Is there anything to help a dog recover from hunting I have a 95 lb blm who runs very hard took him pheasant hunting thurs duck hunting Fri am goose hunting fri pm and pheasant sat, he is pretty stiff today is this normal am I asking too much of him ? Is there anything I can give him to help recovery thanks in advance for any repplys
Recovery supplements
FieldLab
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Is there anything to help a dog recover from hunting I have a 95 lb blm who runs very hard took him pheasant hunting thurs duck hunting Fri am goose hunting fri pm and pheasant sat, he is pretty stiff today is this normal am I asking too much of him ? Is there anything I can give him to help recovery thanks in advance for any repplys
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As for supplements, I've found K-9 Superfuel to help with joint stiffness in my dogs.
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My dogs get Glucosamine and Chondroitin tablets everyday with their food, I am also sprinkling about a teaspoon of organic Tumeric powder on the food.
The Tumeric helps with inflamation and the Badia brand in the spice section at Walmart is $1.96. Finally, at trials or after really hard work, I use the
Pro Plan ReFuel Bars, a little pricey but work very well for me.
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Doesn't get mentioned much here but Annamaet makes some of the best performance dog supplement products I know of.
Endure (joint supplement)
Glycocharge {post exercise} {aka doggie cocain)
Impact (high energy supplement)
.
http://annamaet.com/supplements
Endure (joint supplement)
Glycocharge {post exercise} {aka doggie cocain)
Impact (high energy supplement)
.
http://annamaet.com/supplements
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I use Adequan, which was suggested to me by sports vet Dr Jennell Appel. This is an injectable polysulfated glycosaminoglycan (I think this is a big word for a super type of Glucosamine and Chondroitin). It is a bit expensive and takes a vet's prescription to get it, but boy it has worked wonders on my 6 year old lab, who pretty much works hard all year long either training or hunting. Perhaps Dr. Ed would care to comment on this drug and whether it is snake oil, but my dog runs like she is a one year old after starting this.
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I'm going through the same thing my dog is 84lbs in great shape but he had limes last year and this started. Have you had your dog tested for limes lately if not I would and not sure how old your dog is mine's six. Good luck
http://www.retrievertraining.net/forums/showthread.php?120559-Glucosamine-for-you-dog
http://www.retrievertraining.net/forums/showthread.php?120559-Glucosamine-for-you-dog
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After a whole day seminar with Jennell Appel: I think the take home messages for anyone with competitive or hunting dogs is:
1.) Most are not nearly as "fit" as we think and can benefit from conditioning (land and water)- the slow recovery is always a red flag that they are not conditioned enough to be doing what you are asking of them
2.) We need to pay addition to hydration, warm-up, cool-down, and stretching
3.) We need to provide joint supplementation and adequan (I would say this has heavy evidence behind it David and IMO not snake oil)
4.) We need to take early intervention instead of just saying they had an episode of lameness but everything is all good now
Basically for anyone that has ever been an athlete we need to do for our dogs what we do for ourselves. It hit me hard because I never lined up to a competition without being ridiculously conditioned beyond what I would have to do that day. I also made sure of proper hydration, recovery, and cool-down. Never crossed my mind that my dogs deserved the same consideration.
There were a lot of experienced people who took a lot out of that seminar.
1.) Most are not nearly as "fit" as we think and can benefit from conditioning (land and water)- the slow recovery is always a red flag that they are not conditioned enough to be doing what you are asking of them
2.) We need to pay addition to hydration, warm-up, cool-down, and stretching
3.) We need to provide joint supplementation and adequan (I would say this has heavy evidence behind it David and IMO not snake oil)
4.) We need to take early intervention instead of just saying they had an episode of lameness but everything is all good now
Basically for anyone that has ever been an athlete we need to do for our dogs what we do for ourselves. It hit me hard because I never lined up to a competition without being ridiculously conditioned beyond what I would have to do that day. I also made sure of proper hydration, recovery, and cool-down. Never crossed my mind that my dogs deserved the same consideration.
There were a lot of experienced people who took a lot out of that seminar.
Wow this all makes a lot of sence to me esp being a formal athelete, never thought of it on those lines I guess I am doing him a injustice He is trained 3-4 times a week marks and blinds both land and water but nothing for conditioning I give him a joint supplement and apf pro from gun dog supply which is to help with recovery I will check with my vet and look into some of the other suggestions thanks ! Some one suggested roading maybe I will try that as well its really just the pheasant hunting that gets him
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Fieldlab- apply what you know to your dog. I think Dr. Appel stated she road conditioned (ATV outfitted with harness and pole) to allow the dogs to trot (5-6 mph depending on the dog). The key is to keep them continuously trotting (not running) no sniffing, potty breaks, etc. so the HR stays elevated for the whole time (exactly like increasing aerobic capacity in humans). She also does water conditioning where the dogs must continuously swim for a period of time (typically she kayaks with them).
I think she said she starts at around 10 min. for both (assuming your dog is well conditioned to start with) and then moves in increments of 2-5 min. increases every week or two. She said for the roading she looks at whether the dog's tongue curls at the tip. As soon as it occurs she said the dog is tired and needs to stop. So like humans everything is done on individual basis. Conditioning should be worked into training exactly like we do for ourselves, periodization.
I would say my dogs are conditioned well on land (they average 35-40 miles a week running with me) but would probably fail to swim for any length of continuous time beyond 8 min.
She works up to 30 min. continuous land trotting and 30 min. continuous swim (not at the same time, usually different weeks).
Hope it makes sense.
I think she said she starts at around 10 min. for both (assuming your dog is well conditioned to start with) and then moves in increments of 2-5 min. increases every week or two. She said for the roading she looks at whether the dog's tongue curls at the tip. As soon as it occurs she said the dog is tired and needs to stop. So like humans everything is done on individual basis. Conditioning should be worked into training exactly like we do for ourselves, periodization.
I would say my dogs are conditioned well on land (they average 35-40 miles a week running with me) but would probably fail to swim for any length of continuous time beyond 8 min.
She works up to 30 min. continuous land trotting and 30 min. continuous swim (not at the same time, usually different weeks).
Hope it makes sense.
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That is a big animal no doubt, but IMO rest is good medicine.
Just my opinion of course.
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Excellent post!
For anyone who can not make the seminar,There are basically three parts to warming up:
1) Walk your retriever at a brisk pace
2) Sit and come to work sprinting muscles
3) Figure 8s to stretch (chasing bumper between your legs in figure 8 pattern..most retrievers think this is great fun)
See:
Youtube Retriever Warmup by Dr. Appel
Cool-down is important also to minimize lactic acid in the muscles.
Here is a link to a randomized double-blind study documenting the positive effect of Glucosamine Chondrotin in canines:
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I would believe the lady who gets paid a lot of money for her advice and trains with the best pros and FT dogs in the country. Iditarod sled dogs and labs are pretty different from each other. Don't think someone who does iditarod would know more then someone who works with FT labs every single day on conditioning, recovery, and rehab and is highly sought after and paid for it.If I am going to believe in something, then I would welcome those folks who run Iditarod every year and ask for their opinion.
My penny.
Don't believe in it, I don't care but don't try and put your 2 cents in to sway someone who doesn't know any better on your crappy advice.
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My take dog's not in shape; a lot of people think because they train 3-4 times a week that. Their dog is in shape, but we're just talking marks and blinds (sprints-followed by long rest periods); we're not talking endurance training, that's needed for hours upon hours, miles upon miles of upland hunting. If your gonna hunt a lot and he's 4.5 yrs. most likely you'll have 2-3 hunts with slow recovery, until the body catches up. Would help to road (I prefer a Bike) and swim him (kayak-caneo) after all you might as well get some exercise too. Using a canoe will get it done fast, with little stress on the body. I start my own dogs on a endurance regimen, ~ 1mt prior to season, and they'll still be exhausted after the first couple of hunts; but they are ready to go again the next morning and I don't see the long recovery time. My 8yr. old has a larger frame size, just got back into hunting shape after complete down time and a litter, took awhile to build her back up, but she doesn't have any of the stress symptoms your describing in your much younger dog.
Also I don't know the size of your dog, but My 10yr. old who hunted non-stop for days on end; was 24in tall, only ever weighed 86lb when he was in shape and 90lb when he was fat. He was largest framed dog I've been familiar with; your boy might do a bit better with a tad less weight, of course if your endurance training him, that will most likely happen on it's own.
The only recovery supplements I'd recommend would be to only feed in the evening and add water, to his food ~40mins after he has finished hunting for the day. This will give him longest time possible to digest, get the energy stores up for the next day and ensure he's getting enough water, as most dogs will not drink enough to replenished water stores when they are hunting. I like Glucosamine-chondroitin , but realistically your dog is too young to see much benefit from it unless he's got some sort've degenerative condition, sounds like he's just sore from over working muscles, simply because he's not conditioned for the amount of work your asking.
Also I don't know the size of your dog, but My 10yr. old who hunted non-stop for days on end; was 24in tall, only ever weighed 86lb when he was in shape and 90lb when he was fat. He was largest framed dog I've been familiar with; your boy might do a bit better with a tad less weight, of course if your endurance training him, that will most likely happen on it's own
.The only recovery supplements I'd recommend would be to only feed in the evening and add water, to his food ~40mins after he has finished hunting for the day. This will give him longest time possible to digest, get the energy stores up for the next day and ensure he's getting enough water, as most dogs will not drink enough to replenished water stores when they are hunting. I like Glucosamine-chondroitin , but realistically your dog is too young to see much benefit from it unless he's got some sort've degenerative condition, sounds like he's just sore from over working muscles, simply because he's not conditioned for the amount of work your asking.
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