pinky and the brain keep

[kapo793]

Does Anyone have it just had a laptop crash and lost most of my dog stuff most I can get back but still looking for a line on this one thanks for the help kapo

[SDJ2010]

I have it somewhere, but I'd say you'll find on the net...if not, please give me some time and I'll find it...

[kapo793]

Okay thanks

[Tobias]

I had that keep also, and now I can't find it either...If anyone happens to come across it can ypou please let me know, It was published in one of the old SDJ's but i cant remember which issue? Thanks!

[loot]

Do you remember what year?

[S_B]

Taken from The Magazine:

Well, time for some more babbling from the terminal of Pinky & The Brain.

Subject today: The all-elusive "Keep". I imagine that for the newcomer in the sporting aspect of this breed the most difficult thing is the subject of the Keep. The mysteries of Vitamins and "Roids", the amount of work an animal needs prior to a show.

Well let's start with the basics: Is a canine like a human? Answer is no, we pale considerably when we try to compare our athletes to the canines. Why? Well “simply because” should be good enough for now. A canine is an incredible machine in the wild they very rarely walk, much like the loose dog rarely walks. They get around generally by a pace we refer to as a trot or lope, this pace is kept up during all basic travel unless the canine is stopping for investigative purposes or in the process of concealing themselves for whatever purpose.

Now what does this have to do with conditioning an animal you may ask? Well it is best to start at the beginning then 30% into the topic. When we go to work our dogs we need some basic guidelines to start with. This to me is one of the better places to start. We do need to gauge how much work a dog is able to do. This also tells us that putting an animal on a mill, ginny or table for 5 minutes is rather pointless. Even fat house dogs can go run in the park for 30 minutes, my god I would hope an animal that is bred for performance should be able to accomplish this task, shouldn't they? By chance if your 2-3 year animal cannot perform this simple task, maybe this particular animal is not cut out to perform as you wish.

In my keep the first day on the mill is a 30-minute work out with no breaks, of course unless I have to slow the animal down. Some in fact, possibly many dogs have to be taught to work at the proper pace. Proper pace would be a pace that the animal actually begins to work the Cardio-vascular system. This is the system that delivers the much-needed Oxygen to the system. If this system is not working properly then you can forget about the rest of your keep.

Do I expect the animal to run full out for thirty minutes? No not at all, a thoroughbred horse is bred to run full out, he completely depletes the O2 in his system within the first 1/4-mile from what I have read. It is the animal’s efficient lungs and Cardio-vascular system that allows him to carry on this pace for a whole 2 minutes.

Should a dog be expected to run full out any more? Not in my views, also consider that a dog and horse run the exact same way, at all times there appears to be one foot on the ground, unlike a cat that will be air-borne. Except for the Cheetah which runs, sits and acts like a dog, to the point of non retractable nails. This animal is also the fastest land animal. How long can they keep up their high speed? Well put it this way, if they do not get there prey, they do not start after another, they must rest up....

Where does this lead us to dogs? Only this, don't expect more out of your animal then he is able at the same time do not baby him either. Learn the potential of the animal and work from there.

I have yet to have a problem by just adding 30 minutes to the work each week of work. Should my dog be frothing up on the mill? Yes, this means he is working, as time goes by you will notice a difference on when the dog froth's, how long before the initial white froth is visible to the latter clear sweat coming off of the dogs tongue. As time goes by the periods will be extended and shortened, depending on what stage you are observing. I heard it is better to incline the mill? They have learned with horses; a flat running mill is better for the animal then the inclined. So I suppose it is a matter of beliefs here.

Yeah but what about strength, I heard if the animal runs up hill he gets stronger? I use the mill for one reason only CARDIO-VASCULAR. Strength comes from a different part of the workout; this would be the hand walking. But I live in the city; I can only mill my dog, shit what now? Well how about getting in your car and driving to a rural area for hand walking, this is for the dog this keep. We are here to work the dog, and the benefit to you is your wife will notice that spare tire vanish on you, but once again the keep is designed for the dog, and we must work the keep around the dog. I don't own a car how do I get to the rural areas? Hmmmm would seem that your greatest concern then is not showing a dog, but maybe getting your life in order a bit more no? Not trying to be harsh here, but we must accept what we are doing, our job is to give the animal the best he can get, and nothing else will do. He has his job and we have ours as conditioners, until we are able to obtain the proper tools for the job, we should wait until this time comes.

Without such tools you only loose your cash and damage some ego out of the event, the animal has a lot more on the line then you do. Yet is DEPENDING on you to manage him, to give him all the available tools to do the chore you ask of him... I don't know, but I sure won't build a ginny for someone, substitute duck-tape for 60-10 welding rod. To me avoiding the much-NEEDED hand walk is doing the same. It is the hand-walk that develops much of the strength you need in your dog. During this time you can pull weights or chain what ever your choice. I pull my dog for two miles every day other then his rest day; this is where I get my physical strength. This way it does not interfere with the Cardio-vascular workout.

The question begging to be asked now is "How much weight 35 LB.... 50 LB.... How much"? In my case, first week I pull 5 LB..... And increase this amount each week for a 45- LB show dog. Now that is not a 5-LB weight, but 5 LB of pull. Meaning I hook my draw bar up to a scale, hook on weight drag and see the weight. Generally a 3- pound weight will equal out to 5 LB. Not much weight you say? Well that 5-lb..... Is approx. 9% of the animal's mass. Same as 150-LB man pulling almost 15 pounds Try it and see how it feels. By the end of the keep your animal is pulling over half of his body weight. No small feat, during this hand walk your dog should be able to empty out for you. Another reason why the hand walks and weights is important.

Hey Pinky do all dogs do this work, I am sure mine won't? Not all dogs will, some dogs will not even work, which is a shame cuz they may be real talented animals. If they won't work how well will they fare as their opponent has the ability to hit the wall and come back with a vengeance? So if you can't get the animal to work at all, I suggest you accept the truth, and use him for another purpose. Which there are many he can be used for. One of the reasons it is important to understand: We work the dog to the dogs program. We have to invent systems and equipment they feel comfortable on. I like to start my animal’s young on their toys. I have a ginny set up so the yard can watch one animal work it. I always have two mills going, a young bait dog which gets to watch an older dog work the mill and get use to it themselves.

What about Feed, Vitamins and Steroids Pinky, I need to know about these items? Well if I tell you that you will know as much as I and I wouldn't be able to write these long drawn out letters would I ☺ Well, I will get into that in a little later. What I will say about Roids is this. They do not make a cur game; they are not magic or voodoo. They are enhancements to help the animal work, not perform on show day.

The Norwester and I were discussing this and he said something I rather chuckled about regarding people who believe the dog showed on steroids is a misrepresentation on his Gameness or ability. When I pointed this out to him he said, "Like we haven't already decided this before the animal got to the level of even using steroids." There is a lot in that statement if read thoroughly. If Roids were as bad as people believed, didn't Ben Johnson show the world this to be false? I have bred several animals while on Roids or just at the end of a Roid session. I will suggest if you use them, buy them from a vet, or somebody you know who is getting them from a vet. None of these bottles with no labels like any black market, you can be sure there are a lot of frauds out there. Think, they are selling frauds for human consumption, do you think they care what your dog gets.

Let's recap and see what points have actually been made:

#1: Pinky puts his dogs on the mill for 30 minutes and increases every week by another 30 minutes.
#2: Pinky hand walks his dog for a min of 2 miles each workday pulling weights.
#3: Pinky believes in Steroids but doesn't go into detail.

Hmmm, Pinky has yet said how long he works his dog for. Or how much rest his dog gets. Well the question is begging now Pinky? How long is your keep and how many rest days?

I use a 42-day keep with a 2-week pre-keep. I use 1 day rest out of every 7 days worked, more if the dog asks for it. Whoa, wait a minute here Doctor Doolittle, now your bulldogs talk to you? Hell yes, doesn’t yours? A dog should be waiting at the end of his chain at the designated work time, he is fully aware it is time. If by chance he is not their tongue baited waiting, then he is telling you that he is not up to a workout. He was worked hard yesterday and needs a little more rest. I desire to have my dog 2 lbs. over his show weight after they have emptied out. I keep them at this weight right up to the evening before the show, and draw the last 2 pounds out of the animal for show night.

Next I will go into feed, spring pole and additives. Now I suppose the first place to start would be to finish off with the work out for the dog. I believe this would be spring pole work. I give my dogs 5 minutes of work on the spring pole the first week and increase this by 5 minutes each additional week. I work the dog on the spring pole immediately after I take him off of the mill or the ginny.

What do I use for a spring pole? Well I have found that the best springs for this apparatus is already out on the market at your local farm supply store. You won't find it if you ask for a spring pole spring, but if you ask for a "Fence Pulling Spring" they will direct you to the product you want. Where I live these springs cost $10.00 they have a chrome/galvanized finish so there is no need to worry about rust. I suppose what I like best about this spring is that it is much like washing and wear clothing. Soon as you get home it is ready to use; the only thing you may have to buy is a hook to hang it and a piece of rope and hide. I prefer either Moose or Cow hide. I have tried deer hide and it just does not handle the work.

Now, is there a wrong way and correct way to work a dog on a spring pole? Yes, most definitely there is, I prefer to have mine attached to a hook on the wall about two feet off of the ground, this way the dog's feet never leave the ground. Some dogs will not even work the hide, as others prefer the hide to be suspended overhead. In the case of the dog that would prefer to have the overhead type of spring pole, I am sure to not allow my dog to leap and hang. I cannot stress enough that these practices of hanging the dog by his jaws may cause damages that can make you forfeit your show. I always make sure that the dog is able to have all four on the ground if it chooses. In other words the highest point he can bite on the hide will have his front feet about one inch from the floor. Why you may ask? I will go more into detail in the next paragraph.

How about flirt pole work? No, I will not recommend such an activity for any dog that is being conditioned for performance. There are just too many potential dangers in this activity. In my opinion you might as well kick the animal in the kidneys once a day if you decide to use this tool. One of the problems when canines are allowed to leap in the air is they can get what is referred to as a "turned stomach" this problem usually results in death. So, to actually engage in a practice that is well known for this problem once you have been informed is ludicrous. On the other hand if you choose to use the flirt pole by all means go ahead, I just cannot help in any way on how to use it.

I suppose now we should get to the feed and supplements. I use a very natural and simple diet for dogs in keep; I do add supplements, as I cannot get all I want out of straight feed.

Here is a list of the supplements I use in the diet:
Winstrol V in 2 mg. tablets
Wheat germ oil
Amino Acid concentrate
RF-1(a CNI product)

When I refer to the word meat, I mean just that MEAT, animal carcass. I like to use "chuck" before it is ground into hamburger; this way I get what I want, and can remove any excess fat. When I mean excess I mean a piece that has no meat but is fat. I do not cook my meat; the dog gets it raw in the meal.

When I refer to veggies I refer to specific veggies that I use. These veggies are Parsnip, Carrots, Yams or also known as sweet potatoes. I boil the bejesus outta my veggies, I then am sure to save all the water and pour it into two one-gallon jugs. With the pot I cook veggies in <usually one cooking last for two weeks> I fill the pot up twice with water and let it boil for awhile. Now many have asked me why I cook my veggies, well the answer is rather simple. Canines CANNOT absorb anything from a veggie in their raw state, nor can they absorb fruit. A canine must have it either pre-digested or broken down by heat to release the veggie nutrients. This by the way is why we saved the water. This is what we mix our feed with. A canine has the same ability to digest veggies as we humans do trying to digest raw corn. We also do not have the ability to digest certain veggies. Also have you ever seen a canine out in the wild grazing or rooting up carrots on his or her own? Of course not cuz they get this from the small intestines and belly of their prey.

When you use a large amount of veggies in your feed keep as I do there is an added bonus. Carrots and root veggies are a good source of Vitamin K; this important vitamin is a natural blood coagulant, which will do its part on show day, these veggies are also carbo-hydrates. I like my animals to be use to burning carbs all throughout the keep not just near the end during the carbo-loading period.

The wheat germ oil is a source of Vitamin E, this is very important for Cardio-Vascular work. This vitamin helps with delivering oxygen to the muscles on demand. Okay we are discussing feed now. I suppose the biggest problem to people is to decide much how feed to give the animal. I use a very simple formula that seems to work for me. I take the animals show weight and divide this by two. I then use this number as the amount of dry weight feed the animal gets.

An example would be this: a forty pound show dog would get 20 ounces of dry feed. Now of course this usually gets adjusted accordingly if the dog is putting on weight I decrease. As I said earlier I prefer my dogs two pounds over their show weight after empty out. I then maintain this weight through out the keep. It will be apparent after weeks of work what is happening. Since the dog is working so hard and not putting weight on something must be happening. What is happening is the dog is removing fat and putting on muscle. The dog is getting leaner and more solid. Near the end of the keep you will notice the dog will be taking in the full 20 ounces of feed.

Now here is the daily diet the dog will get. I will stick to a fictional weight and dog of 40 pounds.
8 ounces of raw meat
4 ounces of high pro or puppy kibble
8 ounces of boiled veggies < now we have obtained our 20 ounces >

Additives:
1 sardine that has been preserved in spring water
1 teaspoon of wheat germ oil
1 teaspoon of amino acid concentrate
1/3 of a cup of Peak Condition
3 2mg tabs of Winstrol V
1/7 of a package of frozen spinach (thawed out of course)
4 cups of water (boiled water from veggies) 4 cups of water I give this to the dog within one hour of work out.

Generally I make the feed and let it soak throughout the workout. After the dog has been rubbed down for 10-15 minutes after work I take him for a short cool down walk. If needed put him back on the chain and bring his feed to him. Now you may ask is the Rubdown needed and really what is it? Yes the Rubdown is needed, even if all it does is gives you time to talk to your dog. See this to me is part of the bonding I get with my dog. I act goofy, whisper sweet nothings to him and praise him for the entire time. I have not known a time when a rubdown doesn't feel good when given to me. So I know the dog likes it also. I always rub the dog starting with the neck and shoulders working my way back and ending with his stifles. I rub the dog completely.

I myself do not use any lineament on the dog. I used to but I quit. The only reason I quit was for consideration for the other handler. See if the other handlerconditioner did not use no lineament or any other chemicals to keep flies away etc. I won't even ask them to wash. Let me clarify this, I happen to be within an area filled with Dogmen that I believe do NOT rub dogs (poison). Now if I am going out of town, of course I do not always practice this. So therefore I actually try to hook into people that are not suspect for this practice of rubbing dogs.

Side note: I also try to hook into people where a physical forfeit is not needed. I would rather deal with honest people. Hell if I bet somebody or go to the bookie and bet $1000.00 on a hockey game I do not have to put money up, so why do dog people? Well not all do, there are a lot of good competitors out there that are as honest as a hot summer day is long. If I bring new people in the game I also try and teach them this more honest way to match. Yes I have been burned on forfeit in the past, but hey did I really loose out? Not in my opinion, I feel that I gained instead.

Hell it could have been a lot more I got burned for. See if everybody follows suite and decides not to show into the lower lives of the game, soon they will either conform to the honest dog-people's way or they just get blackballed from the sport. The choice is theirs to decide! Now this is not something I am telling you have to do, it is just something I try and do, remember we are Pinky & The Brain world domination is our game. ☺ I just cannot express enough that there is a hell of a lot of honest Dogmen in the sport, there is no need to accommodate the scum. That goes for more than matching it also includes buying dogs' etc.

Y’all would be surprised how a breeder can take a shine to a person that shows the breeder's dog good and treats them good. I do not mean always winning but showing the dog good. Before you know it said breeder may be offering you free prospects. It all depends on how you conduct yourself to the people in this game, and how you will be treated. Honesty is the most coveted personality trait in this sport from what I have gathered. Anyhow enough of my personal philosophy! So if you have used a liniment be sure to inform your opponent he will be grateful and will begin to form a more pleasant kinship to you in the square. Once again, once in the square you are allowed to be friends with your opponent. I have checked the Cajun rules over and there is no rule against this. ☺

CARBO LOADING I use straight spaghetti the hollow type. I boil real good and once again save the water for the feed. Once I have strained the noodles real well I place them on a cookie sheet and freeze dry them. I remove them, thaw and freeze again.

Freeze you may ask "but why"?

Well it’s simple: during this time of the keep I am monitoring the water intake, I do not want noodles saturated with water. The freeze drying of the pasta removes much of the water from the noodles. On week 5 I remove one third of the protein from the diet, generally this is the kibble first and I replace this with the noodles. If the dog drops weight dramatically add back the protein.

Week six I repeat the procedure by taking another third of protein away and replace this with pasta. Once again if the dog starts to drop weight too much I add back the protein. At this point if everything has gone well with the keep he should be between 1-2 pounds over his show weight once the dog has emptied out.

DRYING OUT THE DOG Now here are probably the most misunderstood points of a keep. Just what is dried? Well to some it is when you pull the skin up on the back of the dog and the skin looks like a pitched tent. This is not what I refer to as dried out. I naturally dry a dog out so he comes in much like what he is after his 2 ½ hours on the mill or ginny.

When you were working your dog you noticed that he generally lost approx. a 1-LB to 1 ½ LB of weight. This is the excess water that I speak of. This is the water I want to remove from him. This was the water that your animal got rid of during work. This is why you kept your dog 2 lb. over his weight during the keep.

See there actually was a method to my madness. Now, how to remove this water, well, simple. On the Wed., prior to show day (assuming show day is on Saturday) you have put your dog up in a kennel crate. He is only being taken out to empty and put back in his crate. Offer him a drink of water early in the morning. Let him take what ever he wants. Once he has finished he does not get any more water until what is in his feed.

Repeat this procedure on Thursday. Now we come to Friday, offer him his water again as was done on the past two days. When it comes to feed time, which I like to feed no closer then 20 hours out of show time any later then 24 hours. I give the dog his feed but with NO WATER AT ALL.

See what will happen is the animal will use whatever water is in his feed such as the veggies meat etc. He will then have to rely on his own body fluids to finish off the digestive process. You will notice that on your Saturday morning weigh he is not the same as he was on Wed. to Friday. You can then do the math, calculate what his morning weights were on Wed to Friday Vs his Evening weight. His evening weigh in should have been done at what the approx. time of show was.

Did I forget to mention that from Wed to Sat. he must be weighed at the same time morning and evening? Well it has been mentioned now. Now Saturday's morning weigh in should be dramatically different. This is where you can tell just what the drying has done for your dog. Wait, Wait, panic, panic, we got problems, Pinky, my dog has not changed in weight, in fact he weighs more! Well, well, have we not created a problem for ourselves? ☺

Well, all I can say is this, during Wed to Friday weigh in if your dog was putting on weight you should have noticed and adjusted feed at this point. He should never start to put weight on these last three crated days. If so his feed should have been adjusted accordingly. At all times during the keep, we as conditioners must never throw common sense out the window. This keep is just a guideline nothing more. Each animal is an individual and adjustments should be made to the individual.

In any event if you feel the dog needs to drop there are only a few things you can do now. 1. You are going to have to make sure that this animal has emptied his bowels completely. I generally look to the adult suppositories for this. I use these twice on show day. The second laxative will be given at around 5 PM if we are to go off by 8 PM with say a 7 PM weigh in.

WARNING I DO NOT ENDORSE OR PREFER THE FOLLOWING BUT I ALSO HAVE HAD TO USE THIS METHOD.

Azium or Dexamethazone can be used to draw weight or water out of dog. I try to be very careful with this product as it can do two things. One it over dries the dog and two relaxes him. See we have had this dog crated for three days with no way for him to burn off the carbos we have been pumping into him. We were doing this for a very good reason.

TOO MUCH AZIUM OR DEX CAN NEGATE THIS WORK WE JUST DID.

Generally 1cc of Azium or Dex will take a good amount of water from the dog. I know people that have used up to 4cc of the product. So at your first morning weigh in which will be approx. 12 hours out of show time you must make your decision. Once he has had the Dex put into his system be sure to do a lot of hand walking on show day. Not long walks but just enough so the dog wants to scent the area.

Generally every time you walk the dog he will want to urinate. Many people seem to forget that 8 fluid ounces of urine is close to 8 ounces of weight. That is ½ pound of weight coming out of the dog. Also it is not a bad idea to keep the dog in the AC on show day. The AC does not care what it removes moisture from. Your dog by being in the same room as the AC is will have moisture removed from him also. I cannot stress enough that in the humid summer months your dog can pick up weight just being at show site in the humidity.

Many of the people I have been involved with care less what time your dog makes weight on show day as long as he makes weight. Same as me, if you are on weight at 5 p.m. and we are to go off at 8 p.m. I will take the weight as valid. The reasons being many people prefer to give their dogs a bit of fluids or something. I know some people, which feed their dogs two or three times a day during keep, therefore these people might want to give their dog something prior to show time. I have no problems with this practice. I look at things different, I am concerned only how my dog is, I did not show up to take a forfeit or foul, I did not plan my win around how you conditioned your dog.

I have already come to the conclusion you have come to show me my dog is a cur, you are coming with the real deal and I have a show on my hands. See whatever you give your dog on show day is not boosting his weight any more then saying a collar that weighs ½ pound is making me go into a dog that is of greater weight. Food or fluids in the dog is not real weight in my opinion not any more then the collar. Sure it can put your dog over the weight but is it really weight? Of course not, it is just added weight.

Now that this has been said and done, best of luck to you all. If You have question regarding this keep write in to the mag, I am sure the editor will be more then happy to print your question and my answer along with it, he can email me the question and I will send him a reply back. One thing I will stress, I love to debate and shoot my mouth off, I am fully aware of this part of my personality. In no way is this keep up for debate with me. Take what you need and file the rest under TRASH. If you want to comment by all means feel free, even degrade it, fine with me. I just won't take part in an active debate on this particular keep.

Meaning I have no intentions of justifying anything written here. It works for me; it is the same keep I use. Of course I also may change if something better comes along, but I always put a dog through a keep if I change things to a keep to see the reaction. Keep Scratchin And keep it honest.

Regards, Pinky & The Brain

[Officially Retired]

Nice punctuation

[S_B]

Well I decided to attempt to make it easier on the eyes...

[EWO]

The first time I read it, or tried to read it, itr was like one long run-on sentence, a 2,000 word sentence. The punctuation makes it a lot easier for the old peepers. EWO

[kapo793]

Thank you