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Human athletes would never start a race without
warming up their muscles and the same should be true
of canine athletes! Muscle and ligament injuries can
be avoided by giving your gundog a short walk or run
before getting to the shoot. This warm-up allows
blood circulation in the muscles to increased before
hard work begins, settles the dog and allows him to
‘empty out’ before work. If you have to travel a
long way in the car after this warm-up consider
popping a towelling rug on your dog to keep the
muscles warm and the blood flowing. The same coat
can be useful if your dog will be sat still for long
periods during the day especially if he is a fine
coated HPR, is getting older or is underweight. For
dogs working the moor in August keeping warm will be
no problem, but overheating often is. A simple
towelling rug soaked in water can help cool a dog
and some sophisticated cooling rugs (favoured by
flyball teams) are available.
A
lot of attention has been given recently to dogs
which collapse on shoot days. The main cause is
thought to be low blood sugar and dogs usually
respond quickly to sugar. Feeding your dog a Mars
bar at lunchtime is probably not the best way to
deal with the problem. It is better to adopt a
feeding regime which doesn’t leave the dog with no
reserves by mid-afternoon. Tradition dictates once a
day feeding but many dogs will cope better if fed
two smaller meals. This may mean a very early feed
to ensure they have 2hours to digest before
working. Ensuring dogs are fit also helps and dogs
which collapse more than once in a season should be
examined by a vet in case they have underlying heart
or metabolic problems.
Lacerations from
barbed wire are probably the most commonly seen
injuries in working gundogs. Obedience training
during the summer can help you stop your dog jumping
barbed wire. If you do have to cross wire place an
arm, wire cover or coat over the wire to help
protect your dog. Loose wire and rubbish are more
tricky problems but can be cleared by work parties
over the summer to help keep the dogs safe. All dog
handlers should carry a basic first aid it in their
pockets. I include some bandaging materials,
tweezers for thorns in the pad, cord to use as a
muzzle and antihistamine tablets. Back in the car
should be a larger first aid kit which will have
saline to flush wounds, more bandaging material,
maybe a tick remover, wound creams and painkillers.
Someone on the shoot should carry wire cutters in
case of entanglement and a mobile phone with the
nearest vets phone number (and good reception!).
Canine first aid courses are available and are
invaluable for anyone who may be in the middle of
no-where when their dog injures itself.
At
the end of the shoot day get your dogs dry and warm
as soon as possible. Again I am a big fan of
towelling rugs which wick water away from the dog
(and help keep the car clean!). If the dog is really
hot and thirsty offer small amounts of tepid water
and never feed until the dog has recovered from
exercise. Once home check pads for splits and
thorns and check for broken claws. Keeping your dogs
nails properly trimmed reduces the risk of them
getting torn. A flea comb can be useful for removing
thorns from dogs who have worked brambles and
grooming is a good opportunity to check for cuts and
grazes.
Most of this advice is just common sense, but should
help keep your gundog fit this season and for many
seasons to come. |
