what would you do?

[Guest JOEB]

Hello all,

By october my Beddy/whip/grey will be 14 months old & ready for her first season.

On the ground we work she will probly get 4 or 5 chances at bunnies on a good night.

You dont see many, and they all stay pretty close to cover, so to keep the young dog winning, she will need to be at the top of her game fitness wise.

What would you lads (& lasses) be doing as a fitness programme during the summer and up to october to have your dogs at top fitness.

I have my own ideas, but would be really intrested to hear a few others.

Cheers,

JOEB

[Guest DogFaceKillah]

good old moutain bike, nice steady 5 10 miles a day with your dog next to you, that will keep the critter fit, abit hard in the summer being hot tho

[Guest JOEB]

so come on JOEB how would you do it.

 

Cheers Max, thats very informative and a big help, to be honest, I had similar ideas with the gradual build up over the course of months, but I had no idea about protein levels ect.

Also I was looking for some ideas on distances, and you have given me that, so thanks

As far as protein levels ect, I really need to do some reading on the subject, I feed the dogs a good mixed diet of flesh, good quality dog food & biscuit with raw veg.

I also use cortaflex in the food twice a week.

Great reply mate, cheers

Anybody else got any ideas?

JOEB

[Kye 77]

Road work is essential where i am, due to the exstremely bad terrian...but more so is getting the dogs used to the heat...thats where the lake comes in handy....first week, i just road work,3-4 miles late at night maybe midnight...its cool enough then...

After a week of that, i increase the pace, but keep the same distance...as soon as i can bike with them for five miles on the raod at around 10mph, they start running behind the truck at night...plus i swim them in the day...

i wont run my dogs local on anything until the weather gets under 68F...they are only good for one run though...as soon as it gets around 55F we start hunting regular....i can get up to four realy hard runs out of each if the weather is 45F or less...the colder the better!..

I like my dogs to be able to do 12 miles at 10mph, in 50F or less...that way i know i can let them run a fair bit...swimming is realy good here, the lake is free, and only 30 minutes away...plus its good exscerise for me!..lol..

Plenty of good grub, rub downs three times a day, and REST!...fresh water, and make sure you take plenty when your out with the dogs (over here anyway)...we take about 15 liters, and two bags of ice...if the dogs get hot we wet them, then rap a cold towel around them...saved the dogs loads of times!...

A REALY imprtant thing ive found on hard ground is, keep them nails short!...we Dremmel ours down as far back as possible and it has saved the dogs feet alot!..

This is for desert running though, so it might not be any good for guys!..

Kye,..

[socks 32,253]

can somebody please tell me why you all think that road work is so important for this lads dog ..........

[Guest JOEB]

can somebody please tell me why you all think that road work is so important for this lads dog ..........

 

Interesting...........why do you ask socks?

Cheers mate

JOEB

[Kye 77]

I never said it was you muscle bound freak!..lol..

I just put up what i do for mine...i like to try and keep the pads tough against the cactus!

Kye..

[Guest HAWKEYE]

Roadwork complete and utter waste of time for a running dog..

all i do in summer is kick a football around on a park for them to chase

and give them a lower protein food...

[Guest freestate hunter]

can anyone up date me on the ground conditions [England]at the moment coming over at the weekend

[Flynn 314]

can somebody please tell me why you all think that road work is so important for this lads dog ..........

after a lazy summer socks i believe it would be beneficial to start off with road work not only to gradualy build up fitness but also to strengthen those tendons , ligaments, and toughen there pads a little before giving them more strenuous forms of exercise. once they have attained a decent fitness level its gallops and runs which are needed to strengthen those lungs.

[Tommy 9]

Personally when getting a dog fit for the up-coming season i like to use two methods of exercise these been lead walking and free running. I have tried a few different methods of getting my dogs fit and have now settled on a way that works for my present dogs, this is greatly important as each individual dog will need different training to bring it to it's physical peak.

My saluki crosses after a hard season will be given a good few months off after the season has finished (April - May), were they are given a small daily walk and probably a swim a few times a week in the local lake. During these two months the dogs protein level will be dropped to around 18 - 20% Coming towards the end of June i will start inceasing there walking activity getting them ready for full fitness training when it begins in July. This may seem that i start fitness early but i generally start running in the second week of august, ground permitting. Starting fitness work in July and started running in mid-August gives me six weeks to get the dogs back up to top shape and for my dogs this is usually enough. When there fitness work is increased i usually start using electrolytes again as summer walking, even if done early morning can take a lot out of a dog. The dogs walking routine usually is a 1 hour every morning and every other day a small walk on the roads at night. I'm lucky in that my two dogs love to chase each other and will spend a few mins coursing each other around. This is a big help when getting them fit and i will usually allow them a good 'Run About' three times a week. A week or so before the dogs will begin running again i will slightly increase their protein levels and then when the seasons fully under way (september) their protein % will be about 25-27%.

When people talk about road work been no good for a dog then personally i feel it has a place in getting a dog fit , but many place it to highly in there fitness prioritys and to much much road walking can make a dog go stale. As fo keeping a dogs nail down, road walking has never worked for my dogs so they are cliped pretty regularly insted.

 

All the best Tommy

[Guest JOEB]

whats the crack with the protein levels..........I can understand that durin non-working months they may not need as much?

Will to much protein have any ill affects on the dog?

Any suggested reading material lads?

Cheers,

JOEB

[Tommy 9]

R 8 Joe B !!

 

What i've been told about protein consumption in both humans and dogs is that protein is used to repair muscle cells that have been broken down through exercise etc. This is proteins main job. So when a dog is running regular and using his muscles the muscle wears and needs repairing. If the protein level is to low then the repairing process will take longer. If the dog is run regular then i find it hard that the dog can be given to much protein, but if the dog isn't been run and is still fed a high protein diet then what is happening is that the protein is being wasted. The dog will get rid of unused protein by urination and if to much proteins in a dogs diet then it will cause stress on the bladder and kidneys.

As i've said in another post i work in a gym and the most important thing to do when bodybuilding training is to get your protein intake correct. The amount of protein that pro-bodybuilders take is massive and without this there training and muscle size would decline.

One of the best foods for protein i've been told is chicken and when i've fed my dogs on it they've always looked and performed well. A good friend once had a bit of trouble with chicken though as it was all his dog would eat and at first she performed well, but he noticed a drop in her stamina and he took her to the vets and had some checks done. The results came back saying that the dog had an Un-balanced amount of red and white blood cells, and that it was most probably caused by the lack of a balanced diet. Anyone else experienced this ????

 

All the best Tommy

[Guest midnight_runner]

Hello all,

By october my Beddy/whip/grey will be 14 months old & ready for her first season.

On the ground we work she will probly get 4 or 5 chances at bunnies on a good night.

You dont see many, and they all stay pretty close to cover, so to keep the young dog winning, she will need to be at the top of her game fitness wise.

What would you lads (& lasses) be doing as a fitness programme during the summer and up to october to have your dogs at top fitness.

I have my own ideas, but would be really intrested to hear a few others.

Cheers,

JOEB

take it down the park with an old tennis bat and ball gives them a good work out

[Guest JOEB]

R 8 Joe B !!

 

What i've been told about protein consumption in both humans and dogs is that protein is used to repair muscle cells that have been broken down through exercise etc. This is proteins main job. So when a dog is running regular and using his muscles the muscle wears and needs repairing. If the protein level is to low then the repairing process will take longer. If the dog is run regular then i find it hard that the dog can be given to much protein, but if the dog isn't been run and is still fed a high protein diet then what is happening is that the protein is being wasted. The dog will get rid of unused protein by urination and if to much proteins in a dogs diet then it will cause stress on the bladder and kidneys.

As i've said in another post i work in a gym and the most important thing to do when bodybuilding training is to get your protein intake correct. The amount of protein that pro-bodybuilders take is massive and without this there training and muscle size would decline.

One of the best foods for protein i've been told is chicken and when i've fed my dogs on it they've always looked and performed well. A good friend once had a bit of trouble with chicken though as it was all his dog would eat and at first she performed well, but he noticed a drop in her stamina and he took her to the vets and had some checks done. The results came back saying that the dog had an Un-balanced amount of red and white blood cells, and that it was most probably caused by the lack of a balanced diet. Anyone else experienced this ????

 

All the best Tommy

 

Interesting stuff......cheers Tommy

JOEB