Feeding on Hunting Day ? ? ?

[Melanie Hampton]

Never even thought about that for the dogs... Good idea..

[Poundhound]

I do appreciate all the responses to this post, I am learning a lot.

I have a couple of dogs that are really tough keepers, I mean skinny all the time. I am sure most of you have had one or two before. I do what I can to keep them looking good, but when they are hunting every day it is tough to keep the pounds on them. I feed them until they don't want to eat anymore but still when they are running day after day it is tough on them. When I get down with vacation and am only hunting three days a week it won't be quite as hard, but that doesn't help me now.

Then I have a tough race on a bruiser bear that goes on and on and up a Nasty canyon and a few dogs are out over night and now really look skinny, and of course one of the tough keepers is one of them.

So are there things I can feed that are of a higher calorie content or more fat calories that will help the dogs keep healthy and not hurt in the performance area? The oatmeal really seems to help, but really takes time to cook and then cool to a temp the dogs will not hurt themselves trying to eat it. What is going to help? More vitamins? More fats? More Carbs? Protein? How about eating at the table with me? I got no troubles with being too skinny!?!


ph

[cityboy]

If you can, get raw, whole chickens, feathers and all. One of our hunting buddies works on an egg farm. They get thousands of chicks at a time. When the chicks get big the roosters are weeded out. As far as I know they just throw em' out. My friend usually has about a dozen or so Running Walkers and I've seen a few dogs he's gotten that are real skinny. Those chickens fatten em' up in no time. He just got 125 chicken the other day for free. Also during trapping season muskrat carcasses are great. We also have a spring beaver trapping season and beaver carcasses work real good to put weight on a dog.

[Emily]

I normally feed 2X a day. Even though the dogs work harder than I do, I figure that if I'm hungry, they're hungry. I don't feed directly before turning out, but if they have two or three hours to digest first, I do. When we get back, they get part of my meal as well as their own. If I stop for a sandwich while hunting, they get some of it they're not mid-chasse, and I'm not likely to stop to eat midchase,, plus I usually carry a few biscuits. I don't stop for anything but water if we're on a chase, and they don't either. When we get back to the rig, they get water, then nap before they eat.

[Copper]

I would be careful feeding chickens becasue there bones can be deadly to a dog.
I have also heard of people using bute after a hard day of running to give the dogs a pick me up.

[Dan Edwards]

Raw chicken bones will not hurt a dog at all. I personally have never even had one get hurt on cooked bones but folks say that it can happen. Raw bones wont do nothin though. The cooked ones supposedly can splinter but like I said, never had it happen and aint to worried about it.

[TomJr]

I have heard that before about bones. And I have fed mine for 30+ years left over cooked as well as raw bones and never had a problem. That said I have heard about it happening but mostly to smaller dogs or those that don't get out to run and just lay about on couches. My brother's lab did get a bone stuck in the roof of his mouth once... but then he wolfs his food like he is starving and the surprising thing is it don't happen more often! (Dog was fine once I got the bone out... it was a cooked rib bone splinter.)

Mine will catch rabbits and eat the whole thing bones and all just like a wolf or coyote. ( ya don't see those things spitting out the bones... alot of wolf kills are just a bloody spot on the ground with a few left over hairs about) Also have had them kill and eat most of a javalina bones and all, and they would have eatten the rest if I had not taken it away. Mine are allowed to run free in 10 acre orchard at night to keep the bears ect off the apples. One thing about eating raw wild meat is they can get more parsites but have never had a real problem there either... just tape worms once in a while, easily fixed with the right wormer.

[FullCryHounds]

My Uncle is now retired but was a Vet and worked on the Iditarod for years. His advise was that you should NEVER run your dogs on a completly empty stomach. Stay as close to your normal feeding routine as possible. Twice a day is best for the dogs. If you're running that day and normally feed in the morning, just feed them 1-2 hours before turning out. They are no different then a human athelete and need protein and carbs all day long. Do you leave the house in the morning with nothing in your belly?
I also feed ground meat every other day during season and twice a week in the off season. Another tip is to not feed all the same type of dry food. Buy two or even three different types and mix them in a 55 gal. drum. They will do better and thier coats will be healthier looking also.

[Poundhound]

FullCryHounds,
Please tell us more. That is some good Info there and I am intrigued. Can you share more with us? What is the theory behind mixing the different foods together? Is it because each food has something different to offer? If I am going to mix foods, what qualities am I looking for in each food I add to the mix?

The thoughts that started this post were along the lines of what you share about not wanting to leave the house with nothing in your belly. When I was a bit younger and competing on a world class level I used to read books like "Optimum Sports Nutrition" (Michael Colgan) to try to get an edge. Great info but very dry reading. But I want my dogs to have an edge too. So I pick the book up again every now and then and read it with the mind set of "How can I apply this to my TEAM". Well I can't afford to feed ten dogs like an Olympic athlete, but I could mix several feeds if it will give my dogs a little something extra during a hard race.

Some of the distance races we would do in Outrigger canoes would be more then four hours non-stop, similar to a good long bear race. We would not dream of going into one of these races without something to eat that morning. In fact, during some of the longer races we would take a few seconds to choke down a whole bananna and some water or a power bar just to have a little more ( oh yeah, and 5 or 6 ibuprofen so we can't feel any pain ). Difference there is we are sitting in a seat giving our all, not running non-stop after a bear.

What other advise does your Uncle have?


ph

[Shorty]

Go to your local pizza joint and pick up some raw dough. You might have to explain what you want it for. They'll usually give you there waste or scraps. Just feed them a golf ball size piece once a day. You'll be amazed at the results. I'd just feed it to the thin dogs, the others might get to fat.

[FullCryHounds]

PH, You're right on. The idea is to get as many different types of trace minerals, vitamins, etc. I don't think there is one dry food out there that has everything so I don't even try. I feed a good high protein feed along with something like a lamb and rice. It's just something that I've been doing for years and I've never had a dog to the vet for any health issues. Also, dogs are meat eaters so feed them as much as you can. There's no reason you can't feed ground meat to your dogs since you can get it for free. I guarantee your dog's won't give a damn it was road kill that morning.