feed after or before train/hunt

[dub113]

Any suggestions on feeding before or after training or hunting in the field..

[Garrison]

Purina did a study and found dogs perform much better if fed once a day and as close to 24 hours before heavy activity as possible. So feed after the dog has cooled down from exercise. If you have to feed before exercise a minimum of two hours is recommended.

[brad27]

My dog has puked up food when I fed her 4 hours before running her. FYI.

[birddogger]

Purina did a study and found dogs perform much better if fed once a day and as close to 24 hours before heavy activity as possible. So feed after the dog has cooled down from exercise. If you have to feed before exercise a minimum of two hours is recommended.

Finally, a study I actually agree with.

My dog has puked up food when I fed her 4 hours before running her. FYI.

Yep, it is not good and can be dangerous IMO.

Charlie

[PntrRookie]

1x a day - at night after the hunt and cool down.

[slistoe]

Once a day at night here.

[Sharon]

How long does it take for a dog to empty his bowels after eating. ? I'm hesitant to feed in the evening , as I don't want to wake up to a mess.

[mcbosco]

How long does it take for a dog to empty his bowels after eating. ? I'm hesitant to feed in the evening , as I don't want to wake up to a mess.

Sharon, lol !!!!!!

[Sharon]

Hey , it's a serious question. I feed at noon so bowels are empty by crate time at night.
I would prefer to feed in the evening but don't a dog crying to go out at 3 in the morning. Serious question Mr. McB.
I'll google it and let you know what they say.

[birddogger]

I feed once in the evening. I know I agreed with the study in a post above because of the general idea, but mine are usually hunted 14 or 15 hrs. after being fed.

Charlie

[Ahumphers91a]

always feed after. There was a post a while back on this. It is more harm than good feeding and watering before any kind of strenuous activity.

[Chaingang]

I will admit that you should not run a dog on a full stomach, but what about one large feeding at night? You would think one large meal e.g (4+ cups at one sitting) would be a lot to digest and cause more digestive upset? I guess it's all in what your dog is used to.

I feed twice a day on non hunting days, on days where hunting I might give ¼ of the days ration 2 hours before and the rest after the hunt. Seems to work for me anyways.

[Karen]

Different dogs are on different feeding schedules (old dog needs more weight/bitch nursing a litter), but we always return to once a day around 5-6 p.m. (when we get home from work).

Sharon, ours empty nearly immediately after they eat, then again their first trip outside in the morning.

Some studies show a correlation between feed + exercise = bloat. Others say there's no correlation between the two. I won't take the chance. No food until exercise is done and the dogs have cooled down (same for the horses actually).

[desertcountrygsp]

Glad to see this post. I too was wondering the same. I have always fed after the hunt but thought about splitting up the feeding. Sounds like I will stay with my late afternoon feeding. Thanks for the info

[Ruffshooter]

[quote="Chaingang"], but what about one large feeding at night? You would think one large meal e.g (4+ cups at one sitting) would be a lot to digest and cause more digestive upset?

Pedators generally only eat one large meal a day or couple days. Our dogs are not too far removed.

I feed once in the evening, they put out side at night for their opportunity and then first thing in the AM.

The only time I have a problem with having to go in the middle of the night is when I eat Chinese food or Longhorns. Oh this is not about me. Sorry.

[northUpland]

The morning of hunt or extended train I do not feed dry kibble. I do however feed one small 2.75oz Natural Balance "roll" to each about 2 hours prior to release. These are the semisoft foods rolls that cost about 99cents. Quickly digestiblity, very high sugar content, and easy to carry. During backcountry or extended hunts I pack in and feed them another roll, especially if very cold when more sporatic feeding is needed. I don't believe in feeding full dry kibble rations before hunts but I also don't believe in running my dogs on completely empty stomachs. I don't really care what Purina or anybody else says. My dogs run with a little moisture in their guts. I feel a small ration of highly digestable food source soaks up stomach acids and aids in maintaining metabolic body temp during digestion(which is critical where we roam which is as cold as a witches tit) I like the Nat Bal rolls. They work for us. Back at camp or home that night a nice big bowl of kibble sets them up for another big day of the same routine above.

[ezzy333]

If you like to do it that way go ahead but the many tests we have run show the dog does not benefit from what you feed an hour or two before running and it does show that an empty stomach and digestive tract is more comfortable for the dog and much better dur to some problems that happen more often when food is in the stomach.

Ezzy

[isonychia]

My dog has always gotten fed in the mornings 1/3 and the rest 2/3 at night. Sometimes he pukes bile if he gets too hungry. Say I decide all of the sudden this weekend with pheasant opener not to feed him until after our full day of hunting, is this too drastic for his system or do you think he will really need more time to adjust? I doubt he will care about food in the field, maybe just a few kibbles in the AM to keep the puke away?

[DogNewbie]

Did you all feed your dogs twice a day as a pup and if so at what age did you start to transition to once a day?

[ezzy333]

I think everyone starts a puppy on 2 or 3 feedings a day but there is no set time to switch to one a day. When I switched I would feed plenty so they had some left that they could finish later and then as they grew they would eat it all when fed. I think probably it was around 10 months to a year. When my dogs aren't hunting I am feeding 2 x a day now but can't really see much difference over 1st per day. I really doubt that your pup is upchucking because it is hungry but if a bite of food helps I would probably continue it but would try to not feed the mornings of an A.M. hunt.

Ezzy

[northUpland]

[quote]the many tests we have run show the dog does not benefit from what you feed an hour or two before running and it does show that an empty stomach and digestive tract is more comfortable for the dog and much better dur to some problems that happen more often when food is in the stomach. [/quote]

Ezzy, I have been looking high and low for the research studies you personally reference as being part of but only find the Purina one in regards. Could you direct me to where I may find the ones you participated in and regularly source here? Thanks.

[mcbosco]

There is nothing wrong with feeding an adult once a day, in fact it simulates starvation and conditions the dog to store as much energy in the liver as possible. That has been accepted science for decades.

The issue is if you have a medium-sized dog how in the world do you (or would you want to) feed 5-6 cups once a day as many people seem to need to??

Northland, your dogs don't eat that much Momentum in one day, do they?

[northUpland]

Heck no. At 588 kcal per cup of Momentum even that would be a daily mouth full. My point was not to argue 1 or 2 a day feeding. That's to each his own dog and situation. I was simply stating that my own belief and experience is that like other endurance athletes my dog(s) do very well with a very small amount of the right type of food(semimoist/high glucose) in their stomach during PROLONGED activity. I just got back this afternoon from a 6+ hour hunt that started at 7:30am w/ the same dog. It was 25degrees and we were hunting the backside of public marsh edges. Sharp 20knot wind. Wet, cold and a ton of tough, worthwhile miles. I asked my pointer on the walk back to the truck if he was happy to have a little wood in the furnace. He said...yep.