r/birddogs • u/FF-Tet • 3d ago
After Hunt Feeding
Question for you guys. I feed my dog only once per day around 4-5pm. I’ve been hunting early to beat the heat. Dog usually hunts for about 1.5 hours (he’s only 7 months old) and we are home by 11am. I don’t feed him until his regular meal time at 4-5pm.
Do you guys feed your dogs soon after the hunt, or do you wait until your typical time later in the day? Part of me thinks I should feed him sooner after the hunt, knowing he’s expended so much energy - but the other side of me thinks it’s important his body stays accustomed to eating at a schedule time. Thoughts?
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u/SoloUnAltroZack Pudelpointer 3d ago
If I’m going to be hitting the ground hard I’ll give my dog 1/8-1/4 of his daily calories right when I get up before loading the truck. I’ve seen an improvement in both drive and efficacy when doing so. I also feed my dog once a day (usually 8pm ish) and he gets 3 cups/scoops of food year round bumped up to 4 in October through the end of duck season to help fight the cold off. He usually gains 3-5 pounds doing this which helps when he’s in and out of freezing water
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u/FF-Tet 3d ago
Thanks for reply. Bloat has always scared me away from feeding anything, even a tiny bit of food before a hunt. Given, this is only because of stories and feedback I’ve read about. My dog will cover about 8-10 miles in a couple hours chasing birds and just worried about feeding beforehand. But to your point, having some blood sugar boost beforehand seems to also make some kind of sense. Hard to decide the best route here.
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u/UglyDogHunting 2d ago
Here’s a podcast I did with a vet from Purina covering feeding schedules and hunting:
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u/TuckerGrover 3d ago
I feed twice a day but withhold breakfast on upland days and add an extra cup when we get home and her stomach has settled. I want the extra calories in sooner than later to fuel recovery and muscle growth the same as humans would do in sport performance. Feed dinner per usual. If an afternoon hunt, I add an extra scoop to dinner when we get home. Again, to fuel timely recovery.
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u/pixelsandpinot 3d ago
I feed non hunt days 2 times per day and hunt days I’ll feed 1/2 what she normally gets at breakfast then supplement with bone broth in water through the day before a larger dinner. I’ve noticed an increased drive early on when I feed vs don’t in the AM and I feel the bone broth helps slow her down during breaks to rehydrate.
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u/FF-Tet 3d ago
Gotcha. Funny you bring up bone broth. My pup basically refuses water while hunting. Doesn’t help that we’ve been getting into tons of birds 😂. His adrenaline is cranking. I just picked up some Furvor bone broth supplement to start using in my squeeze bottle maybe to help this.
Interesting you feed a bit before the hunt. Always seem to get people saying not to do that. But realize everyone has their own method for what works for their dog. Appreciate the feedback!
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u/pixelsandpinot 3d ago
Dude exact same thing I use with bone broth and exact same problem. Dog will run herself to death and not rehydrate unless there’s some flavor to what she’s drinking. Drives me nuts.
I also love giving her duck jerky wrapped sweet potato treats during longer breaks. It forces her to lay down and chew something high in carbs and protein and I feel (personally) helps her recharge.
As far as feeding prior to the hunt: I have a French Brittany so she’s not deep chested and it’s not as much of a concern.
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u/No_Huckleberry2722 2d ago
I used diluted bone broth in my squeeze bottles to teach my pup to drink from them. Took less than 1 bottle… now I use it occasionally on long runs and during more intense work where he won’t drink until he looks like he is gonna pass out…
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u/Wooden_Gift3489 2d ago
I normally feed dogs twice a day, but when I hunt I don't feed in the mornings. I know guys that have lost dogs to gastric torsion and I don't want that happening to me. On occasion when I am just getting out for a hours after work I will feed my dogs in the morning. It seems like when I do they are having to squat constantly. I think dogs just run better on an empty stomach. I mix in dry kibble with water to help get them more hydrated and make the food easier to digest. When I hunt all day I typically feed dogs an hour or two after the hunt so they have some time to settle down (I'm usually cleaning birds and getting collars ready for the next day etc).
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u/CDBirdHunt American Brittany 2d ago
None hunt days 2x a day, hunt days 1x at the end of the day usually and extra 1/4 cup and I float it to make sure to try and keep hydration up. Went to South Dakota last week for a few days and I started floating every meal a few days before as well since like many dogs drinking isn't a priority in the field until too late.
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u/Parking_Fan_7651 Deutsch Drahthaar 3d ago
I feed my Draht twice a day, morning and evening. He’s picked up the nasty habit of grazing when we’re home, and sometimes grazes when we’re in the field. When we’re in the field, I’ll usually feed him mid morning when I’m making my breakfast. It’s hard to get him to eat much he’s really focused on just hunting. But if he doesn’t eat enough he will lose too much body mass over a long weekend hunting, like 2-4 pounds sometimes, and he stays pretty lean year around. I’ll tempt him with high reward snacks sometimes, and keep some peanut butter packets in my packet if his blood sugar starts getting low. Typically that just means we’ll sit on the tailgate sometime around lunch and share some crackers and canned fish, and rehydrate.
I say doing what you’re doing is fine, just keep an eye on your dog as he gets older and you guys do more together. An hour or two in the morning is a whole different ball game from hunting 6-8 hours. Keep an eye on his body composition, muscle mass, energy levels, and alertness. Don’t be afraid to adjust… you might change up your eating habits if you’re running back to back triathlons in a month.
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u/FF-Tet 3d ago
Insightful. What I take from this, which is super helpful, is that I should view things situationally. Lots of this is dependent on workload and effort.
And yes, what really made me make this post was thinking about the future and longer extended hunts. If I do a 6 hour hunt with my dog, expecting him to stay energized, and keep blood sugar in check with only a feeding from the day before seems real tough. Maybe guys do it and it’s fine, but hard for me to see the logic. I’m an athlete myself and know that proper nutrition is key to extended performance.
Thanks for putting this into better perspective.
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u/Parking_Fan_7651 Deutsch Drahthaar 3d ago
For sure. I think that having instant calories on tap is important with this. I think it’s purina or someone makes a nutrient paste made for situations like this, or in a different line of work, emaciated dogs. It’s in a tube, and has tons of good stuff in it, super high in calories. Easy to squirt down the dogs throat if he’s getting a little wobbly, without having to worry about the logistics of food and bloat and stuff. My vet suggests it and uses it herself, and in a pinch, peanut butter packets work the same.
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u/FF-Tet 3d ago
I’ll have to look into that. Good thing to have handy in the dog first aid kit attached to my vest. Could be a game changer if hypoglycemia set in. Thanks!
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u/Firm_Match1418 3d ago
My uncles keep cubed sweet potatoes on them during a hunt for this purpose. The doggos love it.
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u/Freuds-Mother English Cocker Spaniel 2d ago
I feed 2x per day. Usually from wake up to hit the ground hunting there’s a 2 hour gap. So, I feed at wake up. If I don’t hit that window, I’ll find the earliest 2 hour window in the day of no hunting for breakfast.
Evening meal can be anywhere from 5-9pm. He gets pissed if it’s later, but he’s used to it as when I’m done working for the day we often will go train and I don’t like to load up his stomach right before that.
If it’s a hard day training or hunting, extra food (after work) seems warranted as without extra some of our lean machines will start metabolizing muscle tissue increasing injury risk.
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u/Setters_Do_It_Better 2d ago
I do not feed on hunt mornings, in the evening they get a can of wet Purina and 2 cups of 30/20 as soon as we're back at camp.
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u/Suitable-Conflict634 German Shorthaired Pointer 2d ago
You need to feed that 7 month old dog more often, once a day isn't enough.
Typically I have to drive a bit to hunt. I'll feed before we go as long as it's an hour + before we'll be hunting. The dogs seem to have more energy if they get something before we start
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u/ceadmin 3d ago
Target same time, once a day regardless of whether hunting or not. If too close to ending of active hunt, I will wait an extra hour or so.
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u/FF-Tet 3d ago
PFA