the right weight

[CYJ]

Hello Scary, when reading about topics like dog conditioning. Always look for those little bits or pearls of good advice from these notable dog men like EWO/James Crenshaw and many others. One reason, it is just impossible to put into total detail on paper, all the things that may be done in a keep.

There is no exact, one way to do this sort of event, due to so many variables. That is where one has to plan ahead, be prepared. Have the Cart set up right and filled with all the necessities before hooking up the horse. Do pre keeps to learn more about how to overcome Murphy's Laws of probabilities. LOL

Note that pearl of good advise EWO Throwed out there. Setting the show weight a pound over the dog's best lowest show weight. This allows a dog not to be overcome by dehydration. If a dog's weight pulling show goes a long time. Helps a dog to maintain it's strength, from going into shock and recover faster after the show. More dogs have been lost from sever dehydration than about anything else. Every time a dog goes through a hard event along with severe dehydration. Is liken to over stretching a rubber band to many times.

In the conditioning section on this site, probably where this topic should be as well. Note the topic on Correct weight and read the J. Crenshaw keep, entered by Yig Yang. Note some good pearls of advice in that keep.
(1) Arrive thirty hours before show time. This allows one enough time to adjust the last feeding and amount of fluids needed to point and keep dog on it's show weight.
(2) Using no solids but a good strong chicken broth. That if extra is needed, can be given up to three hours before show time.
(3)James allowed one hour before feeding a dog after a hard workout. Now time in the cool down walk and rub down time can be included in that hour of time before feeding. Needs to be factored as well in the total time from feeding time to feeding time. So one can adjust out the correct feeding times and amounts on those last three rest days. Counting time backwards from the weigh in time. This is done the last week based on the dog's main P.M. workout and feeding time after all the work/cool down/rub down and then fed.

I got some good info from a old pre keep program that was written by Maurice Carver in the SDJ, one tid bit was feeding a 28 to 30 hours out on those rest days counting backwards from that weigh in time, before a show. Based on that last hard work day and fourth and last major feeding before going into those last three day rest day feeding cycles. Now today with some dog men using 100% raw diets that feeding cycle on those last three rest days could vary. Most dog men stay around 26/28/30 hours on that last feeding before weigh in.

After reading how D. Mayfield solved the inherit problems of the Jenny by taking the arm out to forty feet and using a extra wide dog collar on the dog in stead of a harness. Preparing and keeping a soft running track for the dog to run on etc.

I liked what the Round Table had to offer versus a tread mill. Being a excellent back up to the Jenny when bad weather and rain makes a Jenny unusable. So I looked at the problems with it. Some negative factors were round tables being made to small, with to much up and down bounce. These type tables can injure a dogs shoulders/various joints and foot pads. Tables not padded properly or padded to thick,wrong type material for the dog to run on. If Built to high off the ground, most dogs will run tense and afraid of falling off the edge. Best around knee high off the ground. The overhead pulling beam not set at the right section over the table.

Once I over came those problems, took it out to 16 feet and wanted to go 20 foot total across length. Was no harder are cost wise to do, I did not have a wide enough building to allow a safe working space to the side. My building was a 30 foot long by 20 foot wide. On these extra large round tables you need at least four feet of a safe working space.

Once I did, I had another cat's meow piece of training equipment that allowed the dog to stretch out, lope and jog trot very similar to the Swing Jenny. Plus a bulldog even down to puppies love these big tables like a guinea pig loves it's squirrelly cage. LOL I found were a dog would not work a Jenny or Treadmill, will work a table like they have been running one for years. Go figure

A well written article on how to best use one of these type of Round Table mills. I found in a old 1950's Blood lines Journal. Maybe written by Frank Fitzwater. Back in those days many of the now deceased old timers wrote various articles on their thoughts of conditioning and types of work equipment. How much time on the average, would give the over all best conditioning to a dog. These articles were posted in those older Bloodlines journals.

There are two pieces of good advice in a article in the SDJ written by D. Mayfield from George Saddler and Earl Tudor. George Saddler believed in working a dog the same amount of time for three days before increasing the work. He was a strong advocate on hand walking like J. Crenshaw. Earl Tudor stressed some rest days in a keep.

Even though worm medications have improved, I liked the information given by D. Mayfield in one of those SDJ articles on worming a dog during a keep. Using his time schedule and the newer meds found in Ca. Jack's Pit Bull Bible section should work today. Cheers