Hunting old dogs

[williamsld]

So my crank dog is getting on up there( be 9 in March), but he really hasn’t slowed down yet he’ll still have an average speed of 7.5-9 mph for the whole hunt even if he’s put 20+ miles on his feet(that’s from the time I start the hunt to the time I pick him, no time in the buggy, if I’m gonna hunt that way I’ll clear his info every cast)

so it’s hard for me to not take him but the past couple times I’ve noticed after he gets done running those long distances his left front ankle/foot will be swollen for a day or two I ordered some joint supplements from valley vet that I hope will help but was just curious about what y’all do or have done with hunting an older dog

Thanks! Pics included of the supplements supposed to be real good for working dogs 


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[williamsld]

 

This was in April of 2020 on a all day hunt in Franklin TX dropped him at daylight and picked him up that afternoon round 3-4

And he had no problems with his foot then it seems that it’s only been till here recently in the colder weather

Any advice is greatly appreciated!


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[t-dog]

Go to most any pharmacy and buy MSM in vitamin section. It’s in capsule form. It’s and anti inflammatory and 100% I know it works for people and animals.  My dad and I have literally bought it buy the jug at the feed store and taken the dosage for a horse. The body will pass off what it doesn’t use so the overdosing is very hard. I say use the human capsule form because it is easier to give. It has a bitter taste so it’s not something they will willingly eat if it isn’t masked or in capsule form. We had an old dog that would scream and cry to get up and down but as long as he was on MSM he would run and play like a puppy.


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[t-dog]

You can buy it at feed stores in the equine section but it isn’t in capsules.


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[williamsld]

Go to most any pharmacy and buy MSM in vitamin section. It’s in capsule form. It’s and anti inflammatory and 100% I know it works for people and animals.  My dad and I have literally bought it buy the jug at the feed store and taken the dosage for a horse. The body will pass off what it doesn’t use so the overdosing is very hard. I say use the human capsule form because it is easier to give. It has a bitter taste so it’s not something they will willingly eat if it isn’t masked or in capsule form. We had an old dog that would scream and cry to get up and down but as long as he was on MSM he would run and play like a puppy.


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See this stuff I bought has 1000 mg of MSM in each tablet and they are chicken flavored so he actually ate it this morning lol I was a little worried he wouldn’t eat it


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[t-dog]

Hell I might have to find that lol


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[t-dog]

I guess everything really does taste like chicken


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[williamsld]

Hell I might have to find that lol


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I order it from “valley vet.com” get most of my dog stuff from there if I can’t get it local

Hell I wanted to try one but the wife wouldn’t let me

[t-dog]

I was pretty amazed at how well the MSM worked. It’s not something that stays with you. If you miss a day you can tell it.


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[williamsld]

I was pretty amazed at how well the MSM worked. It’s not something that stays with you. If you miss a day you can tell it.


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So you’re saying if I miss a day giving it to him I’d definitely be able to tell a difference in how he acts compared to when he’s on it

That’s great information to know! I do know it says to always make sure you give it to them when you feed or after that way there’s no problem with them messing up their stomach lining


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[l.h.cracker]

I'm not hunting any old dogs at the moment but when I was I fed Victor Performance with glucosamine it's the green bag and a 26/18 I believe.It was night and day difference with my Old Zeus dog I used the supliments but it was much easier to just feed the Victor Performance with the additives and like I said it was night and day difference in him.He got to where he was good for half a hunt a week and I started him on it and he could handle a full hunt or two a week.

[williamsld]

I'm not hunting any old dogs at the moment but when I was I fed Victor Performance with glucosamine it's the green bag and a 26/18 I believe.It was night and day difference with my Old Zeus dog I used the supliments but it was much easier to just feed the Victor Performance with the additives and like I said it was night and day difference in him.He got to where he was good for half a hunt a week and I started him on it and he could handle a full hunt or two a week.

I’ll have to look into that victor feed I didn’t know they made some with supplements already added in the feed


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[make-em-squeel]

a old vet turned me onto the BARF diet, long story short raw animals are great for all health but especially arthritis etc bc they eat the bone marrow ligaments etc I use to have a small rabbitry that was good for that, I also know deer processors will give you the carcass for free if you bring a trash drum to pick it up. Id cut it up into grocery sack size parts and freeze them and give a bag to them every other day or so and it made my dogs look very healthy.

[williamsld]

a old vet turned me onto the BARF diet, long story short raw animals are great for all health but especially arthritis etc bc they eat the bone marrow ligaments etc I use to have a small rabbitry that was good for that, I also know deer processors will give you the carcass for free if you bring a trash drum to pick it up. Id cut it up into grocery sack size parts and freeze them and give a bag to them every other day or so and it made my dogs look very healthy.

You ever have a problem with worms feeding raw?


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[williamsld]

Little update he’s been on them for 4 days now and he’s jumping around and running around all excited like a young dog again so far I’m liking these tablets plan on hunting this weekend so we’ll see if he goes back to swelling at his ankle joint


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[Austesus]

Williams,

I posted a little info about what I do for feeding raw in another thread a day or so ago. As far as worms, I will freeze anything from a wild animal for 72+ hours to kill whatever may be in the meat. My dogs are also on a monthly worming routine, and I have never had any issues. Right now I’m feeding a mix of stuff from the grocery store, but when I have wild meat to feed I will do that as well. My dogs have been fed catfish, bass, deer, beavers, ducks, pig, and squirrels.

The only part I will limit is how much of the hide they get. If it’s a hog I will give them a little tiny bit still attached to the meat if the pig was small, because I will occasionally freeze the entire pig and then chop it up with an axe or use a saw to cut it up once it’s a solid block of ice. If it is not a pig, they do not get the hide, as I don’t want them enjoying the scent of deer hair.

The BARF diet is really good, I do my own version. The standard raw meal is the following:

1 chicken quarter

1 whole egg, cracked egg with the shell crushed up and sprinkled in
 
3 slices of white bread (can also use white rice here)

1 scoop of plain yogurt

A few chunks of fat (grocery store butcher gives it away for free)

The last thing is some organs. I will feed them chicken gizzards and hearts, as well as chicken and beef livers. Liver has lots of vitamins and has good benefits when it makes up about 20% of the diet.

If I have a carcass, I will try to cut the meat in to good portions and feed big chunks, as well as some bone as well. So a few ribs, a leg, shoulder, etc.. I will feed the heart, liver, lungs, occasionally some other stuff. I think you can feed kidneys if I remember correctly, but I don’t typically do that. I know guys that will feed an animal without freezing first, and I have also thrown organ meat to dogs while in the middle of cleaning a hog, but I would not recommend it. It is best practice to freeze it for the minimum 72 hours.

You can also feed carrots and bell peppers (red is the healthiest) to dogs as part of the Barf diet. My experience is that my dogs don’t like to eat the carrots and will only eat the peppers if I dice them up small and mix them in with other food. Bones are really healthy, but they need to be raw. You CAN feed any bones as long as they are completely raw and have not been cooked or boiled, as that changes the characteristics of the bone and can cause it to splinter.

All but one of my grown dogs is back on kibble for convenience, but I would give them all raw if I had the time. My puppies are 100% raw fed. Their mom was on raw during the pregnancy and weaning, and I started them on high fat hamburger meat at 21 days old. I’m keeping them on raw food as an experiment to see if they have better mental or physical development due to the healthier diet. I kept 3, the other littermates are on kibble after they were picked up at 8 weeks old. They’re 19 weeks old now. So far my puppies I kept are growing nicely, very athletic already, and seem to be very intelligent. They have a calm “clean” kind of energy where they aren’t acting like spazzes and bouncing off the wall. I’m not sure if any of this is due to the diet, but once they begin hunting I am eager to see how they compare to the other littermates.



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