Read more about the Sports Medicine for The Retriever: Caring for the Hunting Retriever
Every topic in this book was chosen and is presented as it relates to the working retriever to keep them in top performance. From deciding on the right retriever breed, caring for the older retriever, and everything in-between -- it is all covered right here.
Starting with your choice of retriever breed, you are taken on a comprehensive journey through the life needs of a retriever. Included are in-depth chapters on hip dysplasia, field care, nutrition, and breeding. This book is full of useful information supplied through charts, tables, diagrams, and instructive examples, with a final chapter devoted completely to home-care tips.
Sports Medicine for The Retriever will become an indispensable part of any retriever enthusiast's sports library.
Contents:
Introduction
The Retriever
Retriever Puppies
Hip Dysplasia
Developing Retrievers
Sports Medicine
Orthopedic Sporting Injuries
Health Certifications
Breeding Retrievers
The Senior Retriever
Care Tips
Appendices
Puppy Temperament Test
PennHIP Breed Covers
Body Condition Scoring
Breeding Timing and Insemination Protocols
Over-the-Counter Drugs
Medical Kits
References
About the Author:
For Dr. Ben Character, veterinary medicine and sporting dogs go hand in hand. In addition to being a veterinarian, Dr. Character is an accomplished writer on sporting dog issues. His articles have appeared in numerous retriever magazines such as Retriever Journal, Gun Dog, and Ducks Unlimited magazines. He is also a columnist for ESPN.com Outdoors, and has discussed sporting dog care on the Southern Sporting Journal outdoors radio program.
Dr. Character has advanced training in veterinary medicine and is a certified PennHIP member veterinarian. He is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys hunting and fishing on their family's farm in Alabama, where he resides with his wife and three children.
FREE Preview -- Introduction
Dogs and ducks - for that matter, dogs and birds - they just seem to go together. I can't tell you for sure when this concept first concreted itself in my mind, but one particular morning stands out.
When I first started my career I was fortunate enough to have a boss
that was a fellow hunter. We met at his house around four one morning
to go blast ducks in the Big Sandy bottoms. It was about an hour
drive down to the backwater, so we piled our gear in the back of his
jeep and headed out to where the blind was waiting.
He co-owned this blind with a group of hunters whom we met at the
local pre-hunt gas station breakfast spot. After we had finished our
biscuits and coffee, it wasn't long before we were motoring our way
through the pre-dawn mist out to the blind. The hunt that morning was
not really all that spectacular. We bagged a few mallards, but what I
remember the most was the blind across the flat from us.
Not that the birds were working any better for them, but I remember
watching with enjoyment as their retriever did his thing. All morning
long, time after time as the ducks went down he was after them. The
big chocolate Labrador would streak out to the area, sometimes
following his master's instructions, sometimes not. But generally,
if there were a bird to be had he would not return with an empty
mouth.
At times it was quite comical and we could hear the yelling of "come
back here!", "put that down!", and "quit shaking on me!" from all the
way across the slough. Sometimes much to the chagrin of the
neighboring blind occupants, if the big black lab didn't find his
second mark, he would come over our way and give us a hand picking up
a bird or two. He must have been well trained though, for he always
returned the birds, even ours, to his own bind! Of course, this only
served to frustrate his owners all the more, as they then had to pause
from their hunting to return our birds. All in all, that dog must
have gone on over 25 or 30 retrieves as he worked that morning.
Work is an apt word to describe what our retrievers do, and this book
is all about keeping your dog in tiptop working shape. But in order
to do this we need to change how we think of our retrievers and begin
to think of them as the athletes that they are. If the retriever
above averaged 30 yards per retriever, that meant he swam nearly a
mile that morning! Certainly it was the feat of an athlete. So,
through out the book you will notice that the theme will be to compare
and view our retrievers as canine athletes. This change in attitude
has the capability of helping us see the needs of our dogs in a whole
new light.
On that basis, I welcome you to Sports Medicine for the Retriever!
From working with hundreds of retriever clients just like yourself, I
know that even though your retriever may not be a "Grand National
Champion" you still want your dog to be the best possible. This book
is written you, the non-professional that is serious about his hunting
and serious about his retriever. For most of us our retrievers are
not simply valuable hunting tools for picking up birds and finding
cripples, but they are also close friends, and because of this we want
the best care possible for them.
I understand that because you want what is best for your hunting
companion, you want practical, common sense ways of dealing with and
preventing problems that might keep them out of the field. A recent
survey of sporting dog owners indicated that their top four concerns
were conditioning, performance optimization, injury prevention, and
injury care, so I have tried to cover each of these areas through a
broad range of topics pertinent to the retriever. But even so, it is
not the intent of Sports Medicine for the Retriever to address every
possible area that might affect a retriever's health, nor are only the
"sports medicine" topics that pertain to the professional dog
presented. The average hunting retriever is a mix of the two,
somewhere in between the standard yard retriever and the high flying
field trial retriever, and because of this both sides of the coin must
be considered.
Whether it is in the water or on the field, there is nothing like
having a healthy, well-trained retriever working for you. The grace
and sheer power with which each retrieve is made and then the
immediate anticipation and readiness to go right back and do it all
over again is something that I never tire of watching. My goal has
been that every topic chosen for this book is discussed in a manner so
that you can understand how it pertains to your working retriever. I
hope that you enjoy Sports Medicine for the Retriever, it serves you
well, and I know that you will find it a valuable addition to your
sports library.
Good luck in all your retriever endeavors, and God Bless.
Ben J. Character, DVM
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