Correct weight?

[bolero]

you want to find weigh work the dog like you would for a match and peak him out thge same way you would for a match and run his last workout as if it were the match and see how he does. this is how one of the greates conditioners of the eighties and nineties dis it

[skipper]

The only way to truly find the right weight is to do a keep!

[EWO]

I have always liked hand walking and dragging some weight on lead to get to the correct weight. I like to feel his strength rather than look at him or checking times. It takes time and when one develops that eye it may be the most important factor in the dogs, as missing the weight can counteract all the hard work, intelligence and experience one might personally possess. Just for numbers sake Let's say a dog is 50 on the chain and "looks" good and "looks" close. At 50 pounds he can drag me and some weight for 5 miles and he is spent (just a number). I feel like 5 is as much as he needs to do to make it in the show. I drop to 49 pounds and he can do everything at 49 he did at 50. I drop to 48 and he does the exact same amount of 'work'. I drop to 47 and at 4 miles he is weak and tired and can't get the work done. 47 is too light for him he needs the other pound. I do not want him competing or performing at the 47 mark so I go up a pound back to 48. He gets the five miles done and is just about spent at that five mile mark because he has worked off another pound and he is down close to that 47 mark where he weakened. So I go up to 49. This is his weight. He can complete his five miles, drop a pound or so due to hard work and not get down to that 47 mark where he was too weak to perform at his peak level of performance. I would call this dog at 49 although he 'looked' good at fifty and performed well at 48, he does not need to carry anymore weight nor does he need to be down on lower threshold.
A dog only has one ideal weight but can win in a 2 to 3 pound window. That depends on the dog. The dog that does not pack lunch because we are not going to be staying very long can carry the weight and then some, yet still come off that weight because he won't be there long enough to lose a pound or more. If the dog needs a marathon effort he will have to be dialed in perfectly so he will still be around after the initial sprint, weather that middle distance race and still have gas in the tank to race to the finish, even at the 26 mile marker. This part of the dogs is far more "art" than "science". And when one gets lucky, the dog is special enough one could miss the weight call and he makes the handler/conditioner look like a genius. And if this special dog could drive and count money, he would not need us at all. EWO

[inkdogg]

[inkdogg]

[inkdogg]

[inkdogg]

[pig mad]

So what if you keep your dog fit and on weight all year round is that a good or a bad thing?

[Limey Kennels]

Actualy it was 18w/1l , and G hammonds told me how his dam was bred about 4 months ago.but i alredy forgot how shes bred.. The dog that beat Melonhead , was called T bone. who was sold to Germany . And he lost from a dog i knew very wel owend bij Mario from Bad Boy kennels germany.. bred bij my frind BVH. STB kennels . Tubbs was out of Stb Dylan x Baby o, Baby o was a direct bitch from Bouls Bobby x Dirty mary. T bone lost in 2,47!!.
Tubbs was 18 months old at the time... a exstra footnote. Baby o had a siter called Black gold who was also bought bij BVH Stb kennels holland. but when mike Harrison died(breeder of these dogs NOT ronald Bouls) his wife send / sold dogs including both bitches to pat patrick . Afther BVH started to press Pat patrick he send one to BVH. but refused to send Black gold . who was alredy bought and also the property of BVH . so he stole that bitch from BVH Stb kennels..
Did not whant to faul up this tread but tought this added to the Melonhead story..

Now for getting a dog on his weight . one way of doing it is to take 1/3 ore 1/4 of his food away. and let the dog SLOWLY lose his fat reserves. while doing nothing at al (when you start working a dog to loose weight , you take the outside fat away first, but lots of the internal fat stays where its at!! giving you a fals view of a dog close to its weight). having a dogh slowly consume his natural fat resourses wil drawn both gut and outside fat away.. This way you wil slowly see a mental change coming in the dog . as hunger trigger his senses, just like a wild animal . he wakes up eurlyer is more actif!!. now if you DO it to QUIKLY the dog will do the oposit he wil get slower and stop being actif!! he would ""just like in winter time"" try to presearf energy!!!!.... when you see the hip bones coming tru( not a lot) the skin and halve the rib cage is viseble. you can slowly pick up working him. as he is both mental and fisical reddy to get of that chain ore out that kennel to seek prey!!... at this time you slowly level his food out. hel stay hungry , but is not loosing anymore weight . every dog is diferend but bij walking him and playing with his food intake a bit you can ""gestimate"" his weight prety wel. now many dogs can been shown at diferend weights , and getting it right the first time is not ez ..

as breeding purety and hybrid viger and yes stile wil detirmen the right weight as wel. as heavy ore deep bred lijnbred inbred individuals lose more weight when shown!!.. and go tru there energy levels mutch quicker, due to lesser hybrid viger presend in these dogs.
These dogs should be shown at 1 to somtimes 1 1/2 lbs over there natural weight. Hens the Battle crosses are known as Battle crosses for a resen . as they have more change to come tru a show and can be drawn mutch finner/thiner and are ezer to work with and they are more forgiven for your screw up,s.... and should have lots of Hybrid Viger in them .
last but not least a dog MIGHT show very wel and spot on at 42 at the start of the keep...BUT can look and behave like s.ht at that same weight at the end of the keep. Not nesersary due to over working them . but ofthen a dog that has been put OUT on a sirtin weight might need ore build up more muscle bulk during te keep then his owner had intisipated...

[Jon P. Lebron]

How long was Melonhead's match when he lost? And was it his last match?