With the first blizzards having already arrived in some parts of the country and other sections entering the cold-weather season, gun dog owners must be aware of the additional responsibilities they face in taking good care of their dogs in very cold weather. Typical conversations about cold-weather gun dog care revolve around such factors as low temperatures, high humidity, high winds and hyperthermia, then conclude with a discussion of dog vests, boots, and other warm accessories. But one thing that is often overlooked in the gun dog care equation is cold-weather nutrition. According to Idaho veterinarian, gun dog owner, and avid bird hunter Seth Bynum, proper nutrition is actually one of the most important factors to consider when the temperatures get frigid. And the important role that top-quality dog food plays in fueling performance and in fueling warmth can’t be understated this time of year.

Burning Calories

During a recent Purina Virtual Speaker Series seminar broadcast over the internet, Bynum said that elite canine athletes can burn as many as 12,000 calories in a big outing. That’s equal to a whopping 24 cups of performance dry dog food!

“There’s just no way to keep up calorically on a multi-day, high-intensity outing or cold conditions,” Bynum stressed. “You can’t fit 24 cups into a Brittany, so it’s not like you’re going to be able to find a way (to simply replace those calories).”

As most gun dog owners likely learned in junior high, a calorie is a unit of heat. Consequently, as warm-blooded animals, dogs utilize calories not only to nourish themselves, but to maintain their core body temperature even in the absence of exercise.

“So basically, they’re burning calories, either through fat stores, through food, or however they’re getting it, just to maintain core body temperature when the ambient temperature is so low outside,” Bynum said. “So that needs to be the baseline we build upon.”

Not All Fat is Bad

As with people, in the winter, dogs’ bodies tend to store extra fat. And according to Bynum, that’s not necessarily all bad. A dog’s body storing excess energy as glycogen and adipose tissue (fat) has a number of advantages, including insulation and protection of organs and muscle, along with ready energy stores for deficit conditions. “It’s really where they’re going to draw from when they need that 12,000 kilocalories on an outing and there’s not that much in their belly,” he said.

Bynum said feeding a high protein, high fat and highly digestible food is key to good winter nutrition. “There are multiple ways of getting this,” he said. “Obviously the purple bag (Purina Pro Plan Sport) is what I’ve been using for a good number of years with great success.  You’ve got to think about that any time of the year, but especially in cold weather. You want that food to be calorie dense.”

Bynum said when working dogs consume a high-fat diet in winter it also provides a couple of other benefits that many dog owners likely haven’t considered.

“Fat kind of promotes a feeling of being satiated, and being satiated I think is important for dogs and their stress level when they’re traveling and hunting,” he said. “It also slows down the transit time within the gut as well—sort of programs ‘take a break and try to work more on absorbing’—and that will enhance the other nutrients that are taken up as well.”

Bynum said gun dog owners in very cold areas or who will visit those types of areas should consider preparing for those adverse conditions by helping their dogs gain adequate energy stores—in other words, letting them get a little bit heavier than they would normally keep them.

“We’re going to prepare for cold conditions by gaining stores ahead of time,” he said. “So, putting on condition that we will then utilize later.”

By the Purina Body Condition System—which uses a scale of 1 to 9, with 1 being way too thin, 9 being way too fat and 4 to 5 considered optimal—Bynum said gun dog owners should set a goal of 5/9 in winter to aid in insulation.

“I don’t want to start at those 4s and 3s going into winter,” he stresses. “But keep that within reason. This is not permission to slip to or maintain a 7/9.”

Bynum prefers to feed his German shorthairs a dry commercial kibble because it provides what the dogs need, is convenient to feed, is easy to find and has a long shelf life. However, for dogs that don’t like kibble and are working hard, he’s not against “sweetening” it up a little to get them to eat.

“It’s not uncommon for me if I’ve got a dog that I know has had a huge output of calories but is not inclined to eat for whatever reason, I’m fine baiting that with something as simple as warm water, which obviously will help in the digestion and rehydrating the dog,” he said. “That’s also the time when I reach for the wonder-med—Fortiflora. I think I love it more than (Purina’s) foods because it’s so versatile.

“Dogs love the flavor of it. I’ll gladly put it in water and I’ll put it over the top of food if I need the dog to consume that vigorously and immediately. It’s not like pouring bacon grease over food, which I think we’ve all been guilty of. But it’s hypoallergenic, it’s got beneficial bacteria in it so you’re not going to throw them into diarrhea and it’s self-stabled, so I think it’s more benefit than anything.”

In the end, Bynum knows that lots of hard work in extremely cold weather can be hard on our canine companions. Gun dog owners who use common sense and put as much emphasis on nutrition as on other cold-weather care factors should find more successful hunting and trialing this winter.