Summer soon will be upon us, and hunting season is still months away. For the next 12 weeks or more, your hunting dog will be less active than he is during fall and winter. There will be no quail to point, no squirrels or raccoons to tree, no rabbits or deer to chase, no ducks or doves to retrieve. If allowed, your dog will lie around like a human couch potato - fat, dumb and happy - during the warm months. But when hunting season comes around, the dog won't be in any condition for the rigors of hunting, and that's not good.
             Hunting dogs are athletes of a sort, and like their human counterparts in the world of sports, dogs need offseason conditioning to keep them in tip-top shape. In order to make that opening-day hunting trip successful - and to ensure your dog has all the stamina and energy needed to carry it through the season - you must pay attention to physical conditioning. And the conditioning has to be year 'round, not just during the fall and winter, when hunting seasons are in full swing.
             Many hunters tend to take for granted their dog's performance. They fail to realize the level of stress and exertion that a dog's cardiopulmonary system experiences during a day's hunt. We should all realize, however, that if a dog becomes fat and out of shape during the off season, it won't possess the physique needed to carry it through a full day of hunting in a useful manner. Proper conditioning during summer months is a very important part of your hunting companion's overall health regimen.
             A lot of hunters I know rarely let their dogs out of their pens in summer. Hot weather makes hunters lazy, too, so often they don't feel compelled to worry about their dog's health. They feed them, water them, let them sleep and that's it - that's the typical summer game plan.
             These same hunters also complain about their dog's lack of performance during the early weeks of the season. Their canine companions snuffle along, tongue hanging out, ...