post. I didn't say you couldn't go full out every day, a dog can go everyday too , BUT I said you increase the chance of injury as you have not allowed the muscles to heal.

Your relatives obviously felt the need for muscle healing and gave their body that chance to heal. Maybe you just didn't hear what your muscles were telling you.

[BigShooter]

It's obvious isn't it, women are better at listening and men are better at ignoring!

[Sharon]

Where's that zipped up mouth icon?

[Shadow]

well- mom got mad at them two- "we wouldn't have taken any of you kids to Colorado if you weren't going to ski every day"-

for 11 years I hunted three days running with my 3 dogs- every weekend of the season- to this day I've never had to take one of mine to the vet for injuries that a long hunt did-

I'm not buying into you can't go all day and then the next

[BigShooter]

Shadow,

For several years I only had one GSP and that dog did all of the work for four hunters. After the second full day of hard hunting she'd usually be stiff in the morning and have to strech out some and walk slowly around the house for a bit before we loaded her up. After the third day sometimes she'd be really stiff & slow to get going. Now once she got in the field she'd hunt all day long with great enthusiasm & energy. After trips she'd need about two full days before getting back to 98%. Probably a third day to get back to 100%. Most of these working dogs will go until they drop. Four or five days straight with only one dog in the field all day long is tough on them. A dog will do it alone but that doesn't mean it's not tougher on a single dog than it is with multiple dogs sharing the duty. Obviously certain hunting conditions are a whole lot harder on a dog than others.

While they can do it without any long term damage that I've ever noticed I'm sure their muscles would recover better if they had rest periods during the day by alternating dogs or between days for any one dog.

[Shadow]

agreed BigShooter- I've just never found it usefull for me or them- agree mine sleep real well after two days- me to- three days- sometimes hard to get up

brother calls it- you go hard and end exausted you and your's did right- you and your's get up the next day to go again you have purpose

I looked at it as- if mine or me are tired and walking like we've had enough- time to quit
I don't look at it as- we need to rest up for a long hunt
also- I'm figuring we'll get into birds and they'll rest on point- and I'll rest while looking at them

[BigShooter]

also- I'm figuring we'll get into birds and they'll rest on point- and I'll rest while looking at them

That one put a smile on my face!