BUYER’S GUIDE TO K9 SPORTS DRINKS

I saw a dog die last year that should be alive today. On a searing Northern California summer day, a black Lab was shagging balls. The dog’s owner had a terrific arm, throwing the ball at least 100 feet each time. I counted at least 50 retrieves, and probably that many before I arrived. 100 throws in 100 degrees weather.

Each retrieval produced a more wobbly gait and glazed eyes in the dog. Breathing became labored-this dog was clearly in distress.  I told the owner as gently as I could her dog was on the threshold of heat stroke--his internal temperature bordered on critical.

The young woman thanked me for my concern, but said I didn’t understand her dog.  She said as long as her dog kept chasing the ball, he was fine. She observed that if her dog were truly in danger zone, he would stop chasing the ball, right?

I responded that dogs often continue work, even to their peril.  And unlike humans who more clearly exhibit heat stroke signals, dogs are more subtle at expressing danger signs. Often the first danger signal is the last.  

As if on cue, the dog stumbled then collapsed on his final retrieve. The woman screamed, and I learned the dog’s name was Nick.  We ran to Nick who lay stricken on his side.  Nick vomited over paper white gums and stared unblinking into the blinding noonday sun. The woman scooped up her dog, and ran to her car.  The race to save Nick’s life was on.

It was especially sad, because I knew the race was already lost in the minutes and hours leading up to this catastrophic event. Nick was at risk for heat stroke for a long time before he finally collapsed and soon after died. 

The next week my son and I were at the park.  One of the regulars said Nick had died at the critical care veterinary hospital of heat stroke.  The vets did everything they could, blah, blah, blah. 

Nick ought to be chasing tennis balls today.  The attention should have been preventing Nick’s heat stroke, not scrambling to save him after the onset.  An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure in heat buildup in dogs. 

Nick’s owner was well intentioned. But the road to ruin is frequently paved with good intentions.  It seemed logic that her dog would voluntarily stop chasing balls before he was about to die.  But now always, and not with Nick.  And maybe not with your dog.
 

Aside from working in cooler temperatures, the single most powerful factor under your control for beating the heat are K9 sports drinks.  The research behind K9 sports drinks is extensive, yet largely unknown until now.  Teams of elite scientists from around the world have studied sports drinks, and their findings give clear picture of how they can improve performance, recovery, comfort and especially safety.  What you learn here may save your dog’s life.

K9 SPORTS DRINKS-CLINICALLY PROVEN

K9 sports drinks may seem new or untested. Nothing could be further from the truth.  70 years ago, sports drink research began with dogs. This research, formerly buried in medical libraries, demonstrates the ability of sports drinks to improve canine performance and safety.    

It’s ironic we accept human sports drinks, but consider their use on dogs as new. In fact, the first sports drink test subjects were terriers, not cyclists. Long before today’s high tech human drinks, dogs were receiving K9 sports drinks to increase performance and recovery.

Dr. Dill of Harvard is the father of modern exercise physiology (the study of the body during exercise). In 1937, Dr. Dill conducted a landmark study that was sport drink ground zero.  Dr. Dill administered water-carbohydrate drinks to measure the drink’s ability to enhance performance and recovery.  The test subjects were dogs, including Joe, the most important canine you never heard of.   

JOE, THE UNSUNG HERO THAT CAN SAVE YOUR DOG’S LIFE

Dr. Dill’s primary test subject in these trials was Joe, a 29 pound “immature male of the fox terrier type”.  Joe’s heroic efforts in grueling exercise tests yielded knowledge that helps increase K9 performance and safety 70 years later. It’s no exaggeration that lessons learned from Joe’s trials could save your dog’s life. 

WHAT MAKES JOE RUN?

In 1937, little was known about exercise metabolism. Dr. Dill tested factors that might influence Joe’s performance. First, he turned the lab room temperature up or down. Next, he altered treadmill speed and elevation.  Even a modest elevation increase makes work harder.  Finally, various water and fuel combinations were given. 

To measure the effects of these changes, Dr. Dill closely monitored Joe’s metabolism.  He measured core temperature with a rectal probe and tested blood to determine lactic acid and blood sugar levels. A heart rate monitor accessed Joe’s beats per minute.  In 1937, this was cutting edge technology.

THE TESTS

Joe’s tests were conducted on an electric treadmill he was trained to walk on.  Generally, Joe walked at 5.4 miles per hour at a 15% grade (angle). Most people walk about 3 miles per hour.  

Every 30 minutes, researchers would take Joe off the treadmill. During this 5 minute rest period, Joe would take in water with carbohydrates, and have his blood drawn.  Then, Joe would get back on the treadmill and keep walking.  As it turns out, Joe kept walking a very long way.

JOE’S RESULTS

Dogs Are Energy Machines Joe’s performance as a canine athlete began as average, then turned incredible. At first, Joe was able to run at a steady pace for slightly under two hours (112 minutes) before exhaustion.  A respectable performance, but not exceptional.  

However, when Joe received water and carbohydrates under the same exercise conditions, his endurance increased an incredible 9 times.  On this very first sports drink, Joe walked 17 hours, and could have gone longer. Dr. Dill halted the experiment because he wanted to go home.  Without the sports drink, Joe could not complete two hours; with the drink he did 17 hours.

This magnitude of Joe’s increase in performance was remarkable.  In that 17 hour of sport drink assisted treadmill work, Joe walked 82 miles.  Equally impressive, he climbed another 14 miles because the angle of the treadmill.  All told, Joe walked a total of 96 miles.  That’s almost 4 full human marathons.

Remember, Joe was not exhausted at the end.  He was taken off because the humans wanted to go home.  Reviewing Joe’s metabolic data, his core temperature and blood sugar were as solid at 17 hours as the first.  This indicated Joe could have performed much longer. Moreover, Joe might have well been able to exercise faster as well.

Joe’s ability for extreme endurance is genetically based, but not Joe individually. Studying dogs on treadmills like Joe, or wild dogs and wolves leads to one conclusion.  Dogs are the ultimate aerobic land animals.  A key genetic adaptation is their huge heart in relation to body size. 

Not only is the canine heart large, it’s immensely powerful.  Human heart rates max out at about 220.  At that point, canine hearts are just warming up.  The canine heart tops out at over 300 beats per minute. That’s 5 beats per second.  The colossal canine heart enables Joe’s endurance production.   

This huge engine, light body design enables dogs to process 15 times more oxygen during exercise.  The amount of oxygen a dog utilizes per unit of body weight (V02Max) far exceeds that of the best Olympic athletes. Greater oxygen intake enables greater fuel combustion and performance.  Moreover, dogs burn twice as much fat at rest and exercise than humans.

Another canine adaptation is their remarkable spleen.  The spleen is an organ that retains blood reserves.  When dogs exercise hard, their spleen contracts to release stored blood into circulation.  This increase plasma volume and enables greater oxygen utilization and endurance.  In effect, the canine body “blood dopes” itself.

These genetic adaptations add up to a very powerful canine machine. Pound per pound, dogs can generate at least 300% more muscle power than the best human athlete. As Joe proved, his huge power output can continue for at least 17 hours. 

Joe was not a highly trained endurance dog. Nor was he a genetic freak, able to perform at much higher levels than normal dogs.  Joe was a young terrier in average condition.  This makes Joe’s 17 hours even more impressive. It also means most dogs can perform for very long periods if they follow Joe’s plan                  . 

Dogs Are Heat Machines The extreme muscular power that enables dogs to perform feats of ultra endurance comes at a cost-heat. Of the colossal chemical energy that powers canine muscles, only 20%-30% is converted into muscular energy.  Fully 70%-80% is wasted as heat.

Like car engines, the more power generated, the more heat output. Generating such enormous power for extended periods results in heat build up.  Because this power-heat connection, dogs are extreme endothermic (heat generating) biological engines.

Heat build up is the main rate-limiting factor in canine performance. Dogs operate within a narrow band of internal core temperature. Generally, 100-104 F is the power zone where most dogs perform best.  Over this temperature, performance declines, and overheating becomes a safety issue. Heat stroke is a dangerous medical condition occurring when core temperatures rise to dangerous levels.  Heat kills.

To keep core temperature in the safety-power zone, dogs evolved a unique cooling strategy.  Unlike humans which sweat to cool, canine heat loss occurs mainly through respiration.  In other words, the dog’s muzzle acts as a radiator.  Long muzzled dogs, like greyhounds, are more effective at cooling than bulldogs. This why bulldogs and other short-faced breeds suffer more from heat.  They have smaller radiators.

A critical factor in internal temperature is external temperature.  The same canine workout is easier in the cool morning than under the blazing noonday sun. While the power output is the same, how the body produces power is different during heat.

When it’s hotter outside, the canine body is hotter inside. This rise out of the safety-performance zone causes the body to burn more carbohydrates to perform the same work. This results in an increase in metabolic acids (H+).

Heat Kills