Submitted 2/10/2007:
Q:
I was checking out your Maggie photos and am intrigued by the one on the treadmill. How hard is it to train your dog to the treadmill? It is so cold here and I need to find some exercise for my young setter.

A:
After several similar requests I decided to write an article on this very subject. For those of you who get the email newsletter you probably have already seen it. For everyone else here is a link to the article.

Submitted 4/09/05:
Q:
Which commercial products or household pantry items would you cite for glycogen supplementing. The subject is an eleven-year-old setter female who is still hunting well and ageing well although the hunts are necessarily shorter. This questing is posed for the thought of recovery for a succeeding day hunt and not pushing this fine dog beyond her already exceptional litmits.

A:
My first recommendation would be to have me down on a hunt so I could evaluate this dog in person. In all seriousness, congratulations on keeping your dog in such fine shape, I really enjoy reading stories such as yours about keeping these older dogs in the field while at the same time having the utmost concern for their health and well-being.

As far as recovery is concerned I would first approach it from the food angle. I would make sure you are feeding a high-quality, super premium food to give her all of the fat and protein needed to effectively repair and replenish post hunt. As long as she has no other health problems (i.e. liver or kidney) I would seriously consider having her on a Performance diet during the hunting season, and start this diet about eight weeks prior to the season.

There appears to be a window post-exercise when the dog can maximally benefit from feeding. Typically during hunting season I will switch to once a day feeding and usually at the end of the day. You’ll want to make sure that the dog has cooled down and relaxed prior to feeding. For me this usually means when we get back home or to the motel room.

With actual supplements there are beginning to be some very good products on the market for keeping these dogs in optimum condition. In my opinion though, to get the most benefit, the labels need to be followed correctly to maximize the effectiveness. Unfortunately with some of the products this may prove to be quite expensive.

In my own dogs I have never done anything outside of feeding with my Chessie. Maggie, however, is a different story and has bonked on me a couple of times out in the field, particularly on long, grueling hunts. On these days I will use 50% Dextrose (a solution you could get from your vet) orally in the way many people use the energy supplements. It is a cheap and convenient method of keeping blood sugars and glycogen levels up. Dosing and usage will vary slightly from dog-to-dog and it is important to offer water as well because the concentrated solution can pull water into the intestinal tract and cause loose stools which would be counterproductive.

For your situation I would address the dietary side first and from there decide whether or not the supplement route is the way to go.

Good luck, and send me a picture of the classy girl out hunting.

NOTE: Since answering this question a number of commercial products are now available. I currently use those manufactured by TechMix Inc.

Submitted 3/27/06:
Q:
I went on a pheasant hunt yesterday with my five-year old intact male GSP who is in excellent health. He is current on all shots. It was 40 degrees with a slight breeze and cloudy. About 2.5 hours into the hunt I saw him on point in some scrub brush, as I approached him I could see he was moving but very slow, almost like he was dragging something. I called him out and he was trying to go forward but it was hard for him to move his legs forward. It was like the brakes were on. I immediately stripped his vest and collar. His breathing and heart rate were normal. Eyes were clear, no punctures. He still wanted to go forward. I sat with him for about two or three minutes and then had him heel to a slow walk. Within two minutes he was fine. I ended the hunt and went back to the truck. He was working on an empty stomach, he gets too excited to eat before a hunt. Is this a low blood sugar issue? This has never happened before.

A:
This is a tricky one, as it certainly could be a hypoglycemic issue, though with those conditions and a well-conditioned dog I would not expect it. That being said, if I do not use inter-exercise supplements with my setter Maggie, I WILL get into these types of issues regardless of the temperature, conditioning or time of the year.

The part that is confusing is your dog’s behavior. In my experience, many of the hypoglycemic dogs that I have seen either seizure, completely stop or become obviously confused, as though something is going on upstairs (which it is).

It would definitely be worth talking this over with your veterinarian, having an exam done and a full blood work-up, if for no other reason than for peace of mind. As far as “game day” nutrition, I subscribe to the school of thought of not feeding a dog on the morning of a hunt. I will, however, use some different techniques to keep my dogs going throughout the day and subsequent days. In the past I used just plain dextrose orally. Depending on the dog, I would either use it before, during and after in a dog like Maggie, or in the case of a dog like Emma, who has no issues I would just use it at the end of the day.

Last season I used a product called K-9 Restart, which is a powder that is mixed with water to entice drinking and also to provide some carbohydrates and other added benefits. I liked how this product worked in my dogs so much that I went through two cases of it last season. With Maggie I was able to get her enough energy to keep her going all day, and with Emma I could keep her hydrated, as she has always been a finicky eater.