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| groups while you're exercising your dog
in the summer," Rieser recommends. "Try meat and potatoes
or eggs and cheese a couple hours before or 30 minutes after
a run in the country or swim in a pond then watch to see what
happens. Find out what you dog likes best and what he or she
responds to with the greatest benefits." Watch your gun dog's poop. "Look for more even and longer lasting energy levels. And pay attention to our dog's bowel movements later as a sure sign that what foods work well going through the dog also comes out well in the end. All this close scrutiny is much easier during July and August than in the middle of the hunting season when there are so many distractions," Rieser points out. R and R before and after feeding your gun dog. "Feed and rest your gun dog during a hunt at the same time 'you' take a break for a snack and a breather," Rieser says. "And do this the same way you do it for yourself You wouldn't come running in from a pheasant hunt, out of breath and sweaty, then immediately gulp down a quart of Gatorade and two roast beef sandwiches. Any hunter who does that without first calming down and cooling off is going to get a gut-ache or something worse," Rieser emphasizes. "Cool off hot dogs and rest up tired dogs and give them adequate water before you feed them anything in the field or duck blind," Rieser says. "Then give them some time to digest their food before sending them back to work. This way you'll have dogs less likely to experience intestinal discomforts Those gun dog owners who worry about 'bloat' or 'stomach tension' shouldn't have any problems if they follow this rest-and-relaxation procedure before and after feeding their dogs any time," Rieser believes. Choose "tasty" nutritional supplements. "Tune up your gun dog's regular rations with 'savory' nutritional supplements especially for hunting dogs that act too worn out and weary to eat anything," Rieser suggests. "One of my hunting partners has a dog that wouldn't eat any of his dry dog food during the first two days on a hunting trip," Rieser says. "The dog was just too worn out to have an appetite and by the third day he was too physically exhausted to do much hunting So, we added to his regular food a 'dried-meat' dog food, some canned chicken noodle soup, and a few cooked fat-trimmings off a T-bone steak What a world of difference that made in the dog's willingness to eat 'all' of his food and to better perform in the field the next day," Rieser points out. Most major dry dog foods are better than ever. "Most major brand dog foods now days are better than in the past for maintaining all dogs in general as they live in their kennels or in their households and experience the normal degree of exercise and physical exertion through winter, spring, and summer," Rieser believes. "But, come fall and the hunting season, a hunting dog's nutritional requirements change dramatically to correspond with the great change in its degree of physical activity." "Whether retrieving ducks in the water or geese in a field or pointing pheasants in grain stubble or prairie grouse in prairie grass, all hunting |
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