Gamehawking & Dog work

[Hatchero]

so this is sort of a stupid question in some places, i am sort of interested in how this is handled in other countries. during the off season the dogs are getting fat and less honed if you do not let them work birds, i tend to let my dogs roll on game birds shortly after the game bird chicks hatch. for me the dog work makes the difference in how successful the falcons will be in the fall, so i hate to let my dogs languish during the off season. i would be interested to hear how others deal with this issue.
Jim

[PrinceOfTheWesternDesert]

thats extreme,
i couldnt imagine a hunting dog getting so out of shape if you run him a little now and then,,
but,, as far as extreme conditioning,, there are alot of things i have known guys to do,,
i know a guy who competes in schutzhund with rottweilers, and he jogs the dogs 2 miles a day, while he coasts alongside in the car,,
of course,, that could be done on a bicycle,,(and it would be legal),,
next theres, the treadmill,weightpulling, and swimming,,swimming is low impact, and is relatively inexpensive to arrange,, i know a number of guys who have horse water troughs,rigged with a harness,and an aquarium heater,,, which allows the dog to swim in place,,, the condition these dogs get into is astounding,, but, care must be taken, to not overwork the dog too much in the begining,,
the treadmill is very expensive,, and some dogs just dont take to it,, but if you have one,, and you can get your dog goin on it,, no doubt it can get a dog in shape,,
weighpulling takes a little training,, not much,,, and a harness,,
you can basically take your dog for a walk draggin some weight,,
i had dog once that was strong enough to pull a tire and rim a half mile at a pretty fair pace,,as i rode the bike in front of him,,,
i have since decided that was too high of impact,,
but,, if i didnt have any other way of conditioning a dog in keep, i would simply do it with less weight,, and a longer run,,