hiking, excercise, and feeding

• hiking, excercise, and feeding outdoorschik Posted : 6/27/2006 3:27:45 PM Oliver did a NINE mile hike today! (for those of you that don't know the significance of that.... he had TPO surgery with many complications in March and is recovering better than expected. we never thought we could work up to these long hikes) My question is, when we take them so far, obviously they need to eat because like people they run out of calories to burn, but what about the tendency to bloat for deep chested dogs? Oliver is really long legged and narrow/deep chested. he was fed half a cup mid hike with some water... was this ok? Is the chance for bloat lessened with the fact that he is hiking not sprinting? Should I maybe spread out the kibble over the whole hike? Should we just not feed them at all for the whole hike? LIKE 11 REPLIES 289 VIEWS LAST POST OUTDOORSCHIK Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• pumaward Posted : 6/27/2006 5:46:32 PM I always worry about bloat too. For me, I'd either space the kibble out over the hike (a handful here a handful there) or get, maybe, some dehydrated meats instead. The longest hike I took Maddi on was about 5.4 miles (I think [&:]), and I only gave her some beef treats I make and some of my orange. I wouldn't make a meal out of it... what I've heard is you're suppose to wait 30 min before and after feeding before doing and strenuous (sp?) activity to help prevent bloat. I would personally wait 1.5-2 hours before and after meals... but then again, I'm paranoid about bloat [].   FTA: I would, however, give water often... especially if it's warm out. I stopped every 15-30min to try to give Maddi water (she often didn't want any...). I also try to keep her damp by allowing her dips into the streams. 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• Mic Posted : 6/27/2006 6:12:32 PM What kind of dog is Oliver?      0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• outdoorschik Posted : 6/27/2006 9:10:19 PM HI Mic...Oliver is a black lab/ golden retreiver mix or something maybe part hound.... from a shelter in SC. He's around 70 pounds. Oh, and water is always accesssible... and we always hike near streams on warm days I should have mentioned that! 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• Mic Posted : 6/27/2006 9:27:51 PM I would not feed your dog on the hikes.  Most dogs a capable of migrating 10 times the distance we are.  Nine miles is a drop in the bucket to him.  My dogs frequently go one 4-5 hour hikes with out issue.  I stop to give them water when I need some.    Good work on giving your dog some descent exercise.  Keep it up.  0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• outdoorschik Posted : 6/28/2006 9:55:23 AM Mic... Wow I didn't know that! I kind of assumed that when I needed a powerbar they needed something... So I will hold off on giving an extra half cup of food on hikes from now on and just give the treats as normal. thanks! 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• Mic Posted : 6/28/2006 10:35:53 AM Just to give you an idea of what I mean...border collies were bred with the intent to be moving all day...they can eat one big meal in the morning and cover as much as 100 miles in a day. 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• miranadobe Posted : 6/28/2006 11:11:39 AM Zukes treats were actually developed for just that - a sort of doggie power bar-esque treat for your dog during long hikes.  They call them Power Bones.  They have different varieties of treats - the ones I've used are small (less than the size of a quarter) and soft/moist.  They've branched out into a whole lot more (cat treats, people gear, etc), but this is their story: [linkhttp://www.zukes.com/about/index.html]http://www.zukes.com/about/index.html[/link] 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• Mic Posted : 6/28/2006 11:22:26 AM Do you think those products work?  I didn't notice a difference in my dogs performance?  Did you? 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• miranadobe Posted : 6/28/2006 4:13:13 PM I didn't work her long/hard enough to be able to measure any results.  They were given to me, so I used them.  They were a small, convenient way to give her some "high-powered food" during our hikes.  Plus they're in our rotation of reward treats. Their website has some testimonials (for not only the powerbones, but also their other treats).  I read one earlier this morning from a [edited: it was lure coursing, not flyball] champion who said she saw remarkable improvements in stamina.  I don't see that testimonal now, (looks like they updated today?) but there's many others, including someone else who shared this pic of his dog following him while he was skiing .... 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• miranadobe Posted : 6/28/2006 5:16:50 PM Ahh - they split the testimonials by products.  Here's the Power Bonz testimonials - that's where the agility and champion lure courser testimonials are.  [linkrod_id=pb]http://www.zukes.com/testimonials/index.html?cat_id=dogs&rod_id=pb[/link]>http://www.zukes.com/testimonials/index.html?cat_id=dogs&rod_id=pb]http://www.zukes.com/testimonials/index.html?cat_id=dogs&rod_id=pb[/link] 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• outdoorschik Posted : 6/28/2006 6:18:49 PM Gosh... following while skiing, that's got to be TOUGH on the joints, eek! Of course Oliver goes down '4000+ mountains as well, but it's at his pace and he can run and walk as needed. That seems strenuous following a skier like that.... how far is too far in hiking... how many miles do all of you take your dogs? I'm thinking of working him up to several day backpacking trips, but I do know that we are limited by how he feels hip wise due to the surgery for dysplasia... i can tell when he's had enough and we've been doing this gradually... the zuke's treats seem neat and useful since we've been trying to find a healthy nutritional treat that is not just wasted calories during hiking. I've used the Solid Gold Lamb jerky and i think that's great and motivating 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login