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Preparing your dog for another hunting season As hunting season nears, veterinarians get deluged with owners who want to get their hunting dogs prepared for their work. From upland hunters to waterfowlers to hog hunters to Beaglers and coon hunters, everyone wants their dogs in top condition. Alas, many owners wait until two or three days before the season opener to begin this process. Here are some tips to better prepare your dog for the upcoming seasons. INTERNAL PARASITES: Ideally, your dog would be checked for intestinal parasites two months before hunting season. This gives the medication used time to not only rid the dog of parasites but also gives the dog's organs time to heal and rebuild before the stress of hard work begins. Currently, the recommendation is to actually treat most dogs for internal parasites every month of the year. With the advent of the newer heartworm preventions that include medication for intestinal parasites, this has become much easier. For sure, owners do not want to wait for signs of intestinal parasites to begin treatment. It is much smarter to treat on a regular basis and prevent damage to internal organs and a decrease in stamina while hunting. There are several inexpensive parasite medications available from your veterinarian for home use that will accomplish this. VACCINATIONS: Most vaccines require several days to a week or two to stimulate immunity. As a result, ideally, the vaccinations needed for hunting dogs should be administered at least a month or two prior to hunting season. If your dog competes in field trials, nite hunts, or hunt tests, it is extremely important to prepare the dog's immune system for exposure to the viruses that he or she will meet at these events. Even for weekend hunting dogs, protection against viruses that diminish the ability to smell is crucial for a productive season. Your veterinarian can advise you on the appropriate vaccines. Vaccination protocols are in a continual state of change and just vaccinating with the so-call "five-way" or "seven-way" vaccines may not be the most economical or optimal choice for your dog. PHYSICAL EXAM AND LAB WORK: Typically, veterinarians provide a complete physical exam for hunting dogs prior to opening day. This allows the owner to have peace of mind about the dog's overall health as well as insuring that the dog's eyes, ears, legs, and skin are healthy. While a good physical exam is the key tool, your veterinarian often needs some laboratory tests to make sure internal organs are functioning optimally. For example, the physical exam cannot test for kidney, liver, or pancreas function. In addition, I prefer that my dogs are checked for anemia and low-grade infections that might not be obvious from merely looking at the dog. Hard hunting dogs are under notable stress and blood work prior to hunting season can help insure that subtle problems are detected before they become major ones on a Saturday afternoon while hunting.
NUTRITION: Hard hunting dogs should be changed to a "performance" type dog food two weeks before hunting season. These performance foods typically have increase fat content and increase protein levels. Ideally, a hunting dog should be fed a food with 20% fat and 30% protein from two weeks prior to opening day until the end of hunting season. Then, the dog can return to being fed a maintenance food during the "off" season. The two week period prior to increased activity is important because it takes about that long for a dog's energy providing system in its muscles to acclimate to the higher energy levels in the food. There is no reason for a dog to lose weight during a long, hard hunting season. With optimal nutrition, this can be avoided.
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