Article and photos by Steve and Jodie Ries, Top Gun Kennel
As we reflect back on the initial meeting with the breeder, making our selection and training our spring puppy, the time has come to start making memories together.
There’s nothing better than taking a young dog to wild bird cover and watching how our combined training, genetic traits and proper scouting have prepared them to overcome the survival instincts of upland birds. We’ve done our part with teaching them all the basic commands, exposing them to birds, gun fire and the type of cover they’ll be hunting in. Now it’ll be important to pack your lunch box with plenty of patience, forgiveness and understanding during this rookie season of gaining experience.
What about the things we can’t teach them that they’ll have to learn to overcome on their own? Things like barbwire fences, wide and deep creeks, running birds, using the wind and scent cone to avoid natural flushes. All this – and making sure they keep track of their owner who might reward them with harvesting the game once this all comes together.
Make time to take some needed breaks for hydration and rest for both of you. During these times, remind your first-year hunting companion that he/she will reach their prime at 4 to 6 years of age and only then will you start holding them accountable for rookie mistakes. This first season will provide them with so many mind-blowing opportunities and, more importantly, teaching moments that come with both corrections and rewards.
Before we start adding to our memories with our new hunting companion, let’s make sure we’ve prepared ourselves for this season. Create a check list to use every year prior to going to the fields or woods together.
Set up a visit with your local veterinarian to have a physical exam checking all the vitals, weight and making sure vaccines are up to date.
First Aid Kit
Work with your vet to create a package of important items to take with you that will allow you to respond to issues that will occur in the field and provide you time to get medical help. Ours includes sterile gauze pads, iodine, peroxide, tape and a surgical staple gun to be able to stop bleeding if anything serious might happen to allow us to get to a local vet or emergency room.
Health Papers
Obtain copies from your vet to have with you in case you have an emergency and need to use a different vet.
Water
Bring enough water from your own source to have it with you for hydration. Drastic changes of other water elements provide different issues, such as chlorine, bacteria, calcium, high iron, nitrates, along with stagnant pond or creek water. Always have a water bottle with you in the field.
Dog Food
You might have to increase that total calories in your food if you’re planning to burn more during the days together. Remember that it’s not recommended to feed them 10 to 12 hours prior to extreme exercise. Feed them after the hunt once they’re cooled down. You can feed them a second feeding four hours apart, if needed.
Tailgate Check
Always have supplies available for a tailgate check at the end of the hunt with combs/brushes and proper eye flush for weed seeds.
Training Collars
Check your training collars to make sure they’re still holding a charge and everything’s working. Too often, we hear of customers making last minute trips to large sporting good stores the evening before to buy last minute collars or other needs.
Transportation
This is determined by the distance and outside temperatures in which your hunting companions with be traveling. If your dog has the luxury of riding inside a climate-controlled vehicle then this won’t apply. If not, make sure you have some thought process into purchasing a kennel cover to protect them from wind, cooler temperatures and burning extra maintenance calories needed for the hunt and recovery period.
As we’re making plans, let’s set our expectations prior to the hunt with the level of stamina our young puppy has to contribute to our needs and goals with a satisfactory hunting day. We can remember taking our young children hunting with us before they were 10 years of age to introduce them to the outdoors. The thick cover, uneven terrain, short legs and low levels of stamina made for short stretches and plenty of rest breaks.
Rest and Recovery
Most hunters don’t understand the importance of creating an opportune area to allow the rest and recovery required during a single day or week-long hunting trip. Take advantage of the eight to 10 hours they’re not burning calories to keep them hydrated and reduce the maintenance requirements in the elements we create for them. For example, if the room temperature is 25 to 30 degrees less than body temperature, this uses maintenance calories to make up the difference – not to mention leaving them outside in the back of your truck in a plastic kennel without a cover or worse, driving them back home.
It’s estimated that hunting dogs can burn from 2,500 to 5,000 calories in a given day in the field. When feeding them up to 1,500 calories a day with a premium dog food, you can see that the math becomes negative quickly and the reason we need to take every advantage we can with rest and recovery time.
Our bodies are comprised of 75% to 80% water. When we become dehydrated, there are a lot of things that go wrong with our bodies from a cellular, neurological and biological level. Keeping them hydrated and reducing the level of dehydration is critical to the output of each of us – including our hunting companions.
Pictures
Take lots of pictures to share with family, friends and especially the breeder with updates on your first of many experiences together.
We wish everyone a safe and bountiful hunting season. We hope you enjoy making memories with your new hunting companion.
Steve and Jodie Ries, owners of Top Gun Kennel have been breeding, raising and training German shorthaired pointers for the past 30 years. Their focus today is working with other breeders and trainers to continue meeting the needs and goals of versatile hunting and family dog owners. Steve and Jodie are co-founders of the Aiming for a Cure Foundation.
