Work em hard in the winter(sept through to march) then rest em up a wee while. Still give em the odd foray out though through the summer to get rid of excess energy and built up agression which certain crosses tend to develop. Then august time start upping the anti again ready for the harvest. To leave a working dog stale through the off season can lead to all sorts of behavioral problems ie agression and restlesness. Imo a dog should be reaching peakness round about now to march which is when he is needed most in the field...jmo..atb stabba