Energy supplements for working dogs

[PrairieBoy]

I really don't see the need of putting a dog into water at -20C . Maybe if they live entirely outdoors and have been fattened up with vegetable oils during early fall and have adapted to the colder weather conditions.

In Canada all the small water bodies are frozen over and all that is still open is fast flowing rivers and large lakes. If the -20C is a sudden one off during warmer weather and the water still is warm I may also consider it.

I just don't get it!

[madrags]

Somebody has captured a market. Dogs in hunting trim shouldn't need supplements.

Buzz is really fit, but prone to "wobbles" because he refuses to eat on shoot days (and has a poor appetite at the best of times), and always goes flat out. Even a highly tuned Formula One car will conk out if it runs out of fuel. Now I force a chunk of Pemmican down his throat before he works, and that seems to do the trick.

[Rothievale]

I wouldn't deliberately put my dogs into the river at those temperatures but sometimes if they are sweeping up after a drive then they will chase a runner into the water, some I can stop,some I can't. I had a headstrong springer bitch that did just that on several occasions, she scared me silly coming out of the water where her coat froze immediately after going after some runners. We have the Spey (big fast flowing river) running through the estate here so difficult to steer clear of water on a shoot day

[PrairieBoy]

I hear you. That makes absolute sense.

[Rothievale]

Nowhere near those temperatures this year! Plus 10 today, so mild its weird!

[PrairieBoy]

Well you can always send some of that warm weather over to Canada.
Currently its. -17C , snowing, with a bitter 26 Km/Hr east wind which is drifting in my 300 meter driveway.
Enjoy that mild stuff.

[EssGrouse]

There are alot of great supplements on the market these days. It still seems the greyhound lads are way ahead of the majority of Gundog folk with regards to feeding, suppliments and recovery methods.

Anyone who says their dogs don't need extra suppliments I think are being a bit naive, there are fresh studies out each year on canine nutrition, some good some bad depending on who is reading them.

There's are few good videos of racing trainers to be watched online, I've watched quiet alot and it's made me reevaluate what I put in my dogs and when.

Sorry to dig an old thread up, I was doing some research on greyhound forums on a particular suppliments, black tar.

[Naj]

Perhaps if we were breeding dogs for stamina and bottom and not for sprinting through a short trial run we wouldn’t be having these problems we’re now seeing. I hunt my dogs more often and for longer periods than many and don’t have any problem with them collapsing or running out of steam. I don’t feed supplements. I feed a high quality feed. I don’t think I’m being naive at all.

Naj

[Judy]

Fatty cheap sausages during the working day and decent dog food always plus getting them fit before they start work. Greyhounds don't do the same work as gundogs, the former is short bursts of energy the later expected to work long hours, unless you Trial of course...

[EssGrouse]

Naj who said anything about dogs collapsing? I've certainly never had a dog collapse.