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Blog & Articles
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| Danbury News Times |
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Friday, June 27, 2008
 |  | | R. Michael DiLullo |
Keeping
Them Coolby R. Michael DiLulloKeeping your hunting
dog cool and hydrated, especially during late summer training and the early portion of the hunting season, means recognizing
the signs of heat-related illnesses, knowing how to prevent them and what to do if your dog succumbs.
Each
September thousands of hunters and their dogs go afield and begin their hunting season. In many parts of the United States,
particularly in the southeast, September is the opening month for mourning doves, teal and resident Canada geese. September
also means shooting preserves across the country will be opening their doors to wing shooters looking to get an early start
on the season. With temperatures in the nineties not uncommon, all hunting dog owners need to be familiar with the dangers
a working dog can face in these conditions.
Most hunters and their four legged partners lead sedentary lifestyle
during the off-season. The average gun dog owner doesn’t train or condition his dog as often as he should. In fact,
most of us will wait until just prior to the season and work out a quick refresher course or just start out hunting, assuming
our dogs will simply pick-up where we left off last season. Like any athlete, you and your hunting dog need to get into shape
and acclimate to the environment long before opening day. With little conditioning or training for seven or more months, both
you (the hunter) and his dog are at a very high risk of succumbing to a heat-related illness.
Most veterinarians
and professional gun dog trainers place a high emphasis on working your dog throughout the year, especially during the spring
and summer months. Because many bird dogs are also family and housedogs, during the heat of the summer they spend a lot of
time in air-conditioned homes. You have to acclimatize your dog to spending time in the heat of the day, especially if he
is going to perform high exertion activities, such as he does when hunting. Pre-conditioning is the best way to avoid heat-related
problems in the field. Ideally, training and conditioning should be a year round activity, with workouts in the warmer months
being completed before the heat of the day. Both younger and older dogs are usually the most susceptible to heat-related illnesses,
while overweight and out-of-shape dogs are at an even higher risk of succumbing to heatstroke.
Many professional
gun dog trainers recommend a warm weather training regiment of an hour in the morning and another in the evening. Run your
dog and work on retrieving drills, building slowly as you go. Just as when you are starting a fitness program, workouts should
start out slow and easy. Make the workouts fun and if needed take frequent rest breaks allowing the dog to have some water.
As in any training process you want to increase the duration gradually as the dog increases his endurance and becomes accustomed
to the heat. Also, just because your dog is acclimatized in one region of the country, don’t assume he will be okay
running in another. A dog that lives in a cooler climate like Maine for example, will not perform as well in a warmer climate
like Georgia, without time to adjust to the warmer weather.
The onset of heat related problems can be quite subtle,
so it is important to keep a watchful eye on your dog while training or hunting in warm weather. The symptoms can also be
very inconspicuous and difficult to detect, if you don’t know what to look for. The different types of common heat-related
problems that may be encountered while training and hunting are: Heat stress, Heat exhaustion and Heat stroke.
 | | During the early part of the hunting season, all
gun dog owners need to be aware of the dangers a working dog can face in warm weather.
Photo by: Author |
Heat
stress is when, due to increased body temperature, your dog is not performing at his normal level. He may be slow in reacting
to your commands, will usually be panting and may simply lay down and not want to get up. Get him out of the sun and into
a shaded area, allow him to rest and give him water in small quantities frequently.
During heat exhaustion, which
is also called heat prostration, the dog becomes physically exhausted due to the exposure to heat, and the resulting depletion
of his body fluids. The dog will appear weak or tired with an anxious or listless expression; he may just stare into space
and be unresponsive to your commands. Usually, the dog will be panting heavily, will have a rapid heart rate, and may vomit
or salivate excessively. Also, he may be unsteady on his feet and stagger while attempting to walk, the dog may also collapse.
Get him into a cool area, if there is a body of water nearby get him in it, you have to try and cool his core body temperature
down. If your dog will drink “Gatorade” or ”Pedialyte” or one of the new specialized canine sports
mixes, give him a small amount, this will help replace electrolytes. If not, give him water in small amounts and allow him
to rest until his breathing and heart rate are normal.
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ARTICLES
PUPPY & THE PACK
For thousands of years dogs have
lived in social groups called packs and each pack member has his own position or rank in the pack. Once puppies are able to walk and interact, they try to determine their position
in the litter. A puppy soon learns if he is submissive, the other puppies will push him away from the food. If he is larger and stronger than the other puppies he will most likely be the one doing
the pushing. As puppies get older they will have to figure out their position in the pack.
After a puppy is adopted into his new human pack, he has to re-establish his position. If he was the bully of the litter,
he may try to bully his new pack members. If he was submissive with his littermates, he will probably start out being submissive.
As he grows older and larger he will try to determine where he fits into this new human pack. His ultimate rank will depend
on how his human pack members respond to his actions in various situations.
When first introduced
to his new family, a puppy will usually act somewhat submissive. When greeted, your new puppy may roll over on his back and
urinate or he may squat and urinate. He is sending you a message in dog language which says, “don’t hurt me, I
am not a threat to you.” If he submits in this manner, do not scold him or you will make the problem worse.
As a puppy grows older he will take his cues on how he should respond to his new owners by the way they react
to his actions. For example, a puppy is chewing on his favorite chew toy or rawhide and a child approaches the puppy. The
puppy uses the body language he learned from his littermates to warn the child not to come any closer. These warning signs
may be a low, soft growl, a curled lip, raised hackles or a nip directed at the child. If the child heeds the warning and
backs away, this puppy has just learned that a threatening growl is a good way to keep his prized possessions away from this
particular child. The puppy also learns that his rank or position in his new family is higher than this child’s.
Sometimes children are not able to interpret a puppy’s body language and they do not back
off when warned. After several such incidents, the puppy feels he has given enough prior warning and he bites the child. Other
members of the family may not witness the earlier incidents when the puppy growled and did not bite the child. When the child
finally gets bitten, the mom or dad will often say the puppy bit the child for no reason, with no previous warning and they
may want to get rid of the puppy.
If a puppy gets away with threatening a child or younger
member of the family, he will usually try the same thing when other family members come near one of his favorite possessions.
If the family member gives the puppy a stern correction and lets him know he should never growl at humans, the puppy has just
learned that his position in the new family is lower than the family member who corrected him but still higher than the child
he threatened. Over time, similar incidents will likely occur with every member of his new human pack. The response of each
family member to the puppy’s actions will help determine his ultimate ranking.
Social maturity Once he determines his family
ranking and he submits to higher-ranking family members, there may not be any more problems until he reaches his social maturity.
The best way to describe social maturity is when the puppy becomes a teenager. Social maturity usually occurs between 12-36
months of age, with 18-24 months of age being the norm. He is now older, stronger, more confident and his attitude toward
family members may change. This mild-mannered, young, adult dog may now begin to challenge higher-ranking members of his human
pack that he had previously submitted to.
The best to way assure your puppy knows his proper
position in his human pack is to begin making him earn everything he receives, as soon as he joins your family. Prior to receiving
anything such as food, petting, or play, you must make him sit to earn these privileges or rewards. By making your puppy sit,
you will teach him that he must submit to you before you will give him anything. Nothing in life is free. Everything must
be earned.
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"Helping You Create a Balanced & Happy Dog"