What should a working dog eat?

Sport and work

In sporting and working dogs, exercise induces various physiological responses as a result of type and intensity of work. Type of work can vary from short duration exercise performed at high intensity, as seen in hound races, to a long duration with medium to high intensity, as seen in sled dog races. In search and hunting dogs, apart from obedience and scent detection, prolonged duration of work is expected, which combines intervals of different intensities in a variety of environmental conditions and terrains.

Prepared for the job

Nutrition of working dogs should prepare the organism for high demanding activity and prevent injuries. For that reason, the recommended proportion and source of specific macronutrients in the diet should be in accordance with the type, intensity, and duration of the activity.

In dogs that are expected to perform a short but high-intensity activity (racing hounds) the daily ration should consist of easily digestible carbohydrates at the level of approximately 50% metabolic energy (ME). On the other hand, for dogs that are expected to exercise for a prolonged period at medium to high intensity, carbohydrate portions may be lower, with fat and protein-energy levels adjusted according to a specific activity. 

Sled dogs appear to require a high protein (30-40% ME), high fat (50% ME) diet. Other groups of working and sporting dogs would fit somewhere in the middle:
ME from protein approximately 25% and from fat 35-45% ME. 

It is important to keep the protein level in the diet at optimum levels, as low-protein diets have been shown to reduce VO2max and increase the rate of soft-tissue injury in exercising dogs.

Different metabolic pathways

The reason for the abovementioned is that different metabolic pathways predominate in short and high-intensity exercise (anaerobic) versus medium to low intensity, during a prolonged period (aerobic). Therefore, different substrates are used as an energy source: in the anaerobic pathway that is glucose; in the aerobic pathway it is fatty acids. Dogs metabolise free fatty acids at twice the rate observed in humans, hence the dog muscle is more adapted to use fat than human muscle.

Stress and performance

Stress has a major impact on the health and performance of working and sporting dogs and a strenuous workload can result in gastrointestinal symptoms. Therefore, a highly digestible, appropriately balanced diet is required. 

The diet should provide energy and avoid the occurrence of maldigestion and malabsorption, caused by the undigested particles that are fermented by colonic bacteria resulting in exercise-induced diarrhea. 

Nutraceuticals

Oxidative stress is also part of the exercise equation. Therefore, the use of nutraceuticals with antioxidative and protective properties could benefit working dog performance. 

Many of them have multifactorial effects that could benefit a specific task, such as zeolite as digestive system protectant, prebiotics (FOS, MOS) to prevent dysbacteriosis, and EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids that have proven anti-inflammatory properties benefit the olfactory acuity, and have an impact on learning capabilities.

Empty stomach

To conclude, the diet should be formulated using ingredients with a high biological value to ensure maximum digestibility. It is also important for the manufacturer to provide detailed guidelines to adjust ME energy requirements based on daily workload and adapt the timing of feeding to the exercise regime to ensure an ‘empty stomach’ during the exercise.