Whether a hound is properly fed directly affects its outdoor performance and ultimately affects the outcome of your hunt. The following feeding tips are suitable for training, field work or hunting during the off-season.
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1. Adjust the feeding ratio in a timely manner
The amount of feeding should be flexibly changed according to the metabolic level, exercise intensity, feed mix, and different seasons of each individual. Because in different physical states and environments, its demand for calories will be different, reasonable regulation of calorie intake, not only helps its body to remain in a better state for a long time, but also prolongs its life.
To judge whether a dog is properly fed, you can feel it by touching its body, if you can easily touch its ribs, waist contours, and tight muscles, you can basically judge that the dog's health is good.
2. Exercise or hunting on an empty stomach
Nutritional studies have shown that hounds train on an empty stomach and double their endurance compared to eating in the first four hours of training. Related scientific research has also shown that hounds can more effectively convert fat into energy by eating 17 hours or more before training, while when fed 6 hours before training, energy is mostly converted from carbohydrates.
For hounds that endure high-intensity work, converting fat into energy is the best metabolic pathway because fat is the best source of energy for endurance training.
3. Feeding for several days of continuous hunting
For hounds that are about to undergo high-intensity work, it is best to feed them at least 24 hours in advance. Doing so allows the large intestine to be fully emptied, and the hound does not need to rely on food in the digestive tract for energy output, which is more conducive to its full work. But this 24-hour window can be a problem during hunting or field trials that last for days. In such scenarios, it is recommended to feed within 30 to 60 minutes after the end of a training or work segment so that they have enough time to digest the food before starting the next period of work.
4. Feed once a day
In order to achieve the above goals, you need to adjust the feeding time of the hounds. With the exception of puppies, dogs do not need to be fed several times a day, only once. Healthy adult dogs, unlike humans, do not suffer from hypoglycemia because they have not eaten for several days, even if they do not stop exercising, because most of their metabolism relies on body fat.
5. High-fat and high-protein diet
If you want your hounds to work at their best, they should choose a high-protein, high-fat meal, which is the two most important parts of their recipe. If you want it to perform at 30/20, you can add 30% protein and 20% fat to the feeding, of course, this amount can be slightly adjusted.
6, hunting off-season: do not change the feeding food
Many race dog or hound owners believe that changing the feeding recipe to a maintenance type during the off-season can greatly reduce the cost of feeding their dogs, but it is still recommended not to do so. Maintenance-type meals, generally high in sugar, will reduce its metabolic capacity, and the use of fat, reducing the dog's endurance. And often, the change in diet requires a gradual process.
To switch foods, it can take 2 to 3 months for the dog to adjust to get to its best. That is to say, when you switch from a working diet to a maintenance diet, it takes about 3 months, and to get back to work, it takes another 3 months, that is, a total of 6 months to adjust. In any case, this is more harmful than beneficial to the dog's physical state. Therefore, it is recommended to keep the dog's eating habits in a working state throughout the year for feeding.