Is Your Dog Ready for Opening Day?

For many, opening day is just around the corner. While this is the day heaps of us have been waiting on for months, it’s crucial not to get so caught up in the anticipation that you forget to make sure you and your doggo are fully prepped for your first day out in the field. The following checklist should help make sure you and your hunting mate are ready for the field:

Fully trained- As the season approaches, you might be keen to rush your dog through training or take them out hunting before they're properly ready. While it might give you a bit of immediate satisfaction, it's gonna cause dramas down the track. Taking your dog out before they're up to it can not only be risky on the day (like losing your dog, injuring a good downed bird, or losing one completely) but it can also make your dog's bad habits stick by rewarding them with a hunting trip. SportDOG Brand® ProStaffer Steve Borecky has seen plenty of top-notch dogs that were brought out too soon. Don't be that bloke. Your dog doesn't have to be perfect to start hunting. All dogs stuff up, but just make sure it's not happening all the time and your dog knows what you expect. This will lead to a much better day out and a solid hunting career.

Healthy Check-Up- Your dog needs a thorough check-up before being let loose in the field. This includes any necessary vaccinations, hip/joint examination and getting all the proper paperwork sorted for travel if that's on the cards. Especially important if your dog's shown any signs of sickness. Your mates won't be too chuffed if your dog spreads any sort of infection that could muck up their season, and some lodges/state wildlife departments won't let you hunt without the paperwork to show your pooch is in good nick.

Conditioned- If you haven't been taking your dog out as much over summer, it's about time to get started. Letting her loose in the field after a lazy summer lounging on the sofa is a surefire way to ensure you'll be heading home early. If your dog's going to rack up the kilometres on opening day, they need to be clocking them up right now. If you've let your hunting mate slack off this summer, start with short walks and gradually build up to a decent few kilometres by opening day. This will make sure you're both ready for the challenge.

Geared Up- Nothing can stuff up a good day out in the bush like reaching into your gear bag and realising you’ve forgotten a crucial bit of your dog's gear. If you haven’t checked your gear yet, better do it now. If you’re short on anything, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got time to nick down to the shops or order online. This time of year, everyone’s going to be rushing to their local and online shops to stock up on replacements, so getting in early will make sure what you need is available. Don't forget to have a squiz at our website, www.sportdog.com for any spare parts or accessories you might need, or any of our top-notch retailers.

That’s our short but important checklist for opening day. What would you add to this list?