Dilemma on feeding night before hunt

[sdsujacks]

I've got a small dilemma on feeding my lab Friday, the day before our Saturday duck & pheasant hunts. Normal days I feed in the morning and night but usually skip the morning feed on a big hunting day. Well Friday I will feed him at 6am when I leave for work, and won't get home again till about 1:30am Saturday morning. I coach HS football and we have a long road game Friday night. My fiancé will be out of town Friday & Saturday so she won't be able to feed him either on Friday night.

So, in this case is it better to feed at 1:30am and then hunt Saturday? Or have his last meal before our Saturday hunt be at 6am Friday? Everybody I know in our area that could come over to feed him is also gone!

[Doc E]

The dog needs a big meal the evening before the next day hunt.

.

[KwikIrish]

I've got a small dilemma on feeding my lab Friday, the day before our Saturday duck & pheasant hunts. Normal days I feed in the morning and night but usually skip the morning feed on a big hunting day. Well Friday I will feed him at 6am when I leave for work, and won't get home again till about 1:30am Saturday morning. I coach HS football and we have a long road game Friday night. My fiancé will be out of town Friday & Saturday so she won't be able to feed him either on Friday night.

So, in this case is it better to feed at 1:30am and then hunt Saturday? Or have his last meal before our Saturday hunt be at 6am Friday? Everybody I know in our area that could come over to feed him is also gone!

Personally, I feel 5 hours is enough time for an average dog from meal to performance. You might consider making it a lighter meal.

[sdsujacks]

Maybe a slightly bigger than normal meal Friday morning and a smaller meal when I get home late that night? Due to my crazy fall schedule this will be a duck hunt without prior scouting (can't shoot from the couch, so might as well get out!). So there is a realistic possibility that he'll gain a few more hours of digestion time if we don't see many birds and he doesn't have to work hard in the duck hunt.

[Pepper]

Your dog will be sucking hind tit if he doesn’t have the energy to perform his job. Without the fuel to feed his muscles, damages can occur resulting in lameness or tearing.
Do the feed at 1:30am. In the morning, before two hours to hunt, feed boil rice (high in carbohydrates) and honey. Both are easy to digest. JMO

[ezzy333]

Your dog will be sucking hind tit if he doesn’t have the energy to perform his job. Without the fuel to feed his muscles, damages can occur resulting in lameness or tearing.
Do the feed at 1:30am. In the morning, before two hours to hunt, feed boil rice (high in carbohydrates) and honey. Both are easy to digest. JMO

Not sure this is very good advice.

[MonsterDad]

How about ask someone to feed him in the early evening?

[sdsujacks]

How about ask someone to feed him in the early evening?

That would be the obvious choice. But living in a new city, the few people and family that I know in the metro are all out of town for a few days right now. Fed about 3/4 cup extra this morning and will feed about 3/4-1 cup less than normal at 1:30 tonight when I get back. Canceled the duck hunt, so we'll be starting in the field at 9am on some pheasants. Could be better, could also be a lot worse. Thanks for the advice guys!

[CDN_Cocker]

Not sure why so many confusing answers. The right answer is to just feed him at 6pm Friday night and be done with it. SCIENTIFIC studies prove that a dog performs more efficiently when fasted for 17 hours. Feeding at 1am is absurd.

[Pepper]

Understand that temps play a big role...Here in Idaho the temps can be brutal....Maybe ask the mushers on what their schedule is...and I will believe them.

What is in it for dog????

[Brazosvalleyvizslas]

Not sure why so many confusing answers. The right answer is to just feed him at 6pm Friday night and be done with it. SCIENTIFIC studies prove that a dog performs more efficiently when fasted for 17 hours. Feeding at 1am is absurd.

There was no 6PM option but I agree 17 hours is about optimal because that is about how long it takes for a dog to digest its food. 17 hours is not even close to "fasting" for a dog though.

[CDN_Cocker]

Not sure why so many confusing answers. The right answer is to just feed him at 6pm Friday night and be done with it. SCIENTIFIC studies prove that a dog performs more efficiently when fasted for 17 hours. Feeding at 1am is absurd.

There was no 6PM option but I agree 17 hours is about optimal because that is about how long it takes for a dog to digest its food. 17 hours is not even close to "fasting" for a dog though.

I apologize BVV - I read it quickly at saw 6pm not 6am. I suppose the 1am feeding isn't as absurd now hahaha. However, I stick with my 17 hours without food. I personally feed once per day at 3 or 4pm depending on me and the wife's schedules. That way if a hunt decides to present itself on any given morning he is ready to rock.

[sdsujacks]

Yeah there was no way possible way for him to get a Fri night meal in. I ended up getting home a little earlier than I thought, about 12:30am, so fed him a small amount then. We (the dog) hunted pretty dang hard today and he seemed to do fine. In the past 3 years this is the only time I've faced this problem, so yes, normally I agree with feed the night before as the only option. Thanks for the advice, just wanted some thoughts and opinions on which of the 2 scenarios would be better.

[CDN_Cocker]

My best advice would be to cut the twice a day stuff and just feed once in the afternoon/evening.

[Fun dog]

Musher here...we like to feed as close to 24 hours before a race as possible. Dogs run best on an empty stomach. Now we do hydrate the dogs the morning of the run. Baited water to make sure they drink. Hydrate when they finish the run with some glyco charge and feed a couple hours later. Hydrate one more time and then they're ready to race again the next day.

[Pepper]

Musher here...we like to feed as close to 24 hours before a race as possible. Dogs run best on an empty stomach. Now we do hydrate the dogs the morning of the run. Baited water to make sure they drink. Hydrate when they finish the run with some glyco charge and feed a couple hours later. Hydrate one more time and then they're ready to race again the next day.

What do you guys feed to keep the core temps up on your dogs during a heavy race?
Thanks

[Fun dog]

We really don't feed any different for race day than any other day. A good quality feed year round. Can't say we ever worried about keeping the core temp up. More concerned about keeping them cool.

[Brazosvalleyvizslas]

Musher here...we like to feed as close to 24 hours before a race as possible. Dogs run best on an empty stomach. Now we do hydrate the dogs the morning of the run. Baited water to make sure they drink. Hydrate when they finish the run with some glyco charge and feed a couple hours later. Hydrate one more time and then they're ready to race again the next day.

This^^^^^^Glyco after is huge.

[CDN_Cocker]

I've hunted the last 3 days and today the dog was real sluggish and tired much sooner. Gonna have to look into this glycocharge

[marysburg]

Hi CDN Cocker, I have tried to purchase glycocharge, but can't find a supplier who will ship to Canada. It is a product that I would love to use, though. Instead, I did some research and found the Purina studies regarding maltodextrin and sled dog performance. To renew the glycogen in the muscles, maltodextrin is the sugar which is most rapidly effective especially when fed with some fat and protein. To supply this to our dogs when they are in heavy training or hunting on consecutive days, we purchased maltodextrin powder which is a sugar found in corn. It is used by bodybuilders and extreme athletes and we got ours at Popeye's which is a chain of athletic supplement stores. I mix it with about 1/4 cup full fat greek yogurt or a handful of their regular food and a little water. Feed within 20 minutes of the end of activity for best results, then feel the normal ration about an hour later. Hydration is very important, and I have used chicken broth with no salt added to help flavour the water. A Cocker would only need about 1/2 tsp of maltodextrin powder. I feed about 3/4 tsp to the Britts and about 1 to the Lab or GSP. This protocol will restore up to 90% of the available glycogen in the dog's muscles for the next day's work according to the research.

Sorry for the long answer, but it took me months to figure out how to get maltodextrin in an easy to buy and use form. Export and import regulations are baffling sometimes, and in Canada sometimes our choices are limited. This forum is great for sharing information.....each of us doesn't have to re-invent the wheel! I have gotten such good advice from helpful and clever people here. Hope this is useful to you; have a great fall in the bush with your wonderful pup.

[CDN_Cocker]

Thanks for the info marysburg I am very familiar with Popeye's, I will definitely pick some up when I'm in next. Wonderful info!

[Pepper]

Hi CDN Cocker, I have tried to purchase glycocharge, but can't find a supplier who will ship to Canada. It is a product that I would love to use, though. Instead, I did some research and found the Purina studies regarding maltodextrin and sled dog performance. To renew the glycogen in the muscles, maltodextrin is the sugar which is most rapidly effective especially when fed with some fat and protein. To supply this to our dogs when they are in heavy training or hunting on consecutive days, we purchased maltodextrin powder which is a sugar found in corn. It is used by bodybuilders and extreme athletes and we got ours at Popeye's which is a chain of athletic supplement stores. I mix it with about 1/4 cup full fat greek yogurt or a handful of their regular food and a little water. Feed within 20 minutes of the end of activity for best results, then feel the normal ration about an hour later. Hydration is very important, and I have used chicken broth with no salt added to help flavour the water. A Cocker would only need about 1/2 tsp of maltodextrin powder. I feed about 3/4 tsp to the Britts and about 1 to the Lab or GSP. This protocol will restore up to 90% of the available glycogen in the dog's muscles for the next day's work according to the research.

Sorry for the long answer, but it took me months to figure out how to get maltodextrin in an easy to buy and use form. Export and import regulations are baffling sometimes, and in Canada sometimes our choices are limited. This forum is great for sharing information.....each of us doesn't have to re-invent the wheel! I have gotten such good advice from helpful and clever people here. Hope this is useful to you; have a great fall in the bush with your wonderful pup.

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. So It sounds like protein and fat are the key components to keep the muscles going... Would this also apply when temps are below the freezing or more mark?
Thanks.
Edit to post: I understand that it takes time for feed to digest; no problem there, however, that that is digested goes to the cells ongoing. I believe there is no open the flood gates when feed is totally digested complete and start transferring the food digested to the cells. JMOP.