Feeding and Hunting

[laxhcky4]

For all of you who feed twice a day, what do you do when you are out hunting? Do you still feed them in the morning or do you switch and only feed at night?

[Will]

I don't feed if they won't get a full 2 hours after eating before the hunt. I'll feed them an hour afterwards then just give the other feeding as late as I can. Most typically both meals are simply delayed.

[Doc E]

It takes a dog 12 to 16 hours to fully pass a meal through it's entire system.
We feed twice a day. If the dogs aren't going to be working much, they get equal amounts at both feedings.
If they are going to be hunting or training hard, they get 1/3 in the morning and 2/3 in the evening.



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[Ghosted3]

If the dogs aren't going to be working much, they get equal amounts at both feedings.
If they are going to be hunting or training hard, they get 1/3 in the morning and 2/3 in the evening.

That is my plan as well.

Corry

[brad27]

During the week I train in the evenings and feed twice a day. On the weekends, I train in the morning and feed once a day at night. Never had a problem.

[Angus]

I feed twice a day every day. I feed less in the morning than I do in teh evening all year. Haven't had any issues related to the feeding schedule. I think it is more based on teh dog than anything. Some are fine, and some aren't.

[RoostersMom]

I feed once a day - not sure if it's good or bad but all the literature I read says a dog should be fed at the end of a hunt as soon as possible (of course keeping in mind bloat issues) so that it can have those calories available the next day. I don't ever feed a dog in the morning or before a hunt - heard too many stories about issue arising from dogs hunting with full stomachs.

"Arleigh Reynolds recommends that intensely exercising dogs be fed approximately 24 hours before an intense exercise bout to help alleviate problems associated with a full colon. If the sporting activity in which they are participating is a multiple day event, then dogs should be fed as soon after exercise as possible so that they have the maximum amount of time to digest the meal before the next exercise bout."

Performance dog feeding: Arleigh Reynolds, DVM, PhD, DACVN

[laxhcky4]

Thanks, I currently feed twice a day and when I"m hunting feed less in the morning and then more in the evening. Was just wondering if anyone was doing anything different!

[ezzy333]

Thanks, I currently feed twice a day and when I"m hunting feed less in the morning and then more in the evening. Was just wondering if anyone was doing anything different!

I don't feed in the morning if they are going to worked hard.

Ezzy

[Qwernt]

Usually I feed twice a day. My hunting generally breaks down into two kinds of hunts: Daily, Special.

Last season, I fed Momo in the morning, normal amount regardless of the hunt.
For the daily hunt: After she eats, it is a 20 minute drive, 1 to 1.5 hour hunt, back home to rest. Basically the same as any other day of the year, just different field and I carry a gun.
For the special hunt: After she eats, drive 1 hour to hunt spot. Worker her hard for 4 hours or so, and feed her 1/2 normal meal and an hour rest and the work her hard 4 more hours.

I give water all day on the special hunt trips and she will still find ditches to swim/drink from (live in the northwest, special hunt high desert farm community so it is a bit hotter and dryer than she is used to).

Granted, only 1 year of hunting with her, but she doesn't seem to have any problems with running all day when I took this approach. On the other hand, I remember an English Pointer swallowing a rooster pheasant whole in the middle of the hunt one day - he was just plain hungry.

[ezzy333]

Usually I feed twice a day. My hunting generally breaks down into two kinds of hunts: Daily, Special.

Last season, I fed Momo in the morning, normal amount regardless of the hunt.
For the daily hunt: After she eats, it is a 20 minute drive, 1 to 1.5 hour hunt, back home to rest. Basically the same as any other day of the year, just different field and I carry a gun.
For the special hunt: After she eats, drive 1 hour to hunt spot. Worker her hard for 4 hours or so, and feed her 1/2 normal meal and an hour rest and the work her hard 4 more hours.

I give water all day on the special hunt trips and she will still find ditches to swim/drink from (live in the northwest, special hunt high desert farm community so it is a bit hotter and dryer than she is used to).

Granted, only 1 year of hunting with her, but she doesn't seem to have any problems with running all day when I took this approach. On the other hand, I remember an English Pointer swallowing a rooster pheasant whole in the middle of the hunt one day - he was just plain hungry.

He didn't swallow a pheasant whole or because he was hungry I am sure. I' have seen dogs try to eat them rather than give them up to you.

There are no animals I know of that can work hard on a full stomach or a full intestine. That is why a dog will always stop and eliminate when you first hit the field. But more importantly you are putting your pup at risk if it's stomach or intestine is full and heavy. It is the weight that gets them in trouble, and this includes us, people. Even with our pigeons we do not feed them for at least the last 24 hours be fore they fly. and if you do it will show immediately in their speed and stamina. Same with our dogs, race horses, or any other animal. That is why wolves never hunt till they are empty and hungry. Plus what you feed will not digest and help provide energy for quite a few hours after being eaten. Today's energy comes from yesterday's feed.


Ezzy

[laxhcky4]

ezzy - I think what you wrote makes sense. Do you typically feed twice a day? I feed twice a day right now and wondering if I should go to once a day during the hunting season.

From there I have two options, feed once a day throughout the whole season or just once a day when I'm on hunting trips which is basically every weekend. Thoughts?

[ezzy333]

I would probably opt for feeding omce a day.. Thats all I ever fed for years but in recent times a started feeding a small amount in the morning. The other thing to think about is we seldom ask our dogs to work hard so we many times get by with the ewice a day feeding and then we think there is nothing to the cautionary procedures recommended for good reason.

I would be tempted to say do it on a regular basis till after hunting season then go back if you want.

Ezzy

[smoothbean]

This is another one of those topics that you will get alot answers according to the way the old timers did it so that is how everyone should do it and can ruffle some feathers when you get replies as to someone doing it different
I I feed twice a day. Never have any problems. I don't feed and then turn them loose to hunt of course. You will find that some dogs need to eat due to blood sugar issues.
I have heard the stories but don't know of any one personally that has had a problem.
I think that the quality of the food we feed (or could feed) is good enough now that we don't (or wouldn't need to) feed such large quantities that may cause these problems.
Ezzy I have heard of other people that don't feed their pigeons before they fly them. From what I understand it was to get them home to the food faster not because they will twist a gut.
I had a guy tell me story of a dog ( I won't name the breed to save that feud ) that he and his father were hunting that ate several birds at the beginning of a hunt until he was full then hunted and retrieved great the rest of the day. Call it hunger, bad force breaking or what you want but that is the way it went.

[ezzy333]

This is another one of those topics that you will get alot answers according to the way the old timers did it so that is how everyone should do it and can ruffle some feathers when you get replies as to someone doing it different
I I feed twice a day. Never have any problems. I don't feed and then turn them loose to hunt of course. You will find that some dogs need to eat due to blood sugar issues.
I have heard the stories but don't know of any one personally that has had a problem.
I think that the quality of the food we feed (or could feed) is good enough now that we don't (or wouldn't need to) feed such large quantities that may cause these problems.
Ezzy I have heard of other people that don't feed their pigeons before they fly them. From what I understand it was to get them home to the food faster not because they will twist a gut.
I had a guy tell me story of a dog ( I won't name the breed to save that feud ) that he and his father were hunting that ate several birds at the beginning of a hunt until he was full then hunted and retrieved great the rest of the day. Call it hunger, bad force breaking or what you want but that is the way it went.

We don't have a problem with twisted gut in birds but they do have the same problem we all have and that is a full digestive system means they have to drink a great deal more to stay hydrated. As far as flying home faster to get fed, not enough evidence that is true but it does help to get them to trap when they do get home rather than sit on the roof and preen themselves. And we do know any extra weight will absolutely slow them down and tire them rapidly. Pretty much the same as with our dogs

As far as the old timers way you speak of, I know there can be some truth to that but that is not the case with this problem as the withholding feed is a new remedy and not something we did years ago.

Ezzy

[Qwernt]

He didn't swallow a pheasant whole or because he was hungry I am sure. I' have seen dogs try to eat them rather than give them up to you.
...
Ezzy

I will not argue with your advice regarding feeding before hunting as you are probably correct. In fact I will probably change around her feeding pattern during the season, at least I will get it closer to how I ate before running in high school (percentages of diet, carb distribution, etc).

However, Ezzy, with all due respect (and I have great respect for your experience and knowledge and generally take your comments as a word from the wise) you weren't there when Duke the English Pointer swallowed the young rooster whole, I was, so please don't tell me what I saw wasn't what I saw. And it wasn't related to "eat them rather than give them up" - I know what that looks like, Momo (my French britt) has tried to pull that one on me. I do admit the thought that it was because he was hungry was conjecture by all present.
It happened thusly: We had finished a field, dogs and guns in the back of the truck moving to the next field. As we bumped along, Duke reached down and grabbed a young rooster from the pickup bed and before my uncle could grab him or it (the truck was moving slowly already so it wasn't simple to move quickly) down the hatch the bird went head first (well really neck first the head was tilted to the side). I still chuckle at the memory of the Pointer sitting there with tail feathers coming out of his mouth for a couple of blinks of the eye. To be fair it was, as I said, a young, fairly small bird. However, it wasn't your typical chew on it/destroy it first then consume; it was just: grab, tilt the head back and gag it down (wolf it down is a very accurate description). Didn't seem to have much ill effect beyond one less bird for the pot, and made for great conversation for a number of years.

[ezzy333]

I shouldn't have posted that but I just have never seen a dog that could get something that size down their gullet or through the digestive tract. When you look at the size of my dogs collars I am not sure you could get it through the opening on them.

Ezzy

[Qwernt]

No harm and no offense. And don't worry, the 5 or 6 of is in the back of the pickup were a bit shocked too.

Back to the subject:
My current plan: move 80% of food to evening feed, find a little pick me up for lunch snack (something similar to runners gel - but for dogs... maybe just a little peanut butter).

[roaniecowpony]

Just my experience and advice of Hickox as well as many other long time trainers...don't feed the morning of strenuous training or hunting.

I've had my dogs get the runs from feeding in the morning. Moreover, it elevates the temperature of the dog in order to digest the food it has consumed. There's actual test data on that.

I normally feed twice a day around the house, once in the morning and once in the evenings. When hunting days arrive, I feed only in the evenings, often an hour after hunting and then a second portion an hour or two later. I've had good luck with this schedule.

As for energy during the hunting day, I highly recommend you look into glycogen supplements. Cornell Univ, Purina, and many other respected orgs have done studies on glycogen supplements (canine and human) and confirm it works to restore energy. I use one brand, Elements Nutrition R, but there are others. I don't feed during the hunt day due to the effect of elevating temperature in the dog. I want to give my dogs the best chance to perform and avoid medical issues. I'm no expert, but have read this from those who are and it has shown noticeable improvements to me.

You can find papers on this from Purina and Cornell.

Chuck

[trasmuson3]

I know this is kind of an older topic but I was just reading through it and had an additional question. I feed twice a day as well as many of you, but the night before a big hunt, would it be ok to feed extra to provide the energy for the morning hunt and miss the morning feed? Thats kind of what I thought that I would do but was wondering if anyone else does the same?

[Francois P vd Walt]

My 2c .....

I feed twice a day all year round, little less in the morning when hunting all day.
To me the importance of two meals keeps blood sugar up for more balanced hunting and energy levels.