First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

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PoorMansWrangler
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First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

Post by PoorMansWrangler » Tue Nov 06, 2018 12:22 pm

Hey guys, excited to say I am going on my first hunt this weekend with my GSP! I got his ecollar and god collar charged up, got the bell out today, got my bag packed and got the gun all ready. It will be a small hunt on a preserve, but I have high hopes! I just had a question on feeding him before a hunt. Typically I feed him 4 cups a day, two in the morning about 4 am, and then two in the evening about 6pm. Planning on going out to hunt hopefully around noon. How should I alter his feeding schedule? Also any advice on our first hunt ever would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

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isonychia
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Re: First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

Post by isonychia » Tue Nov 06, 2018 12:58 pm

PoorMansWrangler wrote:Hey guys, excited to say I am going on my first hunt this weekend with my GSP! I got his ecollar and god collar charged up, got the bell out today, got my bag packed and got the gun all ready. It will be a small hunt on a preserve, but I have high hopes! I just had a question on feeding him before a hunt. Typically I feed him 4 cups a day, two in the morning about 4 am, and then two in the evening about 6pm. Planning on going out to hunt hopefully around noon. How should I alter his feeding schedule? Also any advice on our first hunt ever would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
I have never hunted around noon but I suppose If I was going to I would feed half the normal AM amount in the AM and then add that to evening. Honestly one day I might just not feed in AM and then resume as normal after hunt. I doubt you would have too much to worry about if you fed him at 6am and hunted 6 hrs later.

PS - Hunting preserves and your first time hunting with the pup keep in mind, just because you paid for all the birds doesn't mean you have to shoot them. If your dog doesn't preform don't shoot. If he busts the birds DON'T SHOOT!

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Re: First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

Post by shags » Tue Nov 06, 2018 1:03 pm

I would skip the morning feeding. Dogs are not like humans, digestively speaking. Our stomachs empty fast and food goes slowly through our bowels, but dogs' stomachs hold food for a long time, and then food goes quiclky throigh the bowels.

A well-nourished, well-conditioned dog won't suffer from missing a meal, regardless of what he tells you :lol:

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Re: First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

Post by JONOV » Tue Nov 06, 2018 3:26 pm

shags wrote:I would skip the morning feeding. Dogs are not like humans, digestively speaking. Our stomachs empty fast and food goes slowly through our bowels, but dogs' stomachs hold food for a long time, and then food goes quiclky throigh the bowels.

A well-nourished, well-conditioned dog won't suffer from missing a meal, regardless of what he tells you :lol:
Normally I agree but they’re 8 hours between food and hunt.

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Re: First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

Post by birddogger2 » Tue Nov 06, 2018 6:13 pm

I would skip the morning meal if you are travelling. Makes no sense to me to have an excited young dog bouncing around in a vehicle with a full stomach. Half digested, puked up kibble is just nasty. Been there.

I would let the dog out, let it run and empty out and then load up and go. I would offer water immediately prior to running, but that is all.

RayG

I would ask the preserve operator to hold one bird in reserve. If the dog messes up, which it is fairly likely to do, You will want to have one bird to plant yourself and bring the dog in, on a checkcord, after some time in the kennel.

You want the last bird the dog handled to have been handled perfectly. You want THAT to be what the dog remembers when you put it away.

Just as in training, it is vital to "quit a winner"...quit on a successful performance. You want the dog to have that good performance in the front of its memory.

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Re: First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

Post by ezzy333 » Tue Nov 06, 2018 8:23 pm

shags wrote:I would skip the morning feeding. Dogs are not like humans, digestively speaking. Our stomachs empty fast and food goes slowly through our bowels, but dogs' stomachs hold food for a long time, and then food goes quiclky throigh the bowels.

A well-nourished, well-conditioned dog won't suffer from missing a meal, regardless of what he tells you :lol:
Agree

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Re: First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

Post by ezzy333 » Tue Nov 06, 2018 8:26 pm

birddogger2 wrote:I would skip the morning meal if you are travelling. Makes no sense to me to have an excited young dog bouncing around in a vehicle with a full stomach. Half digested, puked up kibble is just nasty. Been there.

I would let the dog out, let it run and empty out and then load up and go. I would offer water immediately prior to running, but that is all.

RayG

I would ask the preserve operator to hold one bird in reserve. If the dog messes up, which it is fairly likely to do, You will want to have one bird to plant yourself and bring the dog in, on a checkcord, after some time in the kennel.

You want the last bird the dog handled to have been handled perfectly. You want THAT to be what the dog remembers when you put it away.

Just as in training, it is vital to "quit a winner"...quit on a successful performance. You want the dog to have that good performance in the front of its memory.
And I agree even more.

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Re: First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

Post by cjhills » Tue Nov 06, 2018 8:40 pm

What you fed the night before is what makes the energy the dog will be running on the day of the hunt. So, it does not make a lot of sense to load him up with food in the morning before you hunt. I do usually feed my dogs a little in the morning before a hunt just because I like to do that. Probably 1/2 cup. I feed the same as you, 2 cups twice a day. There really is no need to do that, but I like to do it also.
Don't know how far your traveling, but I would think your dog would be used to road trip in a vehicle so he won't get car sick. Generally after running for a little while the dog will get rid of his excess baggage.
I Have never seen a torsion and my vet says they are rare in pointing dog breeds. He also thinks to much water is more likely to cause a torsion than food. Don't know about that.
If this is the dogs first hunt let him and you both have a good time. Don't expect too much from him.......Cj

PoorMansWrangler
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Re: First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

Post by PoorMansWrangler » Wed Nov 07, 2018 8:04 am

Thanks for the advice guys! I think I am going to maybe bump up to 2.5 the evening before, and .5 the morning before. The preserve has pheasants, quail, chuckar and Huns, so I think I am going to have them put out 5 quail and maybe a hen pheasant. I was cautioned to not put out a male pheasant for a young dog, due to the spurs, does that hold true? Anyway I am super pumped, a little worried about loosing him but I think that will always be in the back of my head. Already got the Jeep loaded up and ready to go!

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Re: First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

Post by cjhills » Wed Nov 07, 2018 9:28 am

This hunt should be a piece of cake for the dog as far as food and energy goes. No worries about feeding. I don't think we know the age or training of the dog. I never had a dog intimidated by a rooster, but if you think there is a chance not putting one out is a good choice. Unless he has some bird experience, he might get a little crazy.try to keep as quiet as possible and don't over correct him.
Let us know how it goes......Cj

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Re: First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

Post by JONOV » Wed Nov 07, 2018 10:06 am

PoorMansWrangler wrote:Thanks for the advice guys! I think I am going to maybe bump up to 2.5 the evening before, and .5 the morning before. The preserve has pheasants, quail, chuckar and Huns, so I think I am going to have them put out 5 quail and maybe a hen pheasant. I was cautioned to not put out a male pheasant for a young dog, due to the spurs, does that hold true? Anyway I am super pumped, a little worried about loosing him but I think that will always be in the back of my head. Already got the Jeep loaded up and ready to go!
If the money isn’t a huge concern, chukars over quail, just because they usually fly better, and dogs can’t catch them as easy. I’ve heard Huns are great because they don’t sit like quail or chukar and are good for reinforcing manner, though that’s mostly hearsay.

Regarding the pheasant, that depends on your dog. If it’s the type to be cautious, maybe keep it off the pheasant. If it’s the type to be game for a challenge and "bleep" the torpedoes, full speed ahead, don’t worry about it. You know your dog better than we do.

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Re: First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

Post by birddogger2 » Wed Nov 07, 2018 10:43 am

JONOV wrote:
PoorMansWrangler wrote:Thanks for the advice guys! I think I am going to maybe bump up to 2.5 the evening before, and .5 the morning before. The preserve has pheasants, quail, chuckar and Huns, so I think I am going to have them put out 5 quail and maybe a hen pheasant. I was cautioned to not put out a male pheasant for a young dog, due to the spurs, does that hold true? Anyway I am super pumped, a little worried about loosing him but I think that will always be in the back of my head. Already got the Jeep loaded up and ready to go!
If the money isn’t a huge concern, chukars over quail, just because they usually fly better, and dogs can’t catch them as easy. I’ve heard Huns are great because they don’t sit like quail or chukar and are good for reinforcing manner, though that’s mostly hearsay.

Regarding the pheasant, that depends on your dog. If it’s the type to be cautious, maybe keep it off the pheasant. If it’s the type to be game for a challenge and "bleep" the torpedoes, full speed ahead, don’t worry about it. You know your dog better than we do.
PMW -
I think the bit with the male pheasant spurs is more of a potential issue if you were dealing with wild birds. But for sure you cannot get into much trouble with hen birds. they sit pretty well if you plant them right. I also agree that chuckar fly better than quail... most of the time. The only thing with chuckar is that if you don't dizzy them real well, they tend to run...a lot, unless you plant them in pairs, which gets expensive. I would still recommend that you have one bird in a bird bag...just in case. Think of it as insurance.

Have a ball.

RayG

One last bit of advice. It is entirely possible(and for some, like me, actually quite desirable) that your dog will go completely bonkers with an overdose of birds. If it happens, don't freak out...don't over react but remain as calm as you can and, in a firm, but not angry voice, call the dog in to you. If you have to get down on one knee and clap your hands or whatever it takes to get the dog to come in to you...do it. Be positive, be encouraging but get hold of the dog. When you get your hands on the dog, stroke him up, tell him what a good boy he is... settle him down, give him some water, put him on a lead...whatever it takes to calm the dog down...at least to the point where it is responding to you. Don't be afraid to put the dog on a lead and walk him off for five, even ten minutes. Be firm, but gentle and as positive as you can be. I have walked youngsters completely out of the field on a lead and sat on the truck tailgate until they came back down to earth. Then... once the dog has regained some semblance of sanity, you can walk him back into the field and cut him loose again.

PoorMansWrangler
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Re: First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

Post by PoorMansWrangler » Wed Nov 07, 2018 12:30 pm

Thank you for the advice I appreciate it! I forgot to mention that he has been on quail, and he has been shot over, this however will be myself and his first time hunting alone. Previously it had been me, the dog and a trainer, now it’s just us. He is certainly not timid at all it seems based on his experience with the quail. While with the trainer, the first five minutes we worked obedience quite a bit just to get him in the mindset of hunting and that sets him straight. If I didn’t do that he would just be blazing through the field 100 miles and hour it seems! Luckily his obedience has greatly improved through the use of a e collar, and I added the Garmin Astro and a bell just for my own piece of mind. I believe the fields are around 20 acres or so, I was going to try and have them put out 5 quail and two pheasant, does that sound like a reasonable number? Sorry for all the questions, as this is my first upland hunt ever.

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Re: First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

Post by cjhills » Wed Nov 07, 2018 1:10 pm

RELAX. The dog will pick up on your excitement. Again let him roll keep quiet and have a good time. Anything you don't like can be cured later and you will learn what you need to work on and what you want your hunting dog to do. That Will be your choice. Not wrong or right. If you are looking for a hunting dog there is no reason for him to be rock solid steady. If you decide you want that you can go for it later.
A lot of info for just wanting to know how much to feed the dog......Cj

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Re: First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

Post by isonychia » Wed Nov 07, 2018 2:00 pm

One more thing. My experience has been that the folks at the preserve will often think of themselves as trainers when they most certainly are not and even if they are they probably are not your trainer and not using YOUR method. Therefore they really should be hands off aside from showing you where to go and where they planted. I once had someone go up and touch my dog as if to say good job, of course he then released and busted the bird. Listen to what they have to say, but definately take it with a grain of salt.

PoorMansWrangler
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Re: First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

Post by PoorMansWrangler » Mon Nov 12, 2018 12:39 pm

Figures I would check back in with a update, the hunt went well I think! My main concern was keeping track of the dog, and the combo of the bell and the Astro made that easy. I purchased 5 birds in total, 3 chukar and two hen pheasants, and we went 1 for 5. Right off the bat he pointed one chukar and retrieved it, then he bumped two first while running, and we could not find the last two. I had a blast though! He did find two dead birds from the day before I think, and he had a lot of false points where I think he was smelling where they had planted birds earlier in the day. According to the Astro, he ran 7 miles, at about a 5 mph pace, and he seemed to have a lot of gas in the tank still!

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Re: First Hunt this Weekend: Feeding

Post by shags » Mon Nov 12, 2018 2:27 pm

Wow, it's nice of you to check back in. Good you and the dog had fun. In the scheme of things, that's how it should be.

Keep in mind that young dogs don't know from Adam...it takes a couple three times for them to catch on about "birds in here". How do they know when they get out of the truck whether they're at a preserve, the dog park, state game lands, or a golf course. So when they go running around, sometimes birds aren't on their minds until they get a clue. It won't take long!

Keep it fun for you both, good luck going forward.

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