Working dogs stay cooler and recover pulse faster with nutrient water

Abstract

Exercise-related physiological changes were evaluated in hydrated, exercise-conditioned working dogs with free access to tap water (TW) with or without a nutrient-enriched water supplement (NW). Physiological samples and measures were collected before and after work-related field tasks in a warm and moderately humid ambient environment. In a cross-over design study, 12 dogs (age range 8-23 months) were evaluated on 3 separate occasions within each period with exercise bouts up to 30 min, on days -4, 3, and 11. Dogs were offered eitherTW or portion-controlled NW daily plusTW. Prior to and serially after exercise, pulse rate (PR), core (BT) and ear (BT) temperature were recorded. Urine was collected first thing in the morning, whereas blood samples collected and body weight (BW) recorded pre- and immediately post exercise. Ambient temperature was above 21.7&#xb0;C (71&#xb0;F) and relative humidity ranged from 36 to 76%. Activity parameters, AM urine measures, post-exercise percent change of BW, resting PR and resting BTdid not differ between treatment groups on any exercise day. At the completion of exercise, mean BTfor all dogs ranged from 104.8 to 105.6&#xb0;F. Immediate post-exercise BTwas always lower compared to BTand means ranged from 103.3 to 104.0&#xb0;F. The effect of time was highly significant (< 0.001) for both BT measures with both BTand BTrecovering to resting levels by 60 min post exercise. PR and several blood values showed a significant main effect of time. Over the recovery period, dogs in the NW group had lower mean BTand PR by 0.6&#xb0;F and 3.4 bpm, respectively. Daily ingestion of a NW in combination with free access to TW can reduce the post-exercise-related BTand BThyperthermia, and improve pulse rate recovery following exercise in this population of working dogs undergoing 30 min bout of exercise.