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Definitely feed after hunting and give a little more food, make sure they have plenty of water.
if you feed before you hunt the stomach could flip, takes surgery to fix it.
I always though it was when you DON’T feed before a hunt causes twisted guts in a dog ... I knew a guy who had some good dogs he hunted hard back to back he used to hunt his dogs 2 solid days before he would feed them , he also lost 2 good dogs to twisted guts at different times .... I was like are you really that stupid ? Couldn’t feed your dogs night before next hunt ? He believed they hunted harder on empty stomach , basically dogs were running on fumes !
 
Mine gobble their food as soon as I put it out. Never anything left for a bird. They would eat the birds too if there were any around! Leaving dry food out in a kennel invites trouble. Best to feed at a certain time daily and immediately pick up what is left. I always feed wet with warm water and refrigerate any left overs for the next night.

As for stomach flips, I believe it’s the weight of the food that can cause it to roll over. Should never happen when the stomach is empty. I have heard never run for at least 2-3 hours after feeding.
 
I've been feeding heavy in the evening and then just a 1/2 cup in the morning. I let all my dogs mouth the rabbit a little and have one that then retrieves which is really neat and adds to the enjoyment of the hunt. It seems the 1/2 cup in the morning keeps some idiot in the pack from grabbing one late in the day when tired and thinking it sounds good to slip off to the side for a snack. I never feed them any part of the rabbit or give them any indication that eating part is acceptable. They usually roll it over and then head back to the brush to start another. We hunt a lot and harvest plenty of bunnies and they are well tuned to the game plan and team work.

I'm of the opinion that if food needs to be withheld to increase desire or intensity, there is something else that needs to be changed.

Certainly always open to better feeds and feeding strategies though.
 
I never say never, but I've never had twisted gut in a hound. Horses and cattle are a different story as their stomach anatomy is different and much larger, they are more susceptible to bloat and flipping their gut, even with just rolling over.
A hounds anatomy is more streamline and the gut is held with tendon to withstand the rigor of the animal. Now to never say never, a fat, out of shape, or a old hound who's lost it's constitution and muscle tone may gas up, bloat and tear the tendon allowing the gut to twist.
I've had hounds go three days before they were ready to quit and come home to eat. Imho,, 24 hrs is not too long to go between feeding hounds and it about right for the next hunting day to have hounds keen with desire to do their work.
When we ran hare for the week, we boiled the carcass and fed it broken up over their feed (no leg bones) at night. They got so tired as the week went on, they didn't want to take food so the carcass and broth made the food irresistible to them.
Hounds are suppose to be athletes, the best ones are what they call "Natural Athletes", made correctly and easy movers. Imho. when hounds become what is now know as "members of the family", they're apt to become over fed and over weight... jmho
 
Interesting, never heard of a small dog having that issue, have heard larger dogs can ie Great danes Pyrenees Mastiffs , I try to feed mine early afternoon day before 2-3 pm ,mainly dont want or need any extra "presents" left in the dog box to clean out LOL
 
I never say never, but I've never had twisted gut in a hound. Horses and cattle are a different story as their stomach anatomy is different and much larger, they are more susceptible to bloat and flipping their gut, even with just rolling over.
A hounds anatomy is more streamline and the gut is held with tendon to withstand the rigor of the animal. Now to never say never, a fat, out of shape, or a old hound who's lost it's constitution and muscle tone may gas up, bloat and tear the tendon allowing the gut to twist.
I've had hounds go three days before they were ready to quit and come home to eat. Imho,, 24 hrs is not too long to go between feeding hounds and it about right for the next hunting day to have hounds keen with desire to do their work.
When we ran hare for the week, we boiled the carcass and fed it broken up over their feed (no leg bones) at night. They got so tired as the week went on, they didn't want to take food so the carcass and broth made the food irresistible to them.
Hounds are suppose to be athletes, the best ones are what they call "Natural Athletes", made correctly and easy movers. Imho. when hounds become what is now know as "members of the family", they're apt to become over fed and over weight... jmho
Amen, we start putting human emotion and feelings into a hound, we do things we think we would want to make us feel better, and it usually goes against whats best for the hound.
 
Discussion starter · #30 ·
Every old rabbit hunter has told me, you better not feed them dogs before you hunt, because they will be lazy and not want to hunt. I never knew if there was any truth in this or not. So I just did what they said and moved on.
 
Every old rabbit hunter has told me, you better not feed them dogs before you hunt, because they will be lazy and not want to hunt. I never knew if there was any truth in this or not. So I just did what they said and moved on.
I heard same thing too not to feed a dog before hunt they become slow during hunting , I feed night before hunt the next morning .... when I come home I feed my dog 1/2 cup food I keep my feed schedule same through out ... only time I heard of dog dying from twisted guts was from another guy telling me he ran his dogs hard for 2 days straight no food , then feed them a big big big bowl food when hunt was all over , caused them to bloat up and die in kennel .... I always assumed it was from a dog running hard on empty stomach , then all sudden over filling it up cause guts to twist up from too much feed too fast , I guess it happens if a dog eats before a hunt ... I don’t really know never had it happen to any of my dogs rarely do I hear about it happening either
 
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