Sports Energy Bars And Drinks

[Paulp]

I am not sure that dogs have the same issue of loss of electrolytes as humans. We lose electrolytes through the copious amounts of sweat we exude to cool down. The salts end up dried on our skin. Dogs don't sweat through the skin to the same degree as us, they rely on evaporation from the airways and tongue and mouth meaning the electrolytes stay in their bodies. They just need plenty of cool clean water rather than electrolyte solutions. A cool coat helps as well.

I give my lab a double feed of his usual advance active dry food the night before a flyball competition in the belief it may help with glycogen levels in the muscles. I have toyed with the idea of trying something like carb loading in humans, feeding a couple of feeds incorporating high carb food (maybe boiled potato or white rice) in the couple of days leading up to competition but the chances are he would just burn it back off zooming with my other dog the day before anyway.

[Nic oh lah]

I've seen people giving their dogs powerade and gatorade at trials

what :rolleyes: bloody idiots

Well you can add me to the bloody idiot brigade!

I've had this recommended by one vet and okayed by another.

It's not something I use unless desperate, but when you've got a dog who won't drink in hot weather, if diluted powerade or gatorade gets her to drink then so be it!

Sorry if I offended you Jess, I just had images from Nic's post of people giving their dogs bottles of gatorade etc to their dogs to attempt to improve their performance.

Perhaps feeding heavily diluted power drinks for health reasons i.e. the dog won't drink and you are desperate, but I am sorry, I don't understand it purely from the perspective of "enhancing" the dog's performance.

Yeah I didn't mean it as a really scandalous thing as i've heard from a Vet that so long as it's diluted with cool water and in small amounts it's good for rehydrating a dog on a hot day and the electrolytes help the dogs recovery time under environmental stresses (like heat). I have a good freind who has done this (you know her Huski) - when she's at a trial that starts at 10am for Agility and goes onto obediance in the evening and can go till 8pm and it's been a stinking hot day and the dog has like 3 agility runs she dilutes a little bit in water for the dog as a vet recommended it during the hottest hours of the day. She's also wearing a cool-coat soaked with cool water and laying on a cool bed in a covered crate but the heat still gets to some dogs more than others. It's not a regular thing or something that happens at every trial, but in the really hot months in QLD it seems to help her dog.

ETA I should specify i'm talking about small amounts - like, a bowl of clean water, with a squirt of the powerade in it - and the sugary taste encourages the dog to drink up more than they may "feel like" at the time because the dog doesn't know what's coming up (eg, 2 back to back runs).

Edited May 24, 2010 by NicGSDlover

[twoblackdogs]

There are products on the Market to help Hydrate Dogs Eg: Recharge and Dogade

I believe Recharge is for after Exertion however Dogade is recommended for use Prior to exertion.

The key is to get your Dog Hydrated prior to exercise to help maintain hydration and stamina during exercise.

If either of the above products are unavailable I resort to adding a little Milk to the Water.

With the episode of the Dog collapsing - Have you heard about Exercise induced Collapse.

Do a Google search and have a read.....it may shed some light on a possible problem!

I have heard of some Labs and Border Collies having this problem.

[ness]

Yep twoblacklabs - that is what we suspect is her issue. I have googled it and I manage her as best I can to avoid her collapsing and pull her if she looks like she might.

[sas]

We used a product called Dogaid when showing in Summer.

[beagie]

Does anyone give their dogs sports energy bars before, during and after heavy training, and competing? If so which ones and where do you get them from and did they make a difference to your dogs performance?

Have found some that appear good online but having trouble finding an Australian distributor as i am not sure how I would go trying to get them through customs if I brought from overseas.

Kronch Pemmikan Energy Bar

first off you won't get anything like that in from another Country, don't waste your money customs will stop it or spray it in which case you would not

want your dog eating it. Giving drinks immediately after running is dangerous, I don't think GSD's bloat but I do know of one who did. Also feeding immediately prior

and after is dangerous, you need to give at least an hour each side, dogs are not humans, my grand daughter goes through all the sports drinks and bars

etc as she is a racing swimmer, however I would not put my dogs in the same class. If you think your dog needs cooling spray his underbelly with cool water

If he is slowing down after twelve ks. there are a million reasons why, pumping him full of iron (so to speak) is not the way to go he may just need a longer

time to gain fitness. My dogs do 12ks. every morning, one is 13 one nine and the pup is seventeen weeks, they all do much the same speed the pup is

ready for another run at the end the other two go straight to sleep and stay that way until lunch time they have been doing this for years and are very

fit. Also has your GSD been hip scored, GSD's also have a thing called vims which entails a lot more than just running. Just keep your dog well fed and his

correct weight certainly not over, if I wanted to up the anti I would feed raw which I do anyway Beagie