Just as important as what you feed is when you feed your hunting partner. There are simple mechanical reasons not to feed your dog the morning of a hunt. An empty G.I. tract doesn’t hold anything that could rattle around in there.
Try this experiment: Take off your sock (representing your dog’s stomach and intestinal track), drop your car keys (ersatz “dog food”) into it. Hold it horizontally, and the dog food will settle in the heel. Then jiggle it, swing it back and forth, whip it around a little like a dog on the hunt would. All that weight will make the sock swing, bounce up and down, possibly even twist. Veterinarians call it gastro volvulus and it is often fatal.
Your dog’s athletic performance is another concern. Studies have shown than a dog with food in its gut runs slower, is less agile, and has less stamina than one hunting on an empty stomach.
Another good reason: the gut is not using the body’s finite allotment of energy to digest food when it could be fueling active muscles that are chasing birds.
No guilt trips here, your dog’s metabolism is unlike yours. Sending your dog into the field without breakfast will have no ill effects. Unless he’s got other health problems, he won’t develop “low blood sugar,” because dogs get their version of instant energy from fat.
If you can’t resist giving Gunner something during the hunt, give him a high-fat content snack that won’t fill his belly. You can make your own, or simply offer him some of your salami sandwich (just the meat). There are plenty of commercial versions out there in tubes, droppers and blocks. The key is low volume, high fat to keep the belly as empty as possible.
You can’t go wrong offering water frequently – it keeps a dog cool as well as hydrated. Make life simple on both of you by carrying a bota (wine skin) or the modern equivalent. Teach your dog to drink from it just like you, so there is no need to drag a bowl or sacrifice your hat as a substitute.
30/20, I mean.
I have just switched my nine year old GSP to the Purina Pro Plan 40/20.
I had a setter some years back who developed the extremely bad habit of “crunching” grouse during hunts. On one morning hunt she brought back a still-warm bird that had been 3/4 consumed by her between the time of my shot and her way back to delivering it to my hand. 😦 At that point I think I realized she needed a bit of food in her belly before hunts. I took to feeding her a very small amount of food first thing in the morning, probably 2 or 3 hours before hunting. That cured her of the problem for good, she never crunched another bird and was a solid performer for the rest of her life. So I think sometimes “your mileage may vary” is another good piece of advice with gun dogs.
Very good point, Jim.
Scott, with my older dogs, they usually have self feeders. Since we’re usually out the door early to hunt, I assume they aren’t eating through out the night. Think that’s ok? While not a high quality food, on trips we like to give them a half package or so (about 4 oz I would guess)of moist food about halfway through the day, and mix dry and wet dog food for them at night, because they hardly eat straight dry food on trips. Otherwise they get pretty worn down by the end of the second day. If it’s going to be a short day, we’ll feed them at the end
Pretty good plan, Lucas. On longer trips, it’s hard to get enough calories in them so I add powdered pork fat to their meals at night.
I feed my dogs about 3-4 hours before hunting and then give them a little snack around mid-day. On one occasion our pup, Doc, didn’t want his breakfast and went hunting on an empty stomach. Several hours later I caught him eating a fresh Pheasant carcass that a hawk had killed, so I took him back to the truck and gave him a snack.
Smart dog.
Thx….
How about an appropriate timeframe between feeding & hunting..??
Lee, the pro’s at Purina, and myself through experience, like 10-12 hours or more.