Conditioning for the hour?

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 6:22 am

How do you condition for the hour? When do you start? How long does it take you to get a fit dog conditioned to run an hour stake? How do you build them up? How long do you maintain them at that level before stepping them back down?

Just curious what everyone's routine is.

Neil · Post by **Neil** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 8:13 am

The key is to never let them get out of condition.

It takes 6 to 8 weeks to get one ready to run an hour plus.

Start increasing whatever roading you are doing now until you are at an hour and 10 minutes, of varying the speed from very slow to a fast trot to a lope every few minutes, to get a full range of motion. Do this 3 to 4 times a week. On alternate days free run or swim, give one full day off with lots of fun and games, lots of pats on the head.

Always stop and pick them up when they slow, do not let them pace themselves pulling or free running.

Keep what bird work you do interesting, safe, and fun.

Depending on the dog, kill some birds for him.

Starting now, you can keep him at that pitch for 7 -9 months, then you need to back off some, but not so much that he gains weight.

Dogs get stale from over-working on pen birds, not conditioning.

Feed one of the top dog foods and I add 2 tablespoons of canola if they start to get too lean.

Neil

RayGubernat · Post by **RayGubernat** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:26 pm

Karen -

I road my dogs slowly against resistance(ME or the horse), I want them to pull sonstantly and strain against the harness. I have found that if a dog can pull hard for 20 minutes it can finish a half hour stake with the hammer down. If the dog will pull steady for 40-45 minutes it will do an hour and still be smokin' at pickup. This is especially true if you road, as I do, in the heat. If a dog can pull hard for 40 minutes in 85-90 degree heat(with frequent watering of course), a 75-80 degree temp at a trial is a relatively safe and easy outing for them. You still gotta watch and carry plenty of water....

As Neil says the key is to never let them get really far out of shape. If you let your dog run free in the yard for a half hour a day, play catch or chase other dogs around, they will stay in surprisingly good shape.

I also let the dogs free run to stretch out and tone those sprint muscles that the resistance training develops.

How long it takes depends on the dog I think. If the dog has a lot of desire, wants to go and pulls hard form th get go, I can build them up to 40 minutes in about 3 - 4 weeks. If the dog is a little lazier or less driven and doesn't push themselves as hard, it will take longer. You need to use more care with longer haired and darker haired dogs, especially when it is warm. An older dog will not snap back into shape as fast as a youngster.

Keep in mind, my guys are pointers, so they take the heat a lot better than most. There are five of them with four in the yard at any one given time, so they chase each other around pretty well without much help from me. I throw out a couple of rope boodles and a couple of squeaky toys and let them have at it while I sit and watch.

RayG

Rich Heaton · Post by **Rich Heaton** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 2:05 pm

Karen,,, I think you have really good advice,,, one thing to keep in mind and the best way to condition them IMO is go run them for an hour in the terrain they are going to be competing in,,, its the true test. I know in my experience and this year is no different,,, I start roading the first of June twice a week and build from there so by the first of July, they can do an hour on the roading bar pretty good,,,, then I take them to the field after around the 10th and they look like a bunch of out of shape pigs,,,, and I wonder why I bother,,,,but they do come around alot faster so by now they can do a good hour in the chukar hills.

DGFavor · Post by **DGFavor** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 2:49 pm

I'm pretty much on the same program as Rich (actually he's on the same program as me). For the fall seasons preparations, I usually start sometime in June depending on when I'm planning my first competition or hunting trip. This year we are gonna do a couple competitions in late August so started roading at first of June vs later on. Basically just trying to build up a good aerobic foundation on the dogs and they seem to adapt much quicker when we cut 'em loose in the field to do their real jobs. They might look like pigs the first week or two out but once their free running muscles get over the initial fatigue, they seem to reach performance levels much quicker.

It's all very serious stuff around here:

kylenicholas02 · Post by **kylenicholas02** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 9:49 am

What are they dragging? Doesn't look like the typical heavy chain

Rich Heaton · Post by **Rich Heaton** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 10:53 am

Looks to me like the two outside dogs are the ones pulling,,, the one on the left has rope which would go back to a single chain and the one on the right has some lion country drags on each side,,,,,, or were you talking about the guy in the Ranger,,,, thats Doug and the co-pilot is Stitch.

kylenicholas02 · Post by **kylenicholas02** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 2:14 pm

I was curious to the drags, bc they seemed alot stiffer than the heavy chain I have been using. Anyhow, I picked up my tubing to make my ranger roading bar today, we've been using a four wheeler, and the gf doesnt find it as comfortable when I "drag" her along... No pun intended... But I'll post pics when I finish it up next week.

AZ Brittany Guy · Post by **AZ Brittany Guy** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 4:55 pm

AT what age do you guys start roading your dogs?

Rich Heaton · Post by **Rich Heaton** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 5:51 pm

I really don't start making them work on the roading bar until there 2 years old. But they start to spend some time on it after their first hunting season or there abouts. For example I have a pup thats about 15 months he has been roaded now for about 2 months for about 10 minutes at a time maybe twice a week no more,,,, its more or less just to get him used to it and lets him feel part of the gang. But he's really not working or tearing down any muscles.

DGFavor · Post by **DGFavor** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 11:57 pm

I picked up my tubing to make my ranger roading bar today

The Ranger works pretty well. I throw a two hole aluminum dog box in the bed, a few gallons water, load up the dogs and run over to nearby canal banks. Stitchy rides co-pilot. Two days ago I was buzzin' up the road almost 40mph and had a dove in the road ahead of me. The thing didn't fly until the last minute and ended up coming right at my head thru the "windshield" (there is no windshield). I ducked to the right while Stitch saw it coming and went for a leap over my head at it. I heard the bird hit some tubing overhead but musta been OK - flew off. Glad the thing didn't hit me in the noodle and glad I had the 'ol dog chained to the seat!!

The front bumper on my Ranger is pretty low to where a straight bar barely cleared the dogs backs. I had a welding shop bend my bars up 6" then extend 'em another foot - 5' total length. Works well and nice to be able to take along passengers when roading.

Curious, where are folks roading that run bars off each side of their ATV - roads, fields, ??? When I put two bars on my rig, I'm about 11-12' wide and resemble a Texas longhorn. My history suggests I might do some inadvertant, honest mistake, could happen to anybody, damage runnin' that wide (I still don't know how that big scratch all the way down the side of your trailer got there Rich...

) With one front bar on, I can do all 3 of my dogs at once on one side and keep myself out of trouble...so far.

shags · Post by **shags** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 6:22 am

"With one front bar on, I can do all 3 of my dogs at once on one side and keep myself out of trouble...so far."

Try sticking some tennis balls on the ends of the bars

kylenicholas02 · Post by **kylenicholas02** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 10:07 am

Yeah my four wheeler setup is the same way.. I have some buddies with machine shops, so I'll probably bend them similar to your's. I currently use about a 100 acre hay field my neighbor owns, and just do circles around the edges... But yes, putting both sides makes the thing huge... The current plans for the ranger make it 12' wide, thus we will be able to drive down the driveway without the dogs on the rocks.. then again, I'm very fortunate to have a nice neighbor.... probably helps i plow his drive for free every year....

Neil · Post by **Neil** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 12:03 pm

I only road from one side of my K-Mule, but use the front and back, so I can do 6 dogs at a time, but usually just do 4, it seems whichever ends up in the middle of a 3 dog pull is always being squeezzed out.

RayGubernat · Post by **RayGubernat** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 3:32 pm

The neatest setup I ever saw is the rig a MD pro I know uses. His rig has square tube that goes out straight in front of the ATV. Looks a bit like a forward curving set of deer antlers. He can do four dogs at a time, I believe, but usually I think he does just two. He roads his dogs up and down relatively narrow bushhogged trails cut through the hilly woods on his property.

RayG

RayGubernat · Post by **RayGubernat** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 12:02 pm

Karen -

Since it is now Aug 1, it was time to bite the bullet.

Just got done roading the dogs for the first time since last season. As usual the dgs are in far better shape than I am. They went anywhere from 15 minutes to 20 minutes pulling hard against resistance(me). I generally road them for an additional three to five minutes after they start to show fatigue.

I'm pretty pleased with the dogs, since the temp was 85 when I started and about 88 when I put the last dog away. It won't be too long and I'll have them up to 30-40 minutes in the heat. My newest addition did real well, pulling in tandem with my older female for a solid 20 minutes. She was pretty pooped when she got back, but still had some bounce left.

I was even more pleased when I sat down and had a nice, ice cold 16 oz . beer. That did hit the spot.

The horses were looking on as I roaded the dogs around the outside of their pasture. The were Iooking rather smug and please with themselves until I informed them that it would be their turn VERY soon. This walking stuff is for the birds.

RayG

glk7243 · Post by **glk7243** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 2:51 pm

Ray,
Does the beer replenish your body like maltodextrin does for dogs?

Regards
Gary

RayGubernat · Post by **RayGubernat** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 4:19 pm

glk7243 wrote:Ray,
Does the beer replenish your body like maltodextrin does for dogs?

Regards
Gary

Gary -

That is a possibility that I had not entertained. It sounds very good, but the truth of the matter is... I couldn't care less. It felt good going down.

RayG

DGFavor · Post by **DGFavor** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 10:24 am

Still awfully green out there Gary! Same over here - strange year.

I like to snug up the front part of that leather harness a little more so that it'll ride right in that groove along the front of their shoulders just like you'd want a backpack to ride. I think I'm on the last hole (smallest size) on the top two attachments and it's just a bit of a chore to slide it over their heads. Then I have the one that runs underneath their chest between the front legs set on the last hole to make the longest length on the big dogs (Scoots and Bugs) and I think on the second to last hole for the mini's (Stitch and Trixie). I really like those harnesses myself.

How do you like that other harness? Always drives me crazy the way that neck strap rides up like that on those harnesses...not sure it changes the function of the unit as a whole but that strap sure doesn't look like it's doing anything.

Maltodextrin?? What the heck kinda mumbo jumbo science experiments you got goin' on over there?!

glk7243 · Post by **glk7243** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 4:46 pm

Doug,
It's not that green. The pic is from a few weeks ago. I have tried both on each dog. I truly can not notice a difference in how the dog performs in one vs the other. I will try tightening that yoke tonight.
Gary

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