There are two aspects to getting your dog in shape for next year’s hunting season. One is being in condition to a certain level through exercise. The other is the problem with being overweight due to improper diet.

Many overweight dogs get table scraps in addition to their regular meal. You are overfeeding them. If they get a quality dog food, there is no reason to feed them table scraps. A dog being overweight can really contribute to a lot of health problems.

Monitoring of a dog’s condition should consist of visual and hands-on evaluations. You should be able to place both thumbs on the backbone of the dog and spread both hands across his rib cage. If you cannot feel the ribs easily, the dog may need to lose weight.

Look at the dog’s profile. The abdomen should appear slightly tucked up behind the rib cage. Looking down from overhead, you should see an hourglass shape.

One can adjust the amount of food offered up or down to maintain a dog in ideal condition. Dog food producers take great pains to make sure that all the vitamins and nutrients needed are present in reduced amounts of food. It is not necessary to worry about not getting a complete diet, just back off a little bit.

It is important to weigh the dog weekly to ensure that he is not losing muscle mass or becoming overweight. Dogs that are overweight and poorly conditioned can get in a life-threatening situation on a hot day in the field. Obesity in a dog is life threatening.

Once in condition the dog requires fewer calories. Two factors that are major contributors to how many calories a dog needs are exercise and the weather (temperature and humidity) in which they are working. When they first begin exercising, dogs require more calories. Then they reach a point at about six or eight weeks that it starts to tail off. A well-conditioned dog becomes more of a fat user than a carbohydrate user. The high protein, high fat, high energy diet is best.

Dogs burn fat because it is the most efficient way to run light. It is the most efficient way because of the way they evolved. In some situations, they do not require carbohydrate replenishment.

Regardless of where the proteins originate, dogs reassemble them into dog protein. Protein is protein. The source the dog gets it from is not important if it is digestible.

Do not get hung-up on ingredients of the dog food. Focus on the nutrients and what they contribute. Are they ingredients that do not provide any nutrition?

An example of an empty ingredient is feather meal. Feather meal is 95 percent protein, which should be good. However, it is zero digestible. The result is that it passes through the animal. The species of the meat used in the food is not as important as the protein.

Chicken base, rice base, beef base or lamb-based foods should all deliver protein appropriately. The difference is not in delivery. Some ingredients are more digestible.

Digestibility is a function of what you put in verses what comes out the other end of the dog. The difference is what is for the body to use. There can be a difference in digestibility between different meat sources. Most feed makers make sure there is little difference in digestibility between their various products.

The dog owner needs to read the label of the food he is using. In products of all the top five dog food makers, you should find top quality proteins. Some of the high-quality protein sources are such things as chicken meal, chicken by-product, meat, and bone meal. In fresh meats, chicken, beef, and lamb are good sources.

A lot of time you will see corn gluten meal listed. It is an excellent vegetable protein source. Some products will have corn, a good source of protein, as is rice. Nevertheless, if you start to see things that say wheat milling, bran, and other ingredients, they are of less quality.

In the less active dog, fillers have a purpose in keeping them feeling full. Feeling full keeps them from eating all day. High performance dogs do not need the bulk because they are going to be running.

In reading dog food labels, look for some indication that AAFCO has tested it. AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials) is the regulating body in the pet food industry. They report to the FDA.

AAFCO determines three ways to formulate food. For a high-performance dog you want some indication it is a proven system in live animal testing.

Dogs fed low quality, lower protein diets are prone to injury and generally less healthy. They bruise easily and have joint problems. Professional dog handlers report fewer trips to the vet with dogs fed on high protein diets.

Dogs fed properly and exercised regularly, tend to live three years longer than their litter mates not in such a program.

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