Question for those of you that work/hunt your dog everyday

Bob M

Bob M

Well-known member
Hey Guys and Dani

I'm having a problem with my 3 year old BLM. He is a maniac and is non stop in the field but frequently pukes up water and food at some point during the session. He suffered from BLOAT once when he was younger so the Vet advised we don't work/hunt him within 2 hrs of feeding him. So he gets fed 3 times a day but i'm thinking that might be causing the problem.
My question is for those who work your dogs everyday how do you feed them ? I was told it might be better to feed him only once at night so he could fully digest his food . Your thoughts ?
Thanks
Bob
 
Throw1/4 cup in the morning for nibbles. Give the dog 1/2 of your donut while hunting. If you hunt afternoons, same thing. Then feed when you return.
My lab wouldn't eat before gunning or during. Wouldn't take biscuits, but would eat a donut.
 
its hard to do when a dog is used to eating on a multiple meal schedule but all of the current knowledge and wisdom says FEED ONE TIME A DAY......in the evening....OR if you hunt the dog WITHIN 30 MINUTES OF THE END O THE HUNT...


We all equate the need for a dog to be fed in the morning because we need to et in the morning......dogs are different.....any energy they derive from eating comes from what they ate 12 hours previous......any feeding in the mornings therefore does little for the dog EXCEPT to cause him to divert energy from his running or swimming or staying warm to digesting the food in his stomach......NOT what you want to happen......


You can google this information if you want the long version but feeding within thirty minutes of the end of the dogs working day IS THE WAY TO GO.......(this comes from energy and muscle maintenance and regeneration in sled dogs btw and is accepted by almost all of the people that I know that do more than casual, occasional, hunts with their dogs)....


Like I said tough to wean a dog off that morning meal but you aren't ding him any favors with it.....and as you have seen are actually setting him up to have problems as a result.....




Steve
 
I have been reading a bunch on it lately Steve and you are exactly right. I just wanted to get some real world advice from the page on how everyone else feeds their dogs.

Thanks for the detailed response
 
Makes sense biologically: wolves eat at the end of the hunt, and don't usually hunt on a full stomach.
 
I'm in Montana right now.....Dani's Drake and my new Setter B.......Drake is product of the old "feed twice a day" and I swear OI think he'd have a heart attack if he didn't get fed in the morning......B we never started feeding in the morning so she only gets fed in the evening....or at the truck right after the hunt if she's hunting that day.....


Since Drake is hunting afternoons I'm not concerned about his morning meals but Dan's next dog will never be on that two a day schedule......




Several guys in camp who hunt multiple dogs every day feed on that schedule and they're dogs are all in excellent shape and always ready to go......






Steve
 
My dogs won't be happy but I'm gonna try and get them on a once at night feeding schedule this week.

I appreciate the advise and enjoy the rest of your hunt !!!!
 
Good thread Bob and Steve. I'll have to give some serious thought to just a bone in the morning and then food at night or after the hunt.
 
Kodi gets fed 0700 and 1900...

In hunting days... Kodi gets fed at 0400... unless he doesn't eat... and maybe parts of a sandwhich.....
 
I've always had good luck with feeding my dogs a big meal once a day, in the evening. I figure that way if we hunt in the AM they have all night to digest and if we hunt in the afternoon they won't have stomach issues either. If I know we're going to be hunting all day or if it's really cold I will pack along some dog treats with peanut butter for a snack, it's not enough to upset their stomach but will give them a boost of energy.
 
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I've always had good luck with feeding my dogs a big meal once a day, in the evening. I figure that way if we hunt in the AM they have all night to digest and if we hunt in the afternoon they won't have stomach issues either. If I know we're going to be hunting all day or if it's really cold I will pack along some dog treats with peanut butter for a snack, it's not enough to upset their stomach but will give them a boost of energy.
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Thanks Cody. I appreciate it
 
Bob,

as Steve said, Drake is of the mindset that he HAS to have his breakfast and dinner. He is such a chow hound and in love with food so much that feeding him in the morning is a must or i think he'd explode. So when I take him duck hunting he usually gets a little bit of food in the morning. Not a full meal but enough that he won't continue going psycho for his breakfast. I often have three or four hours prior to him working when I go duck hunting. He's never thrown up with that sort of time frame.

Might be worth cutting down the number of meals the dogs get. If you can. Doesn't sound like it would hurt to try that. Hopefully you don't have a food psycho like I do. If you do then GOOD LUCK

Dani
 
Bob,

as Steve said, Drake is of the mindset that he HAS to have his breakfast and dinner. He is such a chow hound and in love with food so much that feeding him in the morning is a must or i think he'd explode. So when I take him duck hunting he usually gets a little bit of food in the morning. Not a full meal but enough that he won't continue going psycho for his breakfast. I often have three or four hours prior to him working when I go duck hunting. He's never thrown up with that sort of time frame.

Might be worth cutting down the number of meals the dogs get. If you can. Doesn't sound like it would hurt to try that. Hopefully you don't have a food psycho like I do. If you do then GOOD LUCK

Dani
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Thanks Dani. I think cutting the morning meal down might be the best solution.Then a full meal after the afternoon hunt.
 
Similarly, Bru was a chow monster as a pup to the point of eating his way thru two plastic food bins and a baby gate. It's difficult to believe that, now 4 years old, the same dog is content to sleep in and forego eating until midday or later of his own volition. Since a lot of our hunts are for waterfowl in the morning and upland birds in the afternoon, he'll receive a quarter-share of his daily allowance around noon and the remainder in the evening on or before hunt days. Remarkably, the former food freak has adopted that pattern on a daily basis.
 
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I always love the comparison of dogs to wolves.
Seems to be the rage in dog food advertising: Feed XXXXXX because your dog has "the SOUL of a WOLF" bahahahaha....
 
Similarly, Bru was a chow monster as a pup to the point of eating his way thru two plastic food bins and a baby gate. It's difficult to believe that, now 4 years old, the same dog is content to sleep in and forego eating until midday or later of his own volition. Since a lot of our hunts are for waterfowl in the morning and upland birds in the afternoon, he'll receive a quarter-share of his daily allowance around noon and the remainder in the evening on or before hunt days. Remarkably, the former food freak has adopted that pattern on a daily basis.
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Thanks DJ. That's exactly what I'm trying to do.Much appreciated .
 
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