There are books written about this subject, so I will try to capture the facts as closely as possible in this short post.
Rule #1: It is all about energy. Energy equals calories. Calories allow the dog to have stamina, hunt with its mouth closed for better scenting, and calories allow the dog to maintain its body weight over a hard hunting season.
For all practical purposes, for our dogs, energy/calories comes down to fat. The percentage of fat in the diet on an as fed basis (that means what the Ingredient Label says) is the key. Think in terms of 20% minimum. You see, fat is energy "dense". There are a lot of calories in a small quantity. So, a dog can eat a normal amount of food and get a lot more calories per bite/cup/bowl etc. It is more difficult to provide these calories with a lower fat food because the dog just won't eat that much quantity.
Rule #2: Start early. Research documents that the little fuel-burning part of the muscle cell (called the mitochondria) takes about 8 weeks to acclimate to the higher fat diet. Typically, I start my own dogs on a high-fat "performance" type food exactly eight weeks before hunting season or the beginning of serious training.
Rule #3: Keep it up. Feed the performance type food, at least 20% fat, throughout hunting season. There is really no reason for a dog to lose 10-15% of its body weight even with hard, daily hunting. It is quite possible to maintain normal body condition if the nutrition is there.
Rule #4: Protein is important too. Daily work can be detrimental to muscle mass. Muscle is made from protein, so this ingredient is important if the dog is to maintain healthy muscle tissue. The standard reco is 30% protein. There is an old wives' tale that high protein diets "burn a dog's kidneys up". This is totally false. Studies on dogs fed up to 50% protein diets have not increased the incidence of kidney disease. Now, it is true that once a dog HAS kidney disease, they may benefit from a lower protein level. But, high dietary protein does not cause kidney disease.
Protein can come from many sources. Animal-based proteins like beef, pork, lamb, etc. are available as are plant-based proteins like soybean meal. To me, the optimal protein source for hunting dogs is chicken. One reason is that there is a lot of chicken available. The huge broiler industry provides humans and animals with a large source of protein so it is easier for a pet food manufacturer to purchase high-quality protein if they use chicken. I like chicken in my dog's food.
Rule #5: Carbs are somewhat important. Dogs don't have a minimum carbohydrate requirement. But, since carbs are less expensive than protein, manufacturers correctly use some carbs (grains) to provide optimal nutrition but keep the per bag cost affordable. Corn, wheat, and other grains can provide carbs for dog food. But, my choice is always rice. Rice is easily digestable; provides a quick glucose response (blood sugar goes up faster), and is ideal for hard working dogs.
Bottom Line: Beginning 8 wks before hunting season, switch your dog to a 20% fat, 30% protein diet made up of chicken and rice. Feed this food throughout hunting season. You will be doing all you can do nutritionally for your dog if you follow this advice.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Upcoming Topics
Timing the mating in dogs
Supplements for Hunting Dogs
Modular Kennels
Controlling Internal Parasites
Conditioning the Hunting Dog
Raising Healthy Puppies
Supplements for Hunting Dogs
Modular Kennels
Controlling Internal Parasites
Conditioning the Hunting Dog
Raising Healthy Puppies
Heartworm Prevention
Since we work with a lot of large hunting dog kennels, a common request is for us to "mix up some heartworm stuff in the lab for us to use". What they want is a cattle dewormer, Ivomec, mixed in a vehicle for heartworm prevention. Ivomec's active ingredient is ivermectin, the same active ingredient in many brand name heartworm preventatives.
On paper, and in real life, this off-label product will, in fact, prevent heartworms. But, the legal ramifications for a licensed DVM to provide this off-label product is complex. First, the FDA allows veterinarians to "compound" drugs for special situations where there is no alternative. But, with heartworm prevention, there are many labeled products available for this use. As a result, the FDA looks negatively on mixing heartworm prevention in the back room just to save a client money.
Secondly, if an owner is using this cattle product on their dog to prevent heartworms, there is a myriad of legal issues if the dog either gets sick from the product or gets heartworms while on this medication.
As a result, we have quit providing this back-room mixture to our clients. The good news is that since the patent has run out on the ivermectin-based brand name products, the costs have decreased substantially.
If you own a large kennel, you may be tempted to get a friend or even your veterinarian to mix you up some of the cattle product to save money. I recommend that you be very cautious in this approach because you are out on a limb if problems arise.
Everyone likes to save money, including me. But, there is a false economy at times and, with heartworm preventions, you are truly better off using the right stuff.
On paper, and in real life, this off-label product will, in fact, prevent heartworms. But, the legal ramifications for a licensed DVM to provide this off-label product is complex. First, the FDA allows veterinarians to "compound" drugs for special situations where there is no alternative. But, with heartworm prevention, there are many labeled products available for this use. As a result, the FDA looks negatively on mixing heartworm prevention in the back room just to save a client money.
Secondly, if an owner is using this cattle product on their dog to prevent heartworms, there is a myriad of legal issues if the dog either gets sick from the product or gets heartworms while on this medication.
As a result, we have quit providing this back-room mixture to our clients. The good news is that since the patent has run out on the ivermectin-based brand name products, the costs have decreased substantially.
If you own a large kennel, you may be tempted to get a friend or even your veterinarian to mix you up some of the cattle product to save money. I recommend that you be very cautious in this approach because you are out on a limb if problems arise.
Everyone likes to save money, including me. But, there is a false economy at times and, with heartworm preventions, you are truly better off using the right stuff.
Eli
Last September, I was visiting with my good friends, Gene & Lona Kluck from Watertown SD. I asked Lona "Which of your dogs is the very best?" She pointed to a black Drahthaar female named Enid vom Sodak.
I only keep females but, for several years, had been considering a male puppy to train. The Internet and magazines are full of great stud dogs, so I never felt the need to keep my own male. But, with travel, shipping and other costs increasing, I thought it might be smart to develop a male for my own use.
Eli arrived via airplane in March. Drahthaars are primarily braunschimmel (brown ticked) but a few come as schwarschimmel (black roan). The German registry prohibits breeding blacks to blacks to avoid the eventual solid black dogs, so the black ones are less common but Eli is certainly black.
In an effort to train this puppy "right", I dragged out all my old training books and made a spreadsheet with dates and tasks that he'd have to learn. We started with the basics: "Here", "Sit", and "Heel". He proved quite smart...maybe a bit too smart. Over time, he showed a willingness to learn and has been fairly easy to train so far. BUT, he is a rambunctious, ripping and running, wild one! (You will notice that I have the grip of death on him for his picture!)
I did not want to take his desire out of him but eventually, I just had to get a handle on him. Finally, at age 8 mths, I put the Dogtra Remote Training collar on him. He's grown a lot since the pic and is maturing into a beautiful, solid looking dog. These Drahthaars, to be bred, must be evaluated by experienced judges on their coat and conformation. So far, he looks like he might be special in the looks department.
Oh, he's a great responder now. But, I don't won't to get too dependent on that e-collar. This breed, if nothing else, is intelligent to a fault. They figure out quickly when the e-collar is on thier neck. I had an old retriever trainer tell me to put it on him every time I took him out of the kennel and the only day he did not have it on was during his breed tests. Maybe that is a good idea. I am not sure. I did that with Aggie, my older female and she still knew, after months and months, that the collar was absent.
One of the best investments I have made is George Hickok's training DVD's. About $50, and you get all four volumes. If I did what George says to do, I would have a well-trained dog. But, as everyone knows, it all comes down to time (and the right gear).
Sept 1 is "D-Day". After that, I hope to be less busy at the clinic and have some cooler weather. Then, we will step up the training to a more intense level. (I have seen 14 snakes around my house this year and killed two of them in my quail pen!). Plus, we have seen more snakebites in dogs this year than any I can recall. I have been cautious with my dogs as a result. Regardless, it is time to start serious work.
More on Eli later.....
Ear Hematomas
We see them all the time. A hunting dog comes in with a large, soft swelling in its ear flap. It is full of blood and called an "aural (for ear) hematoma".
The cause is continual head shaking from some type of ear problem (mites, infection, etc). The dog slings its head so much that it burst a blood vessel in the ear.
There are several ways to treat them. Sometimes they require extensive surgery to drain the clotted blood and sutured through and through to prevent recurrence. Other times, we get by with just a drain installed in the area and sometimes, they respond to just medication.
If your dog shows up one day with a swollen ear, don't neglect it because if it "heals" without treatment, an ugly wrinkled ear can result which permanently disfigures the dog.
Keep in mind, the real cause of the problem is usually down in the ear. That needs to be addressed too to avoid another aural hematoma down the road.
The cause is continual head shaking from some type of ear problem (mites, infection, etc). The dog slings its head so much that it burst a blood vessel in the ear.
There are several ways to treat them. Sometimes they require extensive surgery to drain the clotted blood and sutured through and through to prevent recurrence. Other times, we get by with just a drain installed in the area and sometimes, they respond to just medication.
If your dog shows up one day with a swollen ear, don't neglect it because if it "heals" without treatment, an ugly wrinkled ear can result which permanently disfigures the dog.
Keep in mind, the real cause of the problem is usually down in the ear. That needs to be addressed too to avoid another aural hematoma down the road.
My Drilling
As a versatile hunting dog owner, I always wanted a drilling. I checked the Internet frequently but all the three-barrel guns I found were too expensive for a country vet. I was at an outdoor show in Selma AL a few years ago and mentioned to a gun man there that I wanted a drilling. He replied "I know a guy that has several and he doesn't know what he's got." (My kind of man!)
Long story short, my wife and I went over to the fellows house (Never take your wife with you to buy a gun!) and I was able to buy a very old 16ga x 16 ga x 8 mm drilling. It was in good shape but had been carried a lot. Made in 1939 in Suhl Germany, my gunsmith "slugged" the barrel to make sure it was a .318 caliber (old drillings can vary in exact caliber, so you want to be sure before you cram a round in that rifle barrel.)
I have loved this gun! With those Drahthaars, I can go down in the swamp and hunt anything that moves. The chokes are both full which limits me on woodcock and quail, but for waterfowl, it is fine. Non-toxic loads for 16ga's are hard to find, mostly bismuth but it has been a effective marsh gun. The rifle barrel is very accurate. It has a button on the tang that elevates the rifle sight when you choose the 8mm barrel.
Keep your eye out for your own drilling. Try to find a widow that has one in the back closet. You won't regret owning one!
Long story short, my wife and I went over to the fellows house (Never take your wife with you to buy a gun!) and I was able to buy a very old 16ga x 16 ga x 8 mm drilling. It was in good shape but had been carried a lot. Made in 1939 in Suhl Germany, my gunsmith "slugged" the barrel to make sure it was a .318 caliber (old drillings can vary in exact caliber, so you want to be sure before you cram a round in that rifle barrel.)
I have loved this gun! With those Drahthaars, I can go down in the swamp and hunt anything that moves. The chokes are both full which limits me on woodcock and quail, but for waterfowl, it is fine. Non-toxic loads for 16ga's are hard to find, mostly bismuth but it has been a effective marsh gun. The rifle barrel is very accurate. It has a button on the tang that elevates the rifle sight when you choose the 8mm barrel.
Keep your eye out for your own drilling. Try to find a widow that has one in the back closet. You won't regret owning one!
Anterior Cruciate Injuries
The most common cause of hind-leg lameness in hunting dogs is an injured anterior crucial ligament, the infamous ACL.
These injuries occur as a result of a quick turn, putting undue stress on the knee joint. Typically, the dog is fine one day and lame the next.
While some of these injuries repair themselves with rest and medication, the vast majority require some type of surgery.
There are several accepted procedures to correct torn ACL's in dogs. They vary from the "extra capsular" ones where the veterinarian tightens up the joint with some type of implant, e.g. heavy nylon thread to the TPLO where a piece of bone is cut off the tibia just below the knee and relocated to correct the angle of the joint and repair the damage. The costs for these procedures vary from several hundred dollars to more than two thousand depending on the difficulty of the surgery.
Hunting dogs with injured ACL's that are not repaired can develop serious arthritis over time that may render the dog too painful for hunting.
Hunting dogs with torn or damaged ACL's should be evaluated promptly by your local veterinarian. Sometimes, the surgery can be performed locally but often these dogs are referred to veterinary orthopedic surgeons. I have a friend who's practice does over 600 TPLO procedures annually! These vets have all the right tools and skills to fix the ACL problem. But, we often repair torn ACL's ourselves locally.
ALL hard hunting dogs with injured ACL's require some type of rehab to get them back in the field more quickly.
These injuries occur as a result of a quick turn, putting undue stress on the knee joint. Typically, the dog is fine one day and lame the next.
While some of these injuries repair themselves with rest and medication, the vast majority require some type of surgery.
There are several accepted procedures to correct torn ACL's in dogs. They vary from the "extra capsular" ones where the veterinarian tightens up the joint with some type of implant, e.g. heavy nylon thread to the TPLO where a piece of bone is cut off the tibia just below the knee and relocated to correct the angle of the joint and repair the damage. The costs for these procedures vary from several hundred dollars to more than two thousand depending on the difficulty of the surgery.
Hunting dogs with injured ACL's that are not repaired can develop serious arthritis over time that may render the dog too painful for hunting.
Hunting dogs with torn or damaged ACL's should be evaluated promptly by your local veterinarian. Sometimes, the surgery can be performed locally but often these dogs are referred to veterinary orthopedic surgeons. I have a friend who's practice does over 600 TPLO procedures annually! These vets have all the right tools and skills to fix the ACL problem. But, we often repair torn ACL's ourselves locally.
ALL hard hunting dogs with injured ACL's require some type of rehab to get them back in the field more quickly.
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