Dog management after hunting/shooting?

hughjohn

I am lucky enough to get a full day ( 6 hrs) of rough shooting every week , covering thick briary woodland , bog , wet land with heavy rushes , some foreshore and saltmarsh shooting.

I have an 8 year old spaniel who does the work for me.

Every day of the year (honestly rain or shine) , I take her on an hour long run by the river or woods near my house.

She is still keen as hell even though I am aware the years are creeping up, and she is often quite stiff in the back legs after the shooting day.

I just wondered if other people left their dogs in bed the day after ,or as one suggested to me, not take her out all week between the shooting days .
Is that a bit over the top do you think? All opinions welcome!

I suppose time is coming that I must start looking for her apprentice.

One shot on kill

Well dogs do need to be walked it Keeps them happy.

Try keeping her on a leed and just a small walk to loosing out.

Don't know if this is correct but if it was my dog I'd give her some fish oils to help the joints.

She sounds like a humdinger of a dog all the same.

223vmax

Regular short exercise preferably swimming, glucosamine tablets and weight control.

deerhunter1

hughjohn wrote: »

I am lucky enough to get a full day ( 6 hrs) of rough shooting every week , covering thick briary woodland , bog , wet land with heavy rushes , some foreshore and saltmarsh shooting.

I have an 8 year old spaniel who does the work for me.

Every day of the year (honestly rain or shine) , I take her on an hour long run by the river or woods near my house.

She is still keen as hell even though I am aware the years are creeping up, and she is often quite stiff in the back legs after the shooting day.

I just wondered if other people left their dogs in bed the day after ,or as one suggested to me, not take her out all week between the shooting days .
Is that a bit over the top do you think? All opinions welcome!

I suppose time is coming that I must start looking for her apprentice.

my springer is 81/2yrs still going good, after a good day out she can be a bit stiff next day,I am inclined to rest her up or shoot an easier area

kermitpwee

I have springer that turned 8 in september. He is still a hunting machine and in great shape but I look after him.
Now if you use the dog for 6hours in one day I would suggest giving the dog 3 days before you take her out again and even then only for an hour off the lead.

Now if you use her for 3hrs Saturday, 3 hours sunday I would give her Monday off and run her for an hour tues-thursday and Friday off, sat and sunday on.

I used to run my spaniel up till this year for the full day on a Saturday and then he wouldn't get out till the following Saturday, when I was doing that I had had a full summer of intensive training done with him(Im a teacher so out every day for 2hrs plus off the lead for months).

I find now that the best thing is 3hrs for my dog is fine, he will do more but im trying to go easier on him, provided he doesn't get sick he is looking like he will work for a few seasons yet.

For me I have found that getting the dog to his ideal weight, getting him the correct food and keeping him well fit works wonders for the dog. The food is the key, I have seen young dogs stiff and lame from bad food, indeed I got my lad six years ago. I put him on the food the trainer had him on and he would be very stiff the following day. I thought max another two seasons he would work. Then I changed his food 4 years ago and he is a new dog and has very little stiffness the following day.

ace86

kermitpwee wrote: »

I have springer that turned 8 in september. He is still a hunting machine and in great shape but I look after him.
Now if you use the dog for 6hours in one day I would suggest giving the dog 3 days before you take her out again and even then only for an hour off the lead.

Now if you use her for 3hrs Saturday, 3 hours sunday I would give her Monday off and run her for an hour tues-thursday and Friday off, sat and sunday on.

I used to run my spaniel up till this year for the full day on a Saturday and then he wouldn't get out till the following Saturday, when I was doing that I had had a full summer of intensive training done with him(Im a teacher so out every day for 2hrs plus off the lead for months).

I find now that the best thing is 3hrs for my dog is fine, he will do more but im trying to go easier on him, provided he doesn't get sick he is looking like he will work for a few seasons yet.

For me I have found that getting the dog to his ideal weight, getting him the correct food and keeping him well fit works wonders for the dog. The food is the key, I have seen young dogs stiff and lame from bad food, indeed I got my lad six years ago. I put him on the food the trainer had him on and he would be very stiff the following day. I thought max another two seasons he would work. Then I changed his food 4 years ago and he is a new dog and has very little stiffness the following day.

What is the dog's normal daily diet if u don't mind me asking? My own springer is 7 and like that I'd like to know what kind of diet for an older dog compared to a younger 1

Kells1

I would definitely rest her up for a couple of days after the days shooting and keep her on the lead for short walks during this recovery period

tomtucker81

One shot on kill wrote: »

Well dogs do need to be walked it Keeps them happy.

Try keeping her on a leed and just a small walk to loosing out.

Don't know if this is correct but if it was my dog I'd give her some fish oils to help the joints.

She sounds like a humdinger of a dog all the same.

I have a 6 year old golden retriever, a family pet not a working dog. He had an accident out on a walk two years ago where he basically slipped discs in his spine near the tail.

After care from the vets he was back on his legs but has no where near the same energy. Anyway a fella suggested giving cod liver oil capsules, one a day, to him with his food. The difference was amazing after only a few days. It was like he had more energy, obviously it was just that his joints etc were getting an extra bit of lubrication and it was easier for him to move around.

I give them to the 2 year old retriever too, not that you'd know the difference coz he's all go anyway, but from my experience with the older dog, it seemed to help alright. Posting a link below, seems to be good for dogs anyway, especially as they get on in years.

http://www.pvnutritionaltherapy.com/why-cod-liver-oil-is-the-best-supplement-for-your-dog/

snipe02

day or 2 rest cod liver oil which I never have so I always throw a spoon of olive oil in which I always have ,, high protein, fatty diet ,, Apollo vet tonic every 3rd week and rub out your dogs muscles the next day if he is getting stiff bring a towel and dry off your dog don't put him away wet a heat lamp if you can afford the electricity and have them fit as fcuk before season starts or else they get run down and its an uphill battle to get them right in winter

grassroot1

Get a pup while she is still working well and then let her pick her days in a year or two. She may still be going at thirteen

hughjohn

Thanks for the replies. I had been inclined to rest her for the day after but did not put it into practice yet as she cant wait to get out in the mornings.
Will force myself to leave her in for one day anyway.

The Cod liver oil sounds a good idea , I will start it right away. Generally make up my own mix of chicken/fish/liver/beetroot/rice/egg and mix it with just a fistful of kibbles from "Naturo".

Would never put her away wet or cold, the dog means more to me than anything else, and I often gave the muscles on her back legs a maassage.

Have always been a one dog person , you build up an incredible bond when you are together every day but I can see the advantage of running a pup with her.Maybe its time for a policy change.

One shot on kill

Ah it is hard because to be fair there is only one reason to get another dog. And unfortunately time will come where you wish you had trained a pup with her and learn all her little tricks.

Don't be afraid to walk her on the leed as said before. She enjoys the time out with you as much as you do with her. Leed or not its all the same to her.