Muscle Physiology and Feeding the Performance/Working Dog

One has to accept in ones mind that these dogsARE PRIMARILY CARNIVOROUS ANIMALS. Once people can get their minds around this scientifically proven fact it will become easier to apply the nutritional requirements properly to a working weight pulling dog. Scientific studies done on Greyhounds from necropsies taken from the muscles of these dogs indicate that a Greyhound uses or depletes 80% of his glycogen levels over a 30 second race. This tells us that although the greyhound works on the fast glycolysis system his capacity to hold carbohydrates are very small even though he uses them primarily in the work he does. Scientific studies on long distance Sled dogs indicated that even though the Sled dogs were fed very low carbohydrate in their diets, the dogs glycogen levels in their muscles were still within normal levels after the race. This tells us that the Sled Dogs glycogen capacity or glycogen store is also small but he can maintain the glycogen levels from other sources like fat and protein through glyconeogenesis. From observing Bulldogs during weight pulling competitions it was apparent that these dogs use of glycogen from carbohydrates was much greater than both sled dogs and greyhounds but even so the ability to store glycogen in the liver, blood and muscles was still limited. The capacity for a bulldog to hold glycogen in muscles and liver increases as his keep progresses but it is still not a lot and would normally access this energy system first when starting his pull. One of the major problems with using carbohydrates in working dogs is that if the dog is fed too much you get a high insulin response which releases an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase (LPL) which in affect stops the release of fat as energy (lipolysis). One does not want this to happen twenty minutes into a weight pull because it will cause the dog to feel fatigued. A by product of burning carbohydrates for energy is also lactic acid, a situation that one would rather like to avoid as this also will cause the dog to feel fatigued and sore not long into the pull and could cause the dog to loose the competition. Carbohydrates are important, they need to be in the diet but the conditioner will have to work out the amount that best suits the dog. Scientific studies on working dogs have indicated that the carbohydrate portion of the working dogs diet are not as important as the fat and proteins in the diet.

 

You don't want lipolysis to take place or lipoprotein lipase to be released during the pull because the dog needs that fat for energy for the longer duration of the pull and it would have rendered the fat part feeding of the diet to the dog useless. Any excess carbs in the diet are metabolised into triglycerides anyway. The insulin transfers the glucose into the muscle cells to be used as energy any excess glucose becomes fat. Insulin also prevents the body from utilizing fat as energy. It causes the cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from blood and convert it to glycogen that can be stored in the liver and muscles. So if you feeding too much carbs can be detrimental to the performance of the animal.

 

You're not wrong cuz, at least you've taken the time out to put the theory into practice and it appears from your posts that you've been successful at your endeavours and have had good results. The simplest things work with these dogs but it is important to know how the muscles and energy systems function and from there it becomes easy to determine what works best nutritionally for the dog during keep and at the "work". I would just like to run something past you and would respect your opinion on the matter and that is with regards the percentages of protein and fat at the beginning of the keep and with regards to the percentages towards the end of the keep. Obviously a conditioner wouldn't bang the dog with 40% of his meals consisting of fat right at the beginning of the keep bearing in mind that the dog would be doing most of the muscle tearing phase in the first two or three weeks and would require the protein content of his meals to be of a higher percentage of the meals to aid in the repair process of the muscle. I would recon that the percentage of fat would be increased gradually over the period of the keep until the dog had reached his maximum tolerance level for the fat and the protein percentage decreased gradually as the dog becomes fitter. The dog would obviously also be taking in less than 20% of the meals in the form of carbohydrates so that would leave 80% of the meals to work with with regards the fat and protein content. It takes a while for a dog coming off commercial dog food to adapt to the fat so this adaptation phase would obviously be taking place prior to and then during the pre keep. Does this make sense?

 

Thanks slim12, this is what you stated:

"it is obvious you know nothing of gameness, other than words in print. There has never been a dead game dog that is still alive, a living dog can't be as 'dead game as his ancestors'. The operative word in dead game is 'dead', not 'game'.

If you think ive stated inexperienced babble and you have experience of gameness and mine is only knowledge of words in print, it would be wiser for me to ask you what dead game or dead game dog mean? what is the ultimate definition of gameness?

If their has never been a dead game dog that is still alive and the operative word is dead how can it be game? if it refers to the gameness it showed before it died why cant the reverse apply ? if it simply means the type of dog, is a 10min former cur who dies game the same as a 10min dead game dog or a 2hr dead game dog? you state a living dog cant be as dead game as his ancestors, why not? if its ancestors died at the hour mark, why cant it do as good?
thanks.

 

I'm glad you mentioned "running hot" because all dogs will experience this phenomena during work. The hot spot actually happens when the dog switches over from the glycotic system to the oxidative system the by product of this being heat as the body starts burning fat for energy within the mitochodria/muscle cells and this process requires the presence of oxygen to happen. The fast and slow glycolysis system requires no oxygen to be present for it to function. What happens then is the dog will get his second wind as some people call it but it is actually the oxidative system that is coming into play and when the dog starts using his fat stores for energy and it will seem as if the dog starts working at a different intensity. You can't prevent the dog from experiencing this hot spot but through the conditioning program/keep the dog can become accustomed/used to going through the initial hot spot (entering the oxidative system) through training the body to do this during the keep which will enable him to get through the initial hot spot quickly and easily so that he can continue along with his work.

 

...good posts lads....

 

When the dog goes in for his weight pull competition you can't just say ok now I'm going to stop him so he can cool off, the dog must be conditioned to handle that initial hot spot through training in the keep prior to the competition so he can get through it quick. The dog will experience hot spot as he switches over to the oxidative energy system, just got to get the dog accustomed to what happens when it does because it is a situation that IS going to happen during the pull, can't get away from it because it is how the energy delivery system works. Once that glycogen level is down the dog HAS to switch the energy system onto the oxidative system and unfortunately the switch generates heat, dog got to be able to get through it on his own and training during the keep would have got him accustomed to doing that.

 

...so to switch from one to the other......???????????

 

thanks slim12,Gameness cant be subjective as a state it has only one meaning when the adjective sense modifys the noun, it means brave spirited and courageous. The noun (ness)in gameness modifys the condition and the state,so gameness can only mean brave spiritedness and courageousness.

Dead is an adjectival sense of measure (utter absolute extreme accurate quite) in the first adjectival sense and (without life) in the second in context.Only the first adjectival sense of measure applies at all times and in all uses.So dead game is an absolute measure of gameness in both the living and the dead.It cannot have levels or be subjective in and of itself by nature and a living game dog must be dead game to be a true measure of its nature.The two adjectival senses of measure only apply when the animal is deceased. At all times the first adjectival sense applies to the nouns so dead game dog means the absolute measure of courage in a game dog not simply a deceased game dog.

The way you use and understand dead and dead game dog cannot be the ultimate definition or level because it applies the use of the first adjective to mean only one thing deceased. Making all measurement of the ultimate level the same no matter how great or small.It also makes dead game of no value to a game dog and the measure in death no matter how great or small to be be more important than the measure in life.

 

Kelticwarrior,that isnt what happens, a dog running hot is a matter of heat build up through intensity of effort and its duration and the inability to dissipate it.Its directly down to faster more powerful and stronger contractions and their need and use over time.The hot spot switching from the glycolytic to the oxidative is caused by the need and duration of the glycolytic not the oxidative.Fast glycolytic doesnt need oxygen because its anaerobic but slow glycolytic does use oxygen making it aerobic.

The second wind in context is a matter of heat dissipation through exhalation,reduction in intensity of effort and the fuel debt being paid to allow further contractions via energy produced via the the fast glycolytic process, slow glycolytic process or via the oxidative process at a lower intensity of effort. When the body switches to fat to fuel contraction it can only do so by a reduction in intensity of effort.In conditioning, the hot spot from glycolytic to oxidative is a matter of lessening the reliance and duration of the need for anaerobic glycolytic energy production at every effort level.That makes max strength and powers relation to it critical to efficiency in the type of strength desired, use of the energy systems and heat build up.If you can get your mind round that you might be able to understand the importance of carbs and their utilization in conditioning.

 

Slim i agree with most all of your posts. I feel you truely offer knowledgeable advice and input, thank you.Can you share what types of fat used in this application?

 

Them bulldogs can "switch" between energy systems like voodoo magic as the need for it requires them to do it.

 

I also think so.