Gun Dog Forum

At the risk of jinxing myself I need to ask about getting the pup ready for her first serious hunt in Iowa.

If all goes right and the planets align properly we will be in Iowa the week before Thanksgiving. Here's what I am doing and planning to do. I guess I should mention she is a 4 yr old GSP.

Right now road work. I ride the mountain bike with her on our 3 mile loop and then run it with her. Total 6 miles for her most days. Will up the mileage as it gets cooler here in VA. She is already getting yoemans work in the dove/goose fields and duck blind.

Wild quale are all but nonexistant here in VA but she has had work on pen raised quale and will get in a few days at the local put and take game reserve before we go. A few days chasing grouse are planned also but not too sure how many we will get before we leave.

She is steady on the pen raised birds and follows the wistle without question.

Am I missing anything or leaving anything out? I am so excited about this trip I can't stand it.

Bob

Hi Bob,

I think you're over-doing the conditioning by running her 6 miles more than 3 or so days per week.

I condition mine by free running them 2 days per week and roading them 1 more day per week.

Conditioning = Exercise + Rest + Nutrition. You can't leave out any component.

Best,

Greg,

Yeah I guess I can see that. Most days around here is usually 4 days a week or so. Just like any athlete I can see where rest is important.

When you road them how far do you go?

Bob

Make sure her pads are tough as nails...........

RappGunner wrote:Greg,

Yeah I guess I can see that. Most days around here is usually 4 days a week or so. Just like any athlete I can see where rest is important.

When you road them how far do you go?

Bob

Hi Bob,

With moving and living in an apartment while we build our house and all the fallout, my training is pretty screwed up.

Before I detail it, the biggest thing to understand is that I run in events where I want the dogs to run full-out for 30 minutes. I don't want them to pace themselves at all.

So, I would free run the dogs for 30 minutes to an hour depending on several variables 2 or 3 days a week.

2 or 3 weekends (Saturday or Sunday, not both) a month, I would road the dogs on a pea gravel road at 15-20 mph for 15 minutes.

I've always been careful to take it easier on my younger dog...especially on the roading.

Running on the pea gravel helped keep their pads in shape. But keep a close watch on them. You don't want to run the pads off of them.

Best regards,

Thanks for the tips guys. I'm in the middle of a business trip right now, otherwise I would've responded sooner.

I run all the time with my GSP. I just started to up the miles since the trip came about last week. She seems to like the extra running but I will keep an eye on her.

Our circuit is a mixture of fields and a 'sort of' pea gravel road.

Bob