Feeding on Hunting Day ? ? ?

[Poundhound]

I have a question about how everyone feeds their dogs on Hunting Day. I have to imagine that the ideas for this will be as different as "What is the best king of Hound?" because everyone probably does it different for different reasons.

Normally I feed my dogs twice a day, once in the morning and once at bedtime. I find the dogs keep weight on better this way on less feed, and because they are able to use the calories better there seems to be less waste.

On hunting day I skip the morning feeding for the dogs that are getting on the truck, and increase the ration of the bedtime feeding. My reason for this, I don't want my dogs running on a full stomach. I have heard stories about folks that have lost a dog to a twisted gut and that would be a hard way to lose a dog and a painful way for a dog to go. But does this cost me in the dogs stamina during the day?

So as I ride around in the hills waiting for a strike, I wonder if there is a way I could do it that is better and healtier for the dogs.

Would it be better to feed the dogs a small portion in the morning? 1/2 a cup? 1 cup?

The drive from home to the hunting area is about an hour, is this ample time for the dog to digest enough that they won't have a belly ache in a race? The longer I go without a strike the more I think I could have fed the dogs before putting them on the truck.

So, I look to the more experienced hunters for the right way to do it.


ph

[nmplott]

I feed excess on the night before with a higher than normal protien content.

[sow flat slim]

Sounds to me like what you are doing is fine.

[doug]

I seem to feed the same way as you do Poundhound.Have not had any problems that I can see so far.But then I'm no expert.

[Grzyadms4x4]

I do the same thing PH. No feed in the morning of hunting and extra with maybe some beef scraps in the evening. I usually feed them their normal amount the night before.

[Poundhound]

[doug]

[POORBOY]

[ryan goodwin]

[Travis Stirek]

[Travis Stirek]

[Mike Leonard]

I spent a good deal of time training retrievers and field trialing years ago. This was wonderful expereince and you get to be around some of the best canine health experts in the business.

I couldn't agree more with the coach these hounds are atheletes and mine being on the ground moving most of the time rather than bouncing around in a dog box looking for a track really need that extra boost. I do feed a good ration of top quality feed in the evening boosted with DinOvite which is excellent( DinOvite.com). However just like any endurance athelete blood sugar changes after a fast( sleep time) . No you don't want to load their gut up for digestion when they are going to work but you want to give them that quick boost that will balance their blood sugars and help them perform their very best. A quick light protien snack such as cut up hot dogs ( and not too much) will really get them moving. Give them a few minutes to roam after the treat because many times they will have to go, and you don't want that in the box. They learn this routine and before long they grab a snack take a quick dump and are ready to rock n roll!

We did this very thing early this morning and then had the pleasure of setting up on a sand stone ridge and watching the dogs pound out a tough track , get it up and going, and locate like they should and set down and tree with gusto. They were still ready to go when we leashed them and led them to the trailer for a big drink of cool water.

[cityboy]

[Melanie Hampton]

Hey Travis and Ryan

That Red Cell stuff... is it liquid form? We used to give the performance horses some red cell stuff when I used to work on a ranch.. I keep thinking for some reason it is some strong smelling liquid stuff..


Mike.. I like the hot dog idea... I don't feed the dogs in the morning but think maybe a bite or two of hotdog would give them a little something to run on..When you say a little bit are you talking a half a hot dog, quarter, or a whole one?


I generally feed them at night or a couple hours after we are back home from hunting (soaked food) I also give the dog a bit of the Super 14, but that is mainly just for the fatty acids for their coats Makes them slick and shiny... We use a high protien/fat content dog food that also has a lot of calories per cup.. I think it is about 364 and the highest that we could find that we liked and all the dogs did well on...

[Travis Stirek]