Ok, it's now past mid-summer and if you are like most weekend bird hunters, you are starting to look forward to opening day of bird season within the next 90 days. Also, if you are like most folks, your canine partner has been spending his/her summer days lying about, spending endless days of inactivity. Fat, dumb and happy is a great way to spend the summer, but it is no way to start a strenuous hunting season, especially when you consider that this dog of ours will be doing most of the work once we take to the field.

           In order to make that opening day hunting trip successful and to ensure that our dog has all of the stamina and energy level needed to carry through the following weekends of the season, now is the time to address the issue of your dog's physical conditioning. I think that for the majority of recreational hunters out there, the physical condition of the dog has to be looked at as a limiting factor in our success in enjoying a weekend afield. We tend to take for granted our dog's performance and fail to realize the level of stress and exertion that a dog's cardiopulmonary system takes on during a day's hunt.

Let's face it, our hunting dog is fat, out of shape and if we don't do something about it soon, BEFORE opening day, the dog will not possess the physique needed to carry it through a full day of hunting in a useful manner, let alone be able to recoup its tool's overnight on one meal to be able to do it all again the next day.

  What I will say next may anger many of our readers, but I have hunted with a lot of folks over the last twenty years and I think that I can say without question that 90% of the dog owner/hunters out there have no idea what it is to hunt over a well conditioned dog that is capable of hunting hard in full possession of all of its bird finding tools for a full day's hunt.

 Simply out of their own laziness a lot of hunters have come to accept a sub-standard level of performance from their dog where from lack of conditioning. Their dog can hunt fine for an hour or so but long before the morning is over, their dog is more or less just snuffling along, tongue dragging, eyes glazed over, simply plodding along with their master, any desire to hunt birds long gone. Long before lunch the dog is hoping that the boss will soon lead them back to their bed for a rest. I have seen it time and time again. (not that I am complaining as this usually means that there are more birds for my dog to find) I think that this amounts to cruelty to your dog and in fact might be endangering the dog's life.

I can hear it now, "Oh, Steve, don't get on us about conditioning our bird dogs, because you are going to tell us to road our dogs and I don't want to go to all that trouble and besides that is really only for those field trial dogs..."

Well, you would be partly right and mostly wrong. I AM going to tell you that to fully condition your dog for the upcoming season you should road your dog. The argument about roading being only for field trial dogs in pure bunk. Roading is a tool that trialers use to condition dogs that run in trials, this is true, but let's look at this:   

The bird dogs that run in a trial are called on to perform for one hour, maximum (most are running for only a half-hour at a time) a day for two or three days a week at the very most. Now if roading is beneficial for a dog that only has to run one hour at a time, why would it not be good for your dog who is going to be called on the put in 2-3 hours in the morning and then be asked to put in a like amount of time again after lunch?

 The fact remains that very likely there is a pudgy, out-of-shape bird dog somewhere around your house right now that could benefit from a conditioning program that includes amount other things, a good half hour of roading two days a week to condition the dog's cardiopulmonary system and toughen its feet as well as develop the muscle tone in its body that will allow it to perform at top shape for an entire day of hunting, as often as you care to go this season.

Conditioning is not just a question of stamina for the run of the hunt, it is also a factor in how fast and well your dog will recover it's wind and legs from one day to the next when hunted on consecutive days. A dog in poor shape will just slide down a declining performance curve once you start stringing days afield together, whereas a dog in good condition will actually thrive and get stronger with each passing day.

We need to start a weekly program that consists of roading, field work and diet to accomplish this result. For those of you who have never done it, "roading", the actually running of a dog where it is tethered to and at times actually pulls the vehicle along is great exercise for a dog. This conditions all of the dogs vital systems including the heart and lungs, all the muscles and bones and the feet.

I am not suggesting that you outfit the family car with a running bar or get yourself a four-wheeler and spend your evenings roading your dog out in the country. For the average guy, like me, I think that this is best accomplished using a bicycle with the dog tethered to the bike while hooked up in a padded roading harness. Do not road your dog attached to any vehicle by its regular neck collar! Of course you will want to do this somewhere where traffic is not a problem, such as out in the country or on a school track, if available. I used live in a sprawling new development where there were always new roads being built where there are no new houses and very little traffic. These roads make passable roading areas. Country roads are ideal as the surface of gravel and dirt are much easier on the dogs joints, I think. I like to get out about two times a week for about 30-45 minutes each. Freck learned to heel to the bike attached to a six foot lead. I would recommend that you always wear safety gear, such as a helmet and proceed very slowly in an isolated area until you both are comfortable with the arrangement. Obviously, avoid working out in the heat of the day, mornings are going to be the best time for this until Labor Day at the earliest. Carry lots of water for all participants and stop every 15 minutes or so for a drink and a soaking.

I like to proceed on the bike with the dog at a good trot. The dog will actually get slightly out in front and pull the bike along at times. It is good exercise for them and regular doses of these will condition a dogs muscles as well as its cardio-pulmonary system into peak efficiency.

If it’s too hot for this, you can take the dog down to the lake and get them in the water. Get right in with them and teach them to retrieve dummies. Get to where the dog will go out as far as you can chuck on out there and swim back to you with it. Swimming is also excellent conditioning for dogs, but again, you have to work them for 30-45 minutes at least a couple times a week for it to have the effect we want on the dog’s overall condition.

The other factor in to consider in all of this is of course the dog's feeding program. A dog that works and puts out as much energy as an adult bird dog does during training and hunting season needs energy and protein to fuel and maintain its body. There are a good number of high energy, high protein feeds on the market. Consult your vet concerning your dog's age and activity level for specific recommendations on the type of feed you should consider.

You may not want to feed this type of feed year round depending on your dog's age and overall health. Again check with your vet before you jump into feeding your dog a high energy and protein diet. Whatever ever choice you end up with, you will likely have to bite the bullet and realize that this "high-octane" feed is just not available for $10.00 for a 50 lb. bag at the local supermarket, as a rule. However, I will also say that those feeds that are going for a price approaching $2/lb., while they are great rations, don't really offer much advantage to me over other dog food that is out there that cost's half that. Shop around, there are many good regional brands out there and some of the "big names" are finally putting out decent performance feed at an affordable price. You might call a local club and get the names of some folks in the club that run field trials and call them and see what they are feeding. The dogs that these folks run require a high grade ration and you can bet that most of them are not spending anywhere near $2/lb. for dog food.

Once hunting season starts one day each week I replace 2/3 of my dog’s regular dry food ration with the following:

             1/4 lb. raw thawed, previously frozen ground beef, the higher the fat content, the better

(note:I freeze this meat hard and solid in my deep freeze for a couple of weeks first to kill any nasty bugs, then I thaw in the microwave and feed immediately while still a bit cool.)

            To which I add:

• One raw egg, one glove of crushed garlic,
• one tablespoon full of vegetable oil,
• a cup of plain yogurt
• and you could also crush and add one tablet of your favorite high quality dog vitamin to this mixture.

 The result I get feeding this way are better energy, consistently small stools, better eyes and skin and a really nice coat. The dogs really like this treat, too. I know folks will wring their hands and say; "Changing food every few months messes up my dog's eating habits.." and "that can't be good for your dog, aren't you worried about e-coli?"

Uhhh....Look. If the dog is hungry, it should eat what you put in its bowl. Dogs the world over live on a diet of an assortment of carrion, road-kill, all the live vermin they can catch, McDonald's Happy Meal toys, plus Barbie doll hands and feet  and at times even each other's poop with seemingly little ill effect. A little raw meat can only be good for them.

During really rough hunting conditions, I’ll even prepare small servings of this ground meat concoction and feed golf ball-sized bites of it to the dogs when we stop for our lunch for a quick pick up. You can’t really stop and feed a dog a full dry ration in the middle of a hunting day and it just bogs them down too much to keep hunting well, but a handful and raw ground meat goes down really easy without being overly filling and is easily turned into energy by a hard working dog.

 Always remember to take along plenty of cool water for dog and handler and take frequent breaks to get the full effect of roading sessions.

 To polish off the effects of our efforts to get our dog in shape for the fall we all also need to start taking our dogs out for short runs afield this month. About once a week is good, twice a week is better. If you can let the dog hunt an area for a good hour and hopefully encounter some wild birds at this time of the year, he will be in much better command of his nose and hunting skills once the season begins. This is also a great time to brush up on that obedience work and I don't have to tell you that a good one hour walk each week won't do any of us desk-jockeys any harm either. Again, avoid extreme heat and always carry lots of water for both of you to suck down during those frequent breathers.

 If one were even to put half the effort into getting your hunting partner ready for fall that I have described here, I am sure you will see a marked improvement in the way your dog hunts throughout the day each weekend of the coming season.

             A dog that is in shape is happier and more productive because it is not miserable when afield and is able to concentrate on doing what it loves; finding birds for you!! A dog that is in shape is more attentive and obedient to you while hunting. I’ve found that a dog that is sucking wind an hour into a fall pheasant hunt is frequently lost, disobedient and not applying itself well to the hunt. In short, the dog is too whipped to care.

 So, when it comes down to it, why even bother feeding that dog all year if it cannot be fully useful come hunting season? A little effort now can pay off big this fall when you hit that first field on opening morning and for the remainder of the season.