How long do dogs stay in shape?

[Hounder-]

Wisconsin's bear kill season is 15 days after the end of training season and this got me to wondering how quick dogs get out of shape.


Say you run your dogs hard all summer (two months here in WI), they are all toned up and muscled, how long until they start getting some off season weight and losing muscle?


Just something to toss a few more good ol' theories at.

-Hound

[Catman]

Actually they start falling out of shape immediately, but that's not saying you cannot go back out and catch something. You would notice a difference in a couple of weeks of being chained or kenneled up. Buy the way...what's it like to have dogs in shape

[Hounder-]

I suppose I set myself up for the "immediately" answer haha...


But a couple of weeks for noticeable effects makes sense to me....


And I guess my dogs are in shape for my standards, long runs every weekend and every night I get off work early enough.....so in shape for a wanna-be hounder at least , but definitely notice more stamina and more muscle.


Thanks
-Hound

[cobalt]

2 weeks to a month. My opinion. All dogs are different. And that is hunting shape.

[july_hound]

all dogs are differnt.. to me dogs that are kept on the chain stay in better shap.. most dogs in kennels lay around.... i've had dogs that ran and ran AND RAN in circles on a chain.. put them in the pen.. just lay there... if there not hunted i put them on the BIG chain.. let them run with it... some people like to exercise there dogs by roading/actually hookin them up drivin down the road lol... theres a thread of it on here.. idk exactly where.. but its on one of these boards i had a buddy that hog hunts that would do his dogs like that for HOURS AND HOURS.. they would look horrible.. drop them out.. and i tell you.. they out ran me many nights oops: