Pre-season training means knowing the signs if
you're pup is low on H20. By Tony J. Peterson
A GENERAL RULE for all dogs is
that they require about an ounce of
water for every pound they weigh,
per day. If you’ve got a couch po-
tato canine that only goes outside
to relieve itself, this is a solid rule. If
you’re running a hard-charging re-
triever that is expected to run long-
distance drills a couple of times each
day, then you can throw that rule
out the window.
Water aids in just about every bio-
logical function your dog has going
on at any given time. It is crucial for
cellular function, digestion and the
absorption of nutrients, lubrication
of joints, and a host of other pro-
cesses that keep your dog healthy
and going strong—including simply
helping cool down quicker after a
few drills.
Without a proper amount of hydra-
tion, health issues can crop up and get
serious quickly. The most forehead-
slappingest examples of these come
every season when the upland oppor-
tunities begin and inevitably, a few
hunters run their out-of-shape dogs to
death in scorching heat. While there
are other factors going on besides a
lack of enough water in these cases,
there is no doubt it's a contributing
factor to the loss of these dogs.
You might think that is an issue
with those silly upland hunters, but
dehydration and the accompany-
ing health issues can sneak up on us
waterfowlers as well.
LAND-BASED TRAINING
The good thing about working
a duck dog is that you’re usually
around water. Dehydration is not
much of an issue when your lab is
retrieving doubles in the neighbor-
Retriever Hydration
Concerns
© Tony J. Peterson
RETRIEVER HEALTH
20 WILDFOWL Magazine | September 2019 wildfowlmag.com