Recovery And Performance.

[storm323 191]

What do you feed your before and after and leading up to a night or day out?for instance the season just gone I went on a trip for a week lamping and ferreting hard graft for the dogs and doing it again this up and coming season and I'm always looking to better myself for my dogs sake so any input would be welcome thanks storm323

[bird 10,013]

  On 09/05/2013 at 14:40, storm323 said:

What do you feed your before and after and leading up to a night or day out?for instance the season just gone I went on a trip for a week lamping and ferreting hard graft for the dogs and doing it again this up and coming season and I'm always looking to better myself for my dogs sake so any input would be welcome thanks storm323

well if i was going lamping tonight, i would feed the dog a 1/4 of his food at say 4pm, then prob start to work him at midnight . Ive found this always gets the best out of my dogs, as they got bit somthing to fall back on in the belly, that will give that bit of more energy.And if its going to be a long hard night ,say 4-5 hours of lamping 30-40 runs i give (electr-lights) drink to put the salts back in them, and it helps with stiffness next day . Ihave found now my 1x colliex grey Bryn who is nearly 6 take couple days to get over a hard night lamping, as before didnt bother him, we all getting bit older lol

[storm323 191]

Cheers for the reply bird yes we all get stiffer with age ,raw feeding helps with stiffness I have found I was wondering what exactly are people feeding there hard grafting dogs ,when I'm away for the week il try and get out 4 nights lamping in and they will be hard nights so I think the best food would help a lot.

[skycat 6,174]

This really is a 'how long is a piece of string' question: so much depends on the dog's breeding, how fit it is, what work it is doing. Some dogs do better with more carbs when working hard, others need protein; it depends on the type of work they are doing and what sort of physiology they have: fast twitch or slow twitch muscles. Sprint dogs generally do better on a higher protein diet, and stamina dogs need plenty of protein but often do well with slightly more carbs in their diets.

[socks 32,253]

And don't forget that a dog has the shortest digestion of all mammals and will completely digest his food in 8 hours so if you are going lamping at say midnight you can feed a normal meal at 4pm and the dog will have a full tank to run on ..........

[Guest scramble]

the fitter your animal the faster it will recover.

[storm323 191]

Cheers for the replys it's for ferreting and lamping all rabbiting they will be at a good level of fitness the thing I was debating with a friend is when feeding raw food after a nights lamping and say you was planning on going the night after how much raw food would you give the dog enough till its full or a normal amount ?

[socks 32,253]

If it was 2 nights lamping in a row I would feed as normal anymore and I would slightly increase the amount ..........

[paulus 26]

Feeding doesn't have to be an exact science it easy, just look at the dog for clues, if its working hard and starting to loose weight, then feed more. Conversely if its not working hard and starting to gain weight then feed less. Not withstanding any underlying medical conditions it really is that simple. As for when to feed, then as socks has already said, the digestion cycle in dogs takes 8 hours, so you will need to bear this in mind.

[storm323 191]

Cheers for the replys think that's the first time I've seen you post a serious reply paulus haha