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Post by brahms on Nov 11, 2010 12:55:20 GMT -5
My 4 1/2 year old DD took the last week's duck hunting in SD pretty hard in that he was completely pooped out after 3 days. I've never seen him so wiped. Water was extremely cold and the dog is very lean because of a recent trial. I did not increase his feeding and I assume that is at least partly the reason why he ran out of energy sooner than usual. The water temps were incredibly low also, but he has been able to sustain activity in previous years. The last day of hunting him he actually ran to the water edge and whined before me giving him another prompt to fetch--he wanted the bird so bad but acted as if the water temps were just too cold. I've only seen that once before from him and after a multi-day hunt in cold temps. He wears a vest. Any other suggestions for getting him ready for cold water/temps during extended duck hunting forays?
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Post by drahthaar123 on Jan 8, 2011 23:17:34 GMT -5
This cold, this late in the season, you got to give him calories. Feed him twice a day, make sure he eats it too. Sweeten it with broth if you have to. Day of the hunt, biscuit with lard on it.
If real cold, I sometimes do all fetch work at the end of the hunt and shooting. Have him gather up dead ones at the end. That way theyre not getting in and out and struggling to stay warm. But if you must, take vest off, wipe Fido down and get water off of him, let em shake and then put his vest back on. Thats the key to them staying warm, being dry.
Course crips I send dog out for while hunting, but try to swat em to make it easier on Fido.
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