Energy bars

[Collieman]

Does anyone use the pemmikan energy bar, or is there a cheaper way to keep energy levels up?

[Judy]

Cheapest fatty sausages, cooked, during shoot days. Feed decent food too when they are working, higher fat and protein.

[madrags]

Buzz refuses to eat on shoot days, and generally eats less the harder and more frequently he works. I cut Pemmican into quarter squares and can actually force him to eat a piece. It seems to work well for him.

[Contender]

Does anyone use the pemmikan energy bar, or is there a cheaper way to keep energy levels up?

The cheapest in the long run is to feet a high quality feed and feed twice a day. This year I swapped all my 10 dogs over to a grain free dog food (only meat and vegs & fruit) and they now have energy all day also because I have the choice of 3 different Kcal (energy) levels so I can literally feed them a lower level one day and then swap them over to a higher level the next. I used to feed a good, "normal" complete feed but had to give them extra meat to keep their condition so by the time I added up the extra, it cost me more than what I pay now. I do an average of 100 days/season starting with grouse so that put the food to the test.

Energy bar(s) might work for some but many dogs just don't eat during the day when they're out and tbh we may think they need it (like us) but many actually don't and I know some get diarrhoea as it's too strong. If you do a google search for Silk balls for dogs you'd find several recipes for energy balls for dogs which you can make yourself rather cheaply but basically there are two types of energy boosts: one which is based on fat and one that is based on carbohydrates/sugar/honey.

Natasha

[Cass]

I feed once a day (in the evenings or after a hunt). I don't give anything during a hunt as its too hard on their stomach. Dogs use energy and fat stores differently than we do. And my dog (a cocker) hunts all out for 3-4 hours at a time no problem. I think energy supplements are just a money grab.

[Contender]

I feed once a day (in the evenings or after a hunt). I don't give anything during a hunt as its too hard on their stomach. Dogs use energy and fat stores differently..... I think energy supplements are just a money grab.

It's interesting that despite of the overall quality of complete dogfood has gone up (even the crap ones are better now as the overall quality of grain is now much higher than 30 years ago), there has never been so many types of supplements as now. The feed companies spend an awful lot of time telling us how good their feeds are then 2 mins later they say: "BTW, you'd better buy this supplement as well!" - kind of when buying a new telly and they're trying to get you to take out extra insurance

One thing I will mention about the Pemmikan bar is that it was original created for hard working Greenland dogs to be fed INSTEAD of their normal food as it's much easier to carry bars around plus you may not be able to shoot their normal food which they would feed to the dogs on Greenland (seals) or catch fish. They were specifically created to the military patrol which patrols part of northern Greenland and can't carry bags of dog food around. The temperature on Greenland can be as low as -20 degrees so rather different to our much warmer temperatures in the UK - the dogs sleeps outside in the snow plus of course will be pulling a sledge with packing and a person on the back

Natasha

[Naj]

My dogs' 'energy' comes from their daily diet, which I vary according to work load. I don't find the need to have to support them with 'energy bars'. Mine can be out most days & will hunt for 2 - 3 hours non-stop. That's what they're designed for. I would hazard a guess that a fair proportion of people who feed these supplements don't work their dogs more than once or twice a week (stop/start hunting?) & have limited time to fully exercise them during the dark winter months. It's far more likely that if dogs are running out of stamina it's because of lack of conditioning. If we are breeding dogs that are lacking in stamina & require supplements, which I doubt, then that would be of real concern. It's more likely that we're just suckers for effective marketing.

Naj

[trekmoor]

The only kind of energy bars I have ever fed my dogs during a day's work were Mars Bars and yes, I do know chocolate isn't good for dogs. I did that with a Brittany and with GSP's during 6 hour long grouse hunting stints. I also gave them water from a big canteen I carried and the water was laced with powdered glucose. I drank from that same canteen and I honestly don't know if that water gave me or my dogs renewed energy but it didn't do any harm and neither did the mars bars I kept in a small freezer pack meant for keeping fishing baits fresh.

I haven't worked on grouse for years so I no longer give mars bars or glucose water. If I feel like it and I often do, my dogs share my lunch......sometimes they eat most of it. Yesterday, at a shoot, my Brittany ate 4 small Scotch Eggs and a ham and cheese sandwich.

Wullie

[Alice]

I don't expect a fit, well-fed dog to need anything additional, unless the circumstances are exceptional (HPRs on grouse moors, or spaniels in very, VERY heavy cover come to mind).

Having said that, I have tended to give my dogs a bit of pork pie or something during breaks, but it's probably not needed.

[madrags]

Further to my earlier post, I would add that none of my other dogs have ever needed any supplementary feed and manage perfectly well on normal rations. Buzz is just a bit odd!