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Macronutrients ratio and nutraceuticals supplementation in working dog nutrition

The 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 macronutrient, as well as the use of nutraceuticals in the diet, is often an area of interest and research. Strenuous workload will result in an increase of lactate levels, higher activity of creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase as a response to overall increased muscle activity and muscle injury. Prolonged fieldwork also leads to depletion of antioxidative capacity and changes in electrolyte balance due to complex metabolic response to workload demands. 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, 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 work for a prolonged period at medium to high intensity, the carbohydrate portion may be lower, with fat and protein energy levels adjusted at higher rates of ME, according to a specific activity. The additional challenge in working dog nutrition are search, rescue, and hunting dogs’ groups. Multifactorial work expected from these particular groups of working dogs includes a prolonged duration of work that combines intervals of different intensities under a variety of environmental conditions and terrains and includes obedience and scent detection. The reason for the importance of choosing appropriate macronutrient ratio lies in metabolic pathways difference that predominates in short and high- intensity exercise (anaerobic) versus medium to low intensity, prolonged activity (aerobic), where different substrates are used as an energy source (glucose vs fatty acids). Muscles fibers of dogs are predominately oxidative (I i IIa) therefore, they have a high ability to metabolize free fatty acids. That will lead to more efficient utilization of alternative energy sources in aerobic metabolic processes without depletion of glycogen stores. During work, due to the simultaneous occurrence of reparative and destructive processes, free radical-mediated damage is inevitable, therefore, the use of nutraceuticals with antioxidative and protective properties could benefit the working dog performance. Many of them have multifactorial effects that could benefit specific types of work such as EPA and DHA through proven anti-inflammatory properties, benefit on the olfactory acuity, and impact on learning capabilities. Additionally, newly researched nutraceuticals in the form of honeybee products rich in flavonoids, have shown promising results through attenuating exercise-induced oxidative damage that would benefit recovery. Working dogs are an irreplaceable part of society, therefore, it is crucial to provide answers that are still lacking and would improve the way we address nutritional guidelines for this heterogeneous group of dogs. Especially when it comes to providing nutritional protocols for specific work intensity and duration as well as beneficial nutraceutical supplementation.

working dogs, nutrition, macronutrients, nutraceuticals

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