hunting dog care tips

Make Homemade Dry Dog Food

Make Homemade Dry Dog Food

Making Dry Dog Food

Finding the Right Balance of Nutrients and Taste

With all the pet food recalls over the past few years many people have thought about making their own dog food. What’s daunting about this is finding the right foods to put together for a nutritious, delicious meal. If you plan to make the dog’s dry food, there are two things to consider: Does the dog eat only dry food or is the dry food a supplement to wet food. If it’s a supplement to wet food, the content requirements are not as restrictive as those for the dog who eats only dry food.

Dog Food Recipe

The basic recipe for both is the same: flour, fat, egg, dry milk. The flour can range from all-purpose flour to potato flour to whole wheat flour or rye flour. There are all kinds of flour. Fats can come from animal fat, if you want to add meat or canola oil, olive oil, safflower oil, corn oil. Like flour there are all kinds of oil. Whole eggs are best, rather than just egg whites. And, yes, dry milk, that yucky stuff that makes blue milk.

6 cups of any combination of flours
1 cup of powdered milk
3-4 eggs, depending on size
1/3 cup oil
2 ½ cups liquid (milk, water, broth)

Combine the dry ingredients. Combine the wet ingredients. Mix the wet with the dry ingredients. The dough should be thick and moist (not too wet) like bread dough. Add water or flour (or some other additive), if necessary to get the consistency.

Spread the dough on a cookie sheet about a 1/2 –inch thick. You can perforate the dough in the shape you want now or just break the cooked kibble into pieces after it’s cooled. You can cook it slowly at 200 degrees for about an hour, or at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Let it cool and harden.

Now, this isn’t going to taste very good, which is why you may want to add goodies to the dog food recipe after the basic ingredients are mixed. You can add cooked and pureed meat, vegetables (green beans, sweet potatoes, spinach, carrots) and/or fruit (apples, pumpkin), even peanut butter or shredded cheese, whatever your dog likes. The main focus, however, is to keep the dough thick and moist so it smoothes easily in the pan.

You can even add herbs and spices, such as salt, turmeric or parsley, or other additives, such as brewer’s yeast, rice, corn or bone meal, bran and oats. Anything your dog likes and can have is on the menu.

No-Nos As Dog Food

You should never feed your dog the following foods:
- Chocolate
- Garlic (occasionally in minuscule amounts because they do like it)
- Onions
- Grapes
- Raisins
- Artificial sweeteners or fats

Full-Meal Kibble
If your dog eats only kibble, then it’s not quite as easy as kibble that’s a supplement to wet food. Since this food is his only food, it must meet all his nutritional requirements for protein/amino acids, complex carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals.

Protein should account for from 16 to18 percent of the diet (meat and/or dairy); complex carbohydrates (vegetables) should comprise about 45 percent, fats about 12 percent. If you think the dog isn’t getting enough minerals and vitamins, you can supplement the dog’s food with AKC RenewTrients Dog Multi-Vitamin, available at www.dogsupplies.com.

So, take for a complete dog food meal,

Ingredients – Basic recipe

1 can plain pumpkin (not pie filling)
3.5-4 cups meat, cooked and pureed (You can drain it if you want or use it in your fat count)
4-5 cups vegetable/fruit, cooked, drained and pureed

Add flour if the mixture is too soupy or tacky; add water or more oil if the mixture is too dry. You can increase the oil to 1.5 cups and still be OK with the fat content, depending on whether you’re using the meat’s fat.

Use your knowledge of your dog and your creative cooking juices to find the recipe that works for you and your dog.

When you’ve found the right dog food recipe, stick to it because dogs like and need routine.

Hunting Dog Care Tips

Hunting Dog Care Tips

Taking care of your hunting dog while you’re hunting should be your first priority.

Inspect the hunting dog’s pads regularly.

Don’t let a hunting dog run on pads with open sores. Most hunting dogs will have soft pads early in the season. If you’re going to hunt birds in rocky terrain, train your hunting dog on cement and rocks prior to hunting to help toughen its pads.

Keep plenty of water on hand, both in your rig and in the field; for you and your hunting dog.

In hot weather, add sugar water or electrolytes to replace nutrients and help with energy.Rest your hunting dog periodically throughout the day, especially young hunting dogs and hunting dogs that aren’t in full-season shape yet. Remember, too, that 20 minutes in a vehicle with the windows up on a sunny, 70-degree day can spell disaster. Your hunting dog can suffer from heat exposure.
Consider a wetsuit jacket for any dog that retrieves in water, even thick-coated Labs.

How Wild Is Your Hunting Dog?

It’s a real conundrum, the fact that the more purebred your hunting dog, the likelier the chances he’ll display all kinds of wild tendencies. Some of these tendencies you want to encourage, and others you don’t.

Lots of pointers particularly have a tendency to be wild. For field trial hunting dogs, especially, the breeders want them wild to start with. That enthusiasm and boundless energy can make for a great gun dog. But when you’re not in control of the hunting dog, disasters of all kinds can ensue. That’s where an electronic collar comes in handy. It can save you a lot of effort by giving just a tiny tickle when you say ‘whoa’ and you want that hunting dog to stop.

You And Your Hunting Dog try To Stay Calm

Also, in your own enthusiasm and excitement, don’t confuse the hunting dog by giving confusing commands. Keep a calm head and be clear and direct with your commands. Don’t use the same command to stop your dog to get out of range as you do when he’s on point. That’s really, really critical. Those should be two separate commands.”

But do use the same commands for the same things you want – meaning, your hunting dog won’t understand if you use the wrong command for a particular behavior because you got excited or impatient.

One of the best things you can do before going after quail, pheasant or chukars is to let your hunting dog practice on pigeons. Pigeons are perfect for dog training.You can train that dog to point a pigeon, you can train them to stay locked up, and you can train for the retrieve. Pointing is a natural instinct, but it can be enforced, and you can enhance that instinct. If you’ve got a dog that points naturally, and when you push him gently he locks up and fights back, that’s a very good thing. You know you’ve got a great hunting dog.

Keep Your Hunting Dog Fit

Keep Your Hunting Dog Fit

Hiking is a great form of exercise, but if you are outfitted for long hikes, is your hunting dog?

You can take your hunting dog along with you on hikes and backpacking trips, but make sure you follow a few rules and your comfort and experience can be maximized.
First, make sure the trip is appropriate for the dog’s ability and size. Just about any dog could walk a few miles down a logging trail, but only good climbers with lots of stamina can climb mountains or go on extended trips. Make sure you have enough food: dogs can carry their own food and water in their own dog pack.

Hunting Dog Gear

If you’re a gear head, you can outfit your dog, too, with appropriate dog clothes. Doggles, dog boots, dog coats and dog jackets are all appropriate, depending on the trip and how much you (or the dog) are able to carry. Remember to keep the dog well watered, especially during the summer. But also remember that dogs can drink from any spring or stream without having to worry about the same bacteria that can end a trip for their human companions.
Try taking your hunting dog out for a walk daily or several times a week to build strength, burn calories and for a change of scenery. His behavior will improve for they will have spent any pent up energy and you’ll burn off a few calories at the same time!

Most of all, enjoy the trip.

It’s a great time for you and your best friend to be alone for an extended period, with plenty of exercise and fun for both you and your hunting dog
The answer here is yes, you do need to walk your hunting dog. Believe it or not, hunting dogs loose in a back yard seldom will get the exercise they need. Hunting dogs need to be active.