Gun Dog Forum

With the season right around the corner for most of us I am curious how everyone else feeds their dogs on the day of a hunt.

My first dog was a not so impressive GSP that I just fed normally on the day of a hunt. He would be fed in the early morning, long before heading to the field and then again a few hours after the hunt ended. While I never noticed a problem with this I ended up losing him to bone cancer and bloat at 8 yrs of age so I'm certainly open to new ideas.

does anyone also use the energy supplements while the dog is on the field? I've seen them on some of the gun dog retailers but would like a more expert opinion.

Thanks in advance.
Paul

I bring a can of sardines to give during lunch...seems to brighten them up. Costco has big cans in olive oil. I think the prepared supplements are overpriced. I don't think you can do better than sardines frankly.

I don't feed before, no AM feeding.

I feed my GWP normally twice a day (3 cups) per setting. When we go hunting, I feed him about one cup at least 2 hours a head of time. No supplements for him, I personally think good old water is fine.

I suspect the "nutrition" arrives via the previous day's feeding.

Unless a pup requires a bit of oomph the morning of or in the field for health reasons...no feed till evening and I float it, as conditions indicate.
On younger dogs and a month or so before, I often change to a higher protein kibble.
Limiting bouncing around after a full feed...is a good thing.

Energy comes from conditioning and a good kibble...marketing "stuff" to dog owners often comes from need for a paycheck.
That said, nothing wrong with considering a proper or new course of action re all things birddog.
The dogs only ask of us to be wise in the considering.

Mountaineer wrote:I suspect the "nutrition" arrives via the previous day's feeding.

Exactly correct.
It takes around 12 hours for a dog to fully digest a meal. this is easy to prove. Give your dog a few kernels of corn in a meal and see how long it takes for the corn to show up in the poop.

Regular days = Equal amounts of food twice a day.
Hunting = 1/3 in the morning and 2/3 in the evening.
.

For me it depends on if I'm going for a quick hour or two hunt, early morning or afternoon, or an all day thing, if we've hunted the day before and/or will hunt the day after, etc. I generally don't feed at all or feed up to about 1/3 the normal amount in the morning. Then once we are done and I let the heavy breathing settle down a bit then I will feed him after the hunt. If it is a quick morning hunt and we are done by 9 or 10 am, then I will give a full amount after the hunt. If it is an all day thing and we are done by dark at 5 or 6 pm, then he may get a slightly larger dinner.

I'm surprised there haven't been more mentions of bloat/stomach twist. Sure, the research is not definitive but why take a chance? As noted earlier, the "nutrition" comes from food eaten many hours before the hunt, so a morning feed only fills up the G.I. tract. Purina research has shown the negative effects of a full G.I. tract on dog performance.

I like the sardine idea (except for the smell!) As I understand it, dogs get their "quick energy" from fat, not carbohydrates as humans do. I use VitaCal, others use hamburger, sardines, whatever ... I'll err toward low volume (stomach twist) and high fat during the day.

Anyone want to chime in on GlycoCharge/maltodextrin after the hunt?

As noted earlier, the "nutrition" comes from food eaten many hours before the hunt,

like the sardine idea (except for the smell!) As I understand it, dogs get their "quick energy" from fat, not carbohydrates as humans do. I use VitaCal, others use hamburger, sardines, whatever ... I'll err toward low volume (stomach twist) and high fat during the day.

How do these two quotes from the same person not contradict each other. I think the truth is dogs like every other animal have the different elements in nutrition that are absorbed into the body at different speeds so in actuality some things get into the body very quickly while others take hours. I think Scott is absolutely right though when he said why take a chance when we know feeding anything close to hunting time increases the risk to your dog.

Contradiction, not really. Couldn't the long-term needs of a dog's body be met by protein and carbohydrates the day/week/month before, while a quick, short-term energy boost be created by fat? I think that's how human athletes do it.

Thanks folks I appreciate the responses. Up to this point I haven't been feeding on the mornings that I know I am training before noon but I just didn't know how the dogs energy levels would be on a full day hunt.

Doc E wrote:

Mountaineer wrote:I suspect the "nutrition" arrives via the previous day's feeding.

Exactly correct.
It takes around 12 hours for a dog to fully digest a meal. this is easy to prove. Give your dog a few kernels of corn in a meal and see how long it takes for the corn to show up in the poop.

Regular days = Equal amounts of food twice a day.
Hunting = 1/3 in the morning and 2/3 in the evening.
.

You feed the morning before a hunt?

Scott Linden wrote:I'm surprised there haven't been more mentions of bloat/stomach twist. Sure, the research is not definitive but why take a chance? As noted earlier, the "nutrition" comes from food eaten many hours before the hunt, so a morning feed only fills up the G.I. tract. Purina research has shown the negative effects of a full G.I. tract on dog performance. ...

Food and...water.....volume enters that sad occurrence....regardless of the time of day.
Nothing I wish to witness again.
Any active dog and one that carries the potential for poor organ connections to the body wall should be watched re increasing the probability of a flop....anytime.

Perhaps, one day, dog "performance" will rise to the level of human performance afield....likely a better occurrence all 'round.

Our dogs are fed around 2 pm. during hunting season. If we hunt the next day they are not fed again until I get back home. We usually take from 2 to 4 dogs hunting so the ones left at home are fed at 2 Pm.

I don't think any special consideration needs to be taken on the day of the hunt other than making sure to keep your dog hydrated. Feeding adjustments take a long time to take effect. You should be either changing your feed or increasing the amount 3-4 weeks prior to the first hunt.

On non hunting days, I feed morning and evening. On hunting days, we skip the morning meal. I started doing this bc my young dog used to get car sick on the way to the training grounds. I continued doing this bc I read too many horror stories about bloat. Once we are home from the hunt, he is cleaned up and then fed.