Hello I have a 9 month old EnglishPointer. we were told they need LOts of exercise and so take him out for an hour twice a day with a longer session at night- hour and a half. This is to walk into a safe place to allowhim off lead as we are still working on recall. He has always been thin although I feed 500g of complete dog food and tripe or liver or fish twice a day. He is my first dog and I worry about doing the bbest for him. Any thoughts?

This may be a bit much for him as he's still only a puppy. Personally I would cut the exercise down to about half an hour twice a day, so as not to put too much strain on his growing skeleton and joints, and up the training - teach him retrieving, searching etc - all sorts of games to get him using his brain. That is just as tiring for dogs as lots of physical exercise. He seems to be eating quite a lot to still be thin - what complete are you giving him?

I give him Bakers Complete. I have had him since the end of March, and got him from the Cat and Dog Home as a 4month old eating 3 feeds of soaked puppy food a day. When we took him to our vet he was found to be 6 months old and the vet said to give him adult food to suit his adult teeth. He has been wormed, vaccinated and neutered. We tried Working Dog mixwith 19% protein at first then the veterinary nurse told us he was veryvery underweight at 16kgs at his operation. He is now 20kg and 59cm tall. I take himto pup clases once a week and work on his training outside. We play Find thePup with my kids and try to play football orfetch or frisbee- he playswithme at home but outside he likes to chasethrough woods or bounce through long grass.

Have I damaged my poor litttle pup ? We got told pointers have to berun off their feet.

He will want to be run off his feet when he's a bit older - but you must be careful you don't get him to a level of fitness that you can't maintain easily... for example, if he is used to having an hours walk, he won't be happy with a half hour one, and will push for an hour and a half one next time! Stick to half hour am and pm and up the training as JG says for now.

I'd also get him on a better quality dried food, and give him raw tripe/mince/scrambled eggs to wet his appetite and give him a good coat :)

Can you suggest a better quality dried food? When we got him he ate Purina Puppy then we tried working dogs complete at 19% protein then he seemed to go off it and we tried Bakers, which he does eat. I've heard pointers can be picky. Have also added gravy to dried food and used tuna, chicken and liver as well as eggs. His coat is really shiny! I find he plays games in the house but not outside where he prefers investigating other things, like birds and rabbits. I do all his training on walks - loose lead waqlking ( he was a horrible puller at first) at heel and recall. The last one is OK 2-3 out of 4 times offlead and I use a long lead to improve this. He's also learned not to jump other dogs in a riot of pleasure. I did find it od that I had a pup who didn't play - he's learning to fetch using a clicker and food rewards.

What kind of dog do you have?

I've got 3 pointers and they are a fabulous breed. The oldest is 10 and the youngest 5 months. I feed my adults on Dr John Silver and Gold when working. Milly, the pup, is on Beta puppy and a rabbit.

They love ranging out whilst walking as that is there job. Ours are worked on the moors counting grouse and it's a fantastic sight to watch them range out and go on point. They will be interested in rabbits etc but if you are careful, you can bring out the pointing instinct rather than chasing. At the moment, we are allowing Milly to show an interest and to chase the odd bird but we will soon be stopping that.

If you have any questions or just want to chat about pointers, either reply here or email me (I think my email address is given in my profile.

Helen

Hi - I have two Great Danes :)

I feed mine on Burns - Venison and Rice Burns Web Site and I swear by it. My Danes are in fantastic condition, don't moult, have shiny coats and plenty of energy without being fizzy :) Dr Johns is also a good food I hear.

I have to agree with Chloe, I was a big fan of Nutro for my dogs, it suited Mia brilliantly but Curtis would never take to it, I have now tried Burns Canine Active (Added incentive is it's VAT free) and I'd thoroughly recommend it. And you know it has no "nasties" in it and a higher oil content to make coats shiny (15% I think - I would recommend at least a 10% oil content for any gundog breed).

When he's grown up and fit he'll take all the exercise you throw at him and still come back for more! But it needs to be built up to gradually.
He may like a spoonful of olive oil on his dinner to up his calories without upping the protein levels, or a tin of pilchards (not in brine!!) with it. I've never used Bakers Complete, but have heard that some dogs' digestive systems can't cope with the colouring (which of course is of no nutritional benefit and is only added to tempt the owner into buying it!). My mother has found her dog does very well on Burns (he used to be on Hills, but that disagreed with him badly!)
:)

JG
Why pilchards 'not in brine'. I have always bought the ones in brine, is there something I should know?

Thanks
Sandra

Brine is salt. Salt is very bad for dogs.
:)

Thanks for that, didn't know it was salt. Hope she likes tomato sauce then :D

They usually like tomato sauce - tastes more like "people food" so it must be good!! ;)
:)