SchH 1 trial tracking - Page 1

I am attempting my first SchH 1 next week. My dog does better in tracking when I do not feed him 1 day before hand. For those of you who use hunger as a tracking incentive (especially for a trial) I would like to know how you do it. How long do you not feed or feed less than normal before a trial, what is you feeding schedule the week of, and do you use any suppliments to maintain energy levels in absence of food. I am concerned about depleating his energy for the remainder of the trial, should I be worried? Thanks in advance, Melanie

I think that would depend on the dog's food drive and training. If anything, you can feed a small amount of food after the track to keep the dogs energy up. Some of the trials I have been to, there has been plenty of time between tracking and obedience to do this. I have heard of people also switching to a higher protein food for the trial. Some giving "sport drinks" to their dogs also in place of water, to help keep energy up. Jeff

You know your dog best. If it works better on tracking without having been fed then do not change this. The dog will do fine, even if you did not feed it before the rest of the trial. I normally water and feed about 1/8th of a food meal immediately after tracking IF there is at least two hours or so before the dog must work again. If there is less time, I might feed only a handful of food. You do not want the dog sluggish or sleepy for the rest of the trial. Generally speaking, this is not going to be an issue with protection phase, but it can be an issue if your dog is not fond or good at the obedience phase. Forget supplements and "sport drinks". Most of them are expensive crocks that people who do not know better get sucked into buying. If you are feeding a good quality food and have access to fresh, clean water, that is what the dog needs. Good luck at your trial.

Melanie, use your own basic instincts, if he does better without the food then just do it. Vitamin supplements are okay. You will be just fine

The main thing to remember is that the more you change before a trail the more you have to worry about...Like feeding...how do you feed your dog when your going out to track on a normal day...that's what you do... It also depends on what the trial is like...is tracking in the morning and then ob and protection at night as a lot of our trials here in Florida are...it's just too hot in the middle of the day to work your dogs... If that's the case then after I get back from tracking...I will give my dogs some food...because I want it digested before we go out for ob and protection in the evening... The basic plan should be...On a trial day...Change as little as possible...try to keep things simple and the same as usual...**Sometimes it's hard but just try too keep things normal...

I agree, Hodie. Dogs don't sweat the same way we do so replacing electrolytes in the form of a sports drink will do nothing and it might in fact dehydrate him. Just offer a small amount of fresh water both before and after the track. I would offer a small amount of high protein/fat food after tracking. Unless it is a tiny trial, you will have sufficient time b/w phases for this. I wouldn't fast your dog longer than a day before the trial. You may still notice a drop in energy levels. Good luck!

We did it!!! big thanks to everyone on this board for their help in this thread and other questions I've asked. 81-87-81=249, not great but respectable for our first try. He would have got a 91 in tracking but he missed the first article. My fault though, I've been tracking with big articles. I didn't realize how small they had to be until a few days before the trial, LOL. He stopped and sniffed it but kept going. Yours in the sport, Melanie

Great job! Congrats. Now you know what to expect next time.

Congrats!! I would be proud of that score, especially for the first time out. Jeff

Congratulations GSDfan. The scores are fine. It should not be about scores, but about you enjoying the time you spend with the dog. And you, like all of us, will make mistakes and so will the dog. So, go do it again then and do not stress over it. Have fun. Good work!!!