snoopdog 1,256 Posted October 29, 2007 Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 (edited) i would just like to hear some off your folks veiws on how you get your dogs fit ....i know we have had this discusion before ....but this is the time off year when your dogs shouldnt be far off the best ....some people say they keep there dogs fit all year round and i keep mine semi fit through the summer months.... but this season ive enjoyed it more for some reason ......ive had my ups and downs with bits off injuries and then a tumor on his foot and it set me back a bit to be honest .....but when you step back and look at you dog in full fittness and condition it makes you kinda proud ..... .....alot of us have an avrage dog on the end off our slips ....but even if it is avrage its good to get the very best you can out off that dog and thats to get it bouncing fit ......it somtimes makes me wonder how good some folks dogs would be if they just did that bit more fittness work on them ....i was out with a lad the other week his dog was heavy not through it being laid off with an injury just because he didnt do that much with it in certain areas of getting it fit ....i watched this poooch working and i could see the potencial in the dog and it was good ..but with a few more workouts in certain areas in could be very good ..like i said before it makes me wonder how many good dogs are out there but just in the wrong hands ... ....give me a run down on your fittness program if you have one and a few pics off you mutt loooking its best .. all the best snoop ..... Edited October 29, 2007 by snoopdog Quote Link to post
Guest WILF Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 (edited) Mostly just work and diet..........dont get much time (or have the patience) to do all the constant roadwork, bike riding etc.......the time I do get is spent out with the lamp. I never let them get heavy, but the stamina can only be got through running hard and plenty......JMHO By the way, if dogs are not fit at this time of year then the owners have not been doing enough with them (except of course in the case of injury) Just looking normal...... Young dog my bitch Edited October 30, 2007 by WILF Quote Link to post
snoopdog 1,256 Posted October 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 i think road work is important wilf .....as you will have read earlier it only takes half hour to do five miles behind the motor at 10 mph .now thats not alot of time is it wilf ....as for stamina your right plenty of running on game but they need to be long runs or one straight after another ect ect ect .to build the stamina to the dogs limits .....but theres alot of different ways folk do it ...diet is also important like you say .... ......would you consider doing road work wilf ?????....i once read a sly little comment you made about it saying it dosent put anything on the table or somthing like that .. .....to get a dog to its best it takes more than just running it on the lamp ...and good fodder ....obviously this is just my opinion .... Quote Link to post
Guest WILF Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 I will not win any friends with this one Snoop, but here gos........I personnaly think roadwork is bollocks mate.......in season that is, as obviously in the summer, its just walkies. My own personnell opinion is that if there time to walk round the streets, theres time to put it behind some tackle. Belive me, you would not want to put you dog next to the car where I live, not unless you want it flattened by a juggernaut How do you go about it mate? Quote Link to post
inan 841 Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 When I was running dogs in competitions ,preban I gave them 1 1/2 hr bushing ,and roadwork trotting beside a bike ,gradually increasing the distance up to 6 miles ,and speeding up the time taken to about 45 mins.Ive never had a big enough area to run a dog behind a car ,and would be a bit worried about the fumes they would inhale as they followed the car,plenty of good high protein grub and rubdowns ,plus some lamping allways seemed to do the trick for me,of course every dog is different as you know Snoops so you have to adjust your programme to suit the individual dogs requirements.A bonus to this is of course that you get in pretty good shape yourself! Quote Link to post
snoopdog 1,256 Posted October 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 hope your ready for this wilf this season ive worked a routine out and i try to stick to it the best i can weather depending that is ..e.g if its good lamping weather things change slightly .. ...mondays ...5 mile on the road tuesdays 4 mile on the road wednesdays a good walk but not to long just a mooch where i know there just the odd bit off game rabbits and the odd long ears thursdays lamping ..fridays what i call speed lamping one after the other untill i think the dogs had enough ...some people dont get that amount off bunnies to run one after another ....saturdays day off just a walk out nothing hectic ...sundays if possible i go on big land somewhere for the faster rabbits .....now this varies like i say maybe more lamping one week or if the weathers no good for that maybe more road work ......but i try to stick to to somthing like this routine ive been doing this for the last 6 weeks but had 10 days of for a knock on his wrist .....i think a dog should be somwhere near right all year round .....but they are athelets and they have got to be semi fit ,..but when they a training for a comp ..lets say the olimpics ..they train intensely to peak at the right time for the comp ..and thats how i treat my dog ..........to get the best out you have to put the time in .....its that simple ....lads i know who have what i call proper coursing dogs ...do alot more road work and less in the field maybe out only twice a week on the field .........and some do bushing quite a bit to keep them fit and then out on the big land maybe twice three times a week evrybodies diffrent and all dogs a different you just have to try and work out whats best for them ....but the basics are there ....road work is good wilf for toning fittness ...feet ect ect ...if the dog is what i call hard meening muscels i will rest him for a while he was hard the other day his muscels we solid when they should hae been relaxed so he got his rest ....he far from a world beater wilf but i could go out for a mooch with anyone on most game knowing he will do alright .... ....i will get some pics taken tommorow i have know recent ones... your dogs look well .....you can tell your young dog has some filling out to do yet Quote Link to post
hunter cammo 0 Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 i always slow trot the dogs on a push bike to a bit of rough ground that we walk and bush together then after the dogs have had there fun it is time for a faster pace home for there grub , i supose i am lucky to stay up this neck of the woods and be able to step out the front door and be standing in the countryside ! rabbits play a big factor in getting my dogs fit and so does good food mostly a barf diet but i have adopted the diet to suit myself and my dogs . Quote Link to post
snoopdog 1,256 Posted October 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 alot off people just get there dog out off the kennel and go hunting and they are happy with that ...fair enough ....but if you try and work some kind of fittness routine out ...its unbeliveble the difference you see in the dogs working ability even the dogs attitude towards game ......ive learnt alot off folks ive met on this site and through people with running dogs and still learning ..there alot more folk with alot more exspearence than me ...iam enjoying this season and enjoying getting the dog fit ..hes nearly there,, still got work to do on him but things are starting to take shape ...... i hope some more people get some pics up off there mutts lookng good and fit ... all the best snoop Quote Link to post
Guest WILF Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Your dedicated Snoop I will give you that ...........yep young uns still got a way to go, but he will definatley get the chances. Like you mate, I would be happy to run the dogs with anyone.......they may or may not hold there own, but what the hell, it allways teaches me something. Be good to see a pic of your dog.....was a handy looking animal as I remember. The main thing is, the only person your dogs have got to please is you..........feck everyone else! Quote Link to post
Giro 2,648 Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Get the dog out everyday and lamping plenty rabbits that gets them fit.. Quote Link to post
boris b 1 Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 A few miles a day at a good pace puts some proper stamina into a dog , Not something every body can do though . I try to get mine out behind my bike i have a bit of bike track 0.8 miles i do this at around 15mph . It does help , but is not the be all and end all . you can get a dog ready from plenty of work . But in all seriousness how fit is fit enough ? I dont go out hunting half as much as i did and i dare say most people on this site are not out doing as much as a small percent ! . Mine catch gear everyday of the week pretty much through just walking them after/before work and are fit enough for when i do go out ive a busy life i go to college two nights a week so unless i start doing more they will do through with my current regime . Quote Link to post
snoopdog 1,256 Posted October 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 but what we have rember a dog that can run at 30 mph will only run 30 mph no what training you do so if it anit got it and carnt take the work it wont and diffrent dogs tick on diffrent things100% right SS but as you know you wont get the best out off your dog if you dont put the time in ..you a far more exspearenced then me ....but its different dogs for different things ..iam not just talking hare dogs iam talking about getting the best out of a dog but you are right no matter how much time you put into a dog if aint got it ,,it aint got it ...but far to many people give up on them before they are given a proper chance ...another topic really ...there are some things you just cant teach a dog ..... Quote Link to post
TOMO 26,611 Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 late summer i use the mountin bike, and the truck , Tara runs alongside or up front, Visa lags behind about 30 metre, still using both methods now. i also do a fair bit of daytime running on those daytime rabbits that sit right out , ran 2 yesterday , ran 3 the day befor. they catch some but they miss more also been out ferreting twice last week, not doing enough lamping as the weather is still wank. TOMO Quote Link to post
Lennard 10 Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 (edited) I live about 3 miles from the nearest supermarket that is open after 6 and I often take the dogs to my bees that are 5 miles away...always next to the bike. So normal routine is around 6-10 miles per day next to the bike in combo with "fun runs", quick mooches or some good old mouse digging. L Edited October 30, 2007 by Lennard Quote Link to post
Bosun11 537 Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Not really into the car and bike theory and I'm not a big roadwork fan either. Running a dog behind a car (ok, trotting alongside?) does nothing for most dogs mental attitude, I think it pisses them off more than do 'em good and that can be a slippery slope down. Days of roadwork, marching along to try and 'put the milage in' does tighten tendons and really helps feet but it does pile on muscle and not the right running muscle either. So for me its just a good walk along roads in summer two to three times a week ending up a free gallop on a field, no pressure....... and a free gallop on the same field for the other days. We both enjoy and feel benifit from it. I change the rout and the field sometimes to stop bordom and build the time up nearing the season, though never go nuts with it. Real 'match fitness' is gained in your dogs work and if you don't hammer it at the start of the season it will build nicely over the next few weeks. A fit and happy summer pic....... Quote Link to post
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