should I feed my dog more during the huntin season?

[ZEEK1223]

During the year, my dog always eats 3cups per day of quality dog food. I do not have scheduled feeding, and allow my dog to eat his 3 cups when he wants. this always seems to be enough food, and keeps him at a very nice weight. When he decides to eat, he does not graze. He always eats the ration in one session. Now that I have been hunting him quite a bit, he is hungry all the time, and will eat nearly twice as much. Should I start feeding twice a day, or should I keep him on the same diet? I feed according to the weight scale on the bag of dog food......

[jigging-matt]

I usually bump up my Britts food for hunting. They burn thru alot of calories with all their running and need the extra food to help with that.

[tybo]

Most feeding recommendations are guidleines and state that you need to adjust the amount of food depending upon your dogs needs. In winter they burn more to stay warm and they always burn more when exercising/hunting so it makes sense he'll be eating more. I let my setter eat as much as he wants until I notice him getting a little heavier than he should be. At that point I cut back.

What's really important is to know what your dog should look/feel like when at the correct weight. For most dogs that's a hour shaped figure from a top view and a tucked up belly from the side. A little fat under the skin to the point where you can still feel the ribs is pretty typical as well. Your Vet or a little research on the web should tell you what to look for.

[WaveWacker]

I switched to two a days now during the hunting season with my springers. They get pounded from here on out for 3, 4 days in a row on the weekends. Last year I actually was beginning to feel bad. I couldn't keep any weight on my male. He still wanted to go every day so off we went.

Key is not more amount of food at one time but more times eating.

[tybo]

One thing you need to be careful of is you don't want to feed them to close to when they hunt. They give off a lot of heat and it takes some energy to digest food and stabilize their metabolism. I read this in an article in a hunting magazine. A veterinarian stated, if I remember correctly, that they get the maximum benefit from their food 12 - 24 hours after feeding.

Like I said I am going off of memory so I may be off on some of the numbers but this is what I read. You may want to do some research on it. I'm sure you can get some good information from the web or your vet. I think Purina Pro Plan has some information on their site about this.

I don't use that brand of food but I believe this is what a Vet that works with Purina stated. I think his name is Bob West. Good Luck. He seems to be on many bird hunting shows on TV.

[CJH]

I usually up the food the day before and the day after hunting. That's what my Vet recommended and it seems to work fine. I have a high energy Lab and normally feed him 1.5 cups in the morning and another 1.5 cups at night. If I listened to my dog every time he was hungry, I'd go through a bag a day!!! He knows exactly when his scheduled feedings are, and he starts staring me down about 5 minutes before!

You want to look for the hips/ribs being defined. That's about the correct body fat level you want a hunting dog at. Too much weight and its bad on the joints over the long haul. Don't want them emaciated(?) either.

[goblueM]

yes! make sure to feed them more, as much as they want (as long as you don't notice them gaining too much weight). As mentioned, don't feed them prior to hunting them, always after

[ATM]

I feed my dog pro plan and switch from pp adult to pro plan performance during the season. I have food in his bowl all the time. He is a pointer and during the season I cant give him to much food. I also give him some sort of jerky or half a sandwich during the hunt. Adam