for those who have hunting dogs...

[puppylover2007]

ok, so i was getting tires put on my car and got REALLy bored while i was waiting, so, i picked up a magazine and read up on hunting dogs for this season, and the ad actually said when preparing for a hunt you are to feed you dogs high fat and something else ( sorry log day can not remember) and it said in the article " the first 3 ingredients should be some sort of meat meal WTH??? i can not remember what mag it was. i thought that was wrong, so can someone educate me, because i would like to get Thunder started for next season for hunting, i think it would be really fun for him.

so please help me

thanks.

[Zoom]

I would wait and see if he likes hunting before messing with his diet.

[puppylover2007]

ya i figured i would take him on "dry runs" and see how well he does first of course, like take him to a secluded area and let him get a feel for it. but, is that true about his diet?

[Maxy24]

Well I know nothing about hunting but I see nothing wrong with Chicken meal, Lamb meal, Duck meal etc. Straight up "meat meal" is no good though. I have never seen a food with three types of meat meal in a row though. but I agree you don't want to boost his fat levels if he ends up not liking the hunting and stays home, then he'll get fat

[Lilavati]

I've never heard of doing anything like that . . . sounds to me like it was intended for those who don't feed their dogs particularlly good food in the first place. . . . I'll ask my father next time I speak to him . . . but I have no recollection of him changing the diet of either the beagles or the spaniels during hunting season.

[smkie]

A young dog needs to be trained to hunt before you go. What kind of hunting were u thinking of doing?

[puppylover2007]

Originally Posted by smkie

A young dog needs to be trained to hunt before you go. What kind of hunting were u thinking of doing?

since he is a lab ( i see about 80% in him) i was thinking duck hunting or some kind of water fowl.

[Labra]

I personally wouldn't train a dog that is half German Shepherd to hunt with. You will find few professional trainers willing to train a half German Shepherd as a hunting dog. You are going against instinct - EVEN if the dog is supposedly half Lab. Given his mix, it is unlikely that your dog will posses the character traits required to become a successful hunting companion. Traits such as having a soft mouth -- which is genetic.

[adojrts]

It is my understanding, that dogs are not like people, they can't draw a source of fat that is stored from the body to produce energy. They have to have fat in the disgestive tract to draw upon when doing a very high energy activity. I give my dogs an added fat source in their food starting 48hrs and continuing with it while the dog is working so hard, whether it be a long hard agility trial, jrt racing, lure coursing or hunting with them.
These same dogs, also have an increased diet of fat on a daily basis because they are training and working so hard, then given an increase while performing etc. It would not be wise to just add the fat source cold turkey.

[smkie]

So many people think that because they have the breed it comes with automatic skills and that is just not the truth. A labrador is started off early in the puppy stages learning to retrieve by using a soft bumper and having no more then three retrieves to build up not only retrieving skills but desire as well. THen moves up to stage two. WHere they learn to stretch out the falls, deliver to hand, not eat the bird, and so on and so on. YOu can not just take your dog out and say wahoooo bang bring me a bird. He may run out there and have a goose dinner or look at you like your daft and say for you to swim in that icy water and get it yourself. He may get lost as well. Field training is like agility training. It is done in stages, and is a life long passion. IT takes a full season to have a young dog ready for his first hunt, it takes three years to have a dog ready to do hand signals, to not bank run, to be able to scent and trail a fall and so much more. I suggest that if you want your dog to have fun you start doing your research first, then find someone to help you train. THEN NEXT YEAR maybe you will be ready. Hunting dogs like VIctor if he was used in the field need a high calorie diet to keep them from running themselves to rags and bones. Labs that are expected to dive into icy water and bring back the falls need the same. PLease everyone that is considering this..do not take your dog out into the field and kill something for his pleasure. Most likely he will never find it and the bird will either be a total loss or worse yet harmed and left to die a bad death.

I suggest TRaining your REtriever by James lamb Free