Is Your Dog Ready For The Season?

With the first partridges only a week away from filling up the game bag, it’s certainly a time of year when gundog fitness is all too often an issue.

So with the real hard work of the winter season ahead of us there’s no time to waste in getting gundogs in good order – and it’s just as much about getting them match fit to avoid injury as it is about having a svelte and healthy looking dog by your side.

The ultimate aim is to have a fit and honed working machine – a dog that’s as much on the button with its skills as a working gundog as it is with its physical condition.

But it’s the dogs that may look fit and haven’t gained any weight during the off-season that are just as susceptible to ligament and muscular injuries as those that missed out on a pre-season workout.

A dog that’s had a sleepy summer can’t turn into a champion hurdler overnight without running some risk.

Pre-season fitness programme

So use the coming weeks to strengthen muscles and improve overall fitness. Start slowly. Walking on a lead may sound dreary but there’s no better way to get a dog fit . Swimming too is a great fitness booster but don’t suddenly start throwing dummies into a river for a dog that’s unfit or not used to water. Use your common sense and take it easy to begin with.

Remember there’s nothing more disappointing than having a dog out of action for weeks because of injury – not to mention the inevitable vet costs.

Brushing up on working skills can serve as a refresher course as well as an aid to improving fitness. Start with some straightforward dummy retrieves, then some longer retrieves to improve marking ability and then add some “unseen” retrieves – and always make sure the brakes still work.

Make sure the brakes work

So many dogs start the season being yelled at because that common condition called “selective deafness” has taken hold during the summer. A dog that will stop sharply on command is just as impressive as one that will do those jaw-dropping long retrieves.

Don’t expect that suddenly cutting down the food is the only way to produce a lithesome gundog. Combine a pre-season fitness regime with a good quality food because this is a time when you need to improve physical fitness and stamina rather than simply end up with a whippet.

You need your dog to hold its body condition throughout the winter so this is a good time to review what you’re feeding. And if you have a bitch you’re planning to breed from next spring it means she’ll be more likely to conceive to a mating if she finishes her work in January in tip-top order.

Jeremy Hunt
Fenway Labradors
jeremy@fenwaylabradors.co.uk
07798 826179

Jeremy is the owner of Fenway Labradors has been breeding Labradors for over 25 years and is based in Lancashire, England.

Jeremy runs gundog training days offering individual or small group training sessions, by the hour, half day or full day.