johnsoncreekblu
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Feb 2006
Location: Marionville, Mo
Posts: 289 |
quote:
Originally posted by CSnowgren
Conditioning in the summer takes a lot more effort and "eye" than it does in the fall months. Road work is not conducive to getting a dog acclimated to the type of work it takes to hunt coon. I have always viewed road work as a basic, every day type conditioning work. It isn't bad for them but won't get their biochemistry operating in the manner that hunting in heat requires. Rest is vital at all times of the year and even more important in the heat. Road work on a bike is essentially aerobic activity. Hunting coon in hills, briars, and the like is more of anaerobic activity due to the repeated maximizing the circulatory system on a repeated basis. To get a dog ready for this, you have to work them in the same way. Not necessarily running them through hills and briars but developing conditioning efforts that maximize the circulatory system repeatedly without causing them to go beyond the point of overheating and being able to recover. Summer is also a time when you have to have an "eye" for hydration. Dogs can become overhydrated and burn up quick. Conversely, dogs can also become under-hydrated for obvious reasons. What a dog is fed also contributes to hydration issues more than people realize. Feeding lots of carbs and filler requires a greater water intake for digestive purposes. If you are feeding cheap, you will almost always have hydration issues during the heat. Many simply don't know how to identify it. Anyway, fat adaption also gets very dialed in and is a good thing during the summer. The idea that protein causes a dog to run hot is a joke. Poor protein will cause a dog to run hot due to extra strain on the kidneys of trying to filter the junk protein and the associated carbs/filler that comes along with a junk protein feed. But this will happen at all times of the year and is more pronounced during the summer. Keep the heavy, QUALITY protein coming when working your dogs, regardless of the time of year. That is the only way for their muscles to repair themselves. It helps the dog's system stay in an anabolic state instead of a catabolic state. The difference is that in an anabolic state, the dog's system has the vitamins, minerals, and fat to restore the depleted levels form working. A catabolic state is when their system utilizes their existing muscle mass to replenish their system. Feeding junk feed keeps the dog much closer to the catabolic state, which obviously is not desirable.
Your on the right track but at the same time you are so so far away!!!!
A dog can never be OVER HYDRATED !!!! What you mean to say is DEHYDRATED. Hydrated is when we have plenty of fluids and Dehydrated is when we have lost our fluids.
How does a dog lose fluids? Urine, Stool & Panting are 3 ways a dog can increase their chances of Dehydration. Stress will cause dogs to produce more Urine & Stool, and even pant more. Feeding a lower quality dog food could make your dog have a increased volume of stool. Hunting in higher temps and high humidity will cause them to pant more and use more bodily fluids which will increase their chance of dehydration.
When hunting in hot summer conditions, you should keep your dogs in good shape, fees a quality feed, force hydrate before going hunting and take water with you to give your dogs between drops.
__________________
Brandon White
Johnson Creek Blueticks
www.Johnsoncreekkennels.com
417-848-1631
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05-26-2014 03:48 PM
