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 Firecracker Dog Lover
Posts: 3175
   
| Those of you that hunt hard with your bird dogs - do you give them anything extra to keep them feeling good? Took our 5 year old and 7 month pup out for the first time on Saturday and the 5-year old acts "old" and he's only 5. He hunted well and worked good but he got tired too quick (and we've been working them to get in shape for hunting) and he acts like his front feet/legs are sore. I have a call in to my vet but in the meanwhile I wanted others' thoughts. I know some bird dog breeds tend to age faster but at 5 he should be right in his prime. He hunted awesome and I have to make him take breaks or he'll work himself into the ground but he acted sore. I do have him on Cosequin. Any thoughts? Oh - and no pheasants but I got three quail and the puppy fetched his first bird. He didn't want to give it up but eventually did. He will learn.
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 Expert
Posts: 1611
Location: bring on the heat, NV | Check his foot pads he may gotten cut or just foot sore. Do you have any dog boots? Kinda like horses they can sore footed until they toughen those pads or just got cut on the downed field. |
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Firecracker Dog Lover
Posts: 3175
| I checked his feet, can see any cuts anywhere. I've thought about the dog boots. Vet says add MSM or we are looking into Adequan injection for dogs. Thanks! |
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Sideways Riding Expert
Posts: 11371
Location: ND--it snows, it floods, it snows, it floods | Both of ours get glucosimine year round and our black lab gets Adequan shots monthly and into hunting season every 2 weeks. At the end of the day we give them 1 BUFFERED asprin to help with pain because lets face it they get tired and sore out there. They also get their PHT magnetic blankets put on immediately after hunting is over for the day and they sleep in them all night and we go again. While in the field we also give them Gatorade to go along with their water because our black lab WILL NOT STOP for water unless there's gatorade in it. I try to do some stretches as well for them. I just went through the vet wtih Paige because she is starting to get arthritis in her front shoulder. She was limping off and on on her right front and after xrays and what not she is developing a small amount of arthritis. And this sounds stupid but I do chiro. and accu on both of them before hunting season and then on Paige throughout the year. Paige is 10 1/2 years old now and Rex is 7 years old but we've been doing this since they were young.
Edited by docschic 2014-10-13 3:50 PM
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Firecracker Dog Lover
Posts: 3175
| docschic - 2014-10-13 1:47 PM Both of ours get glucosimine year round and our black lab gets Adequan shots monthly and into hunting season every 2 weeks. At the end of the day we give them 1 BUFFERED asprin to help with pain because lets face it they get tired and sore out there. They also get their PHT magnetic blankets put on immediately after hunting is over for the day and they sleep in them all night and we go again. While in the field we also give them Gatorade to go along with their water because our black lab WILL NOT STOP for water unless there's gatorade in it. I try to do some stretches as well for them. I just went through the vet wtih Paige because she is starting to get arthritis in her front shoulder. She was limping off and on on her right front and after xrays and what not she is developing a small amount of arthritis. And this sounds stupid but I do chiro. and accu on both of them before hunting season and then on Paige throughout the year. Paige is 10 1/2 years old now and Rex is 7 years old but we've been doing this since they were young.
THANK YOU!! I feed Cosequin (glucosamin and chondroitin sulfate) year round for the 5 year old but maybe it wouldn't hurt to start the 7 month old pup on it as well? My vet is supposed to get back to me on the availability of the Adequan and cost, can you give me a ballpark figure on how much the shots are? And I had not thought about the PHT for the dogs (am still trying to finagle one for my horse!) but I bet the husband would spend $$ on PHT's for the dogs. The pup drank GREAT in the field on Saturday and my older one drank better than he ever has. Good idea on the Gatorade too. I have to make Gus (5 year old) stop and rest or he won't. He hunts HARD. Doesn't sound stupid on the chiro at all either. I do it on my horses, why not on dogs. |
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 A Gopher's Worst Nightmare
Posts: 5094
Location: Southern Oregon | I cant remember the name of it, but we use to give our bird dogs and hunting dogs the dog version of Red Cell...... |
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Sideways Riding Expert
Posts: 11371
Location: ND--it snows, it floods, it snows, it floods | brlraceaddict - 2014-10-13 5:48 PM docschic - 2014-10-13 1:47 PM Both of ours get glucosimine year round and our black lab gets Adequan shots monthly and into hunting season every 2 weeks. At the end of the day we give them 1 BUFFERED asprin to help with pain because lets face it they get tired and sore out there. They also get their PHT magnetic blankets put on immediately after hunting is over for the day and they sleep in them all night and we go again. While in the field we also give them Gatorade to go along with their water because our black lab WILL NOT STOP for water unless there's gatorade in it. I try to do some stretches as well for them. I just went through the vet wtih Paige because she is starting to get arthritis in her front shoulder. She was limping off and on on her right front and after xrays and what not she is developing a small amount of arthritis. And this sounds stupid but I do chiro. and accu on both of them before hunting season and then on Paige throughout the year. Paige is 10 1/2 years old now and Rex is 7 years old but we've been doing this since they were young. THANK YOU!! I feed Cosequin (glucosamin and chondroitin sulfate) year round for the 5 year old but maybe it wouldn't hurt to start the 7 month old pup on it as well? My vet is supposed to get back to me on the availability of the Adequan and cost, can you give me a ballpark figure on how much the shots are? And I had not thought about the PHT for the dogs (am still trying to finagle one for my horse!) but I bet the husband would spend $$ on PHT's for the dogs. The pup drank GREAT in the field on Saturday and my older one drank better than he ever has. Good idea on the Gatorade too. I have to make Gus (5 year old) stop and rest or he won't. He hunts HARD. Doesn't sound stupid on the chiro at all either. I do it on my horses, why not on dogs.
i will ill have to check to see what the Adequan cost us last time. It's not cheap but it's so worth it.
Edited by docschic 2014-10-13 9:00 PM
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 928
Location: Northern CA | Sore feet? Coopertox is great, toughens them right up. (Keep them from licking until dry) |
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 "Spaz-tacular"!!
Posts: 20309
Location: Bennett, CO | PHT blankets are definitely part of the routine with my dog trainer. We are here in California at the Master National Hunt Test. The dogs have been getting time with blankets on after a hard run- just like the horses.
I'd guess sore get are also at play here. Pad toughening liquids are helpful and some folks use boots |
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 Chatty Kathy
Posts: 6635
Location: In Ky following Barrel Races & Walker hounds. | cowgirl_3207 - 2014-10-13 6:21 PM
I cant remember the name of it, but we use to give our bird dogs and hunting dogs the dog version of Red Cell......
This, or dog version of Healthy Coat, it seems to pump them up pretty good. We had coon hounds and it was nothing for them to run 2-4miles a night, especially if we made 3-5 drops.
They get sore just like horses, I always wanted to try PHT but never could quite sell Dustin on it for the dogs. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1898
| brlraceaddict - 2014-10-13 3:37 PM
I checked his feet, can see any cuts anywhere. I've thought about the dog boots. Vet says add MSM or we are looking into Adequan injection for dogs. Thanks!
Boots are ok as long as you aren't working them in areas with a lot of grass and stickers. If they get ful of stickers they cause way worse problems than sore feet. |
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
| If he is sore, may be try previcox. Tye dosage on side or insert. |
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