Hydration Tips for Performance Dogs

Monday, November 23rd, 2020
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Most dogs that eat a home-prepared diet don’t drink nearly as much as those that eat bagged foods because fresh food contains at least 70% moisture. Still, hard-working animals need to be well hydrated to perform well. Dehydration can cause fatigue, poor performance, weakness, muscle cramping, decreased coordination and therefore injury. In addition, dehydration can cause the heart to work harder in an effort to move blood through the bloodstream and risks overheating. So how much is enough and when should you start to worry?

 

The amount of fluid required to rehydrate depends quite a bit on how much fluid the dog has lost. To get a better idea of what might work for your dog, weigh him/her before and after workouts. The difference is mostly water so that is about how much liquid your dog should be putting back in the body during the course of the exercise. Now that you have a goal, you may also have a challenge in getting your dog to drink this amount. Read more Hydration Tips for Performance Dogs

Canine Athletes: The Ouch We May Not See

Tuesday, December 27th, 2011
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My roster includes a lot of canine athletes.  The reason most of them end up with me is because owners want a great diet for their dogs, but the emphasis is on stamina and duration and the right diet is pretty darn good at getting a dog to improve on both.

 

Some people scoff about it and claim that all you need is a well-balanced diet because all dogs require the same thing.  The dogs I’ve worked with have shown dramatic improvement, so I disagree with those statements. Once you understand at which point the dog seems too tired or loses speed, you can tweak the diet and the timing (emphasis on timing) of that diet accordingly. Read more Canine Athletes: The Ouch We May Not See