Abstract
Enhancing performance through dietary measures is constantly sought as some supplements have shown modest performance enhancement in rodents and human subjects. To evaluate a proprietary dietary supplement, a study was undertaken to assess the effect of diet and exercise on blood physiological parameters during a tracking American Fox Hound field championship. Ten dogs were assigned to two different groups. Group A received a commercial kibble and Group B received the same diet with the addition of a supplement added to the dietary premix for 4 weeks before the field event. Blood was collected at rest, immediately following days 1 and 2 of the event and 48h after day 2. Blood chemistry, complete blood cell counts and cortisol concentrations were analysed. Competition performance was also documented for all dogs using a points system for tracking events. Many chemistry parameters and blood cell counts changed significantly due to exercise. Differences between the dietary groups showed that Group B had significantly lower aspartate aminotransferase on days 1 and 2 of exercise and lower creatine kinase on day 2. Based on tracking scores, dogs in Group B out-performed dogs in Group A. This study suggests that endurance hunting dogs develop changes in serum markers of musculoskeletal integrity that might be mitigated by the addition of the supplement, resulting in better performance. Although intriguing, follow-up controlled studies are needed to ensure that the enhanced performance was not biased due to lack of randomisation.
Highlights
Enhancing performance through dietary measures is constantly sought as some supplements have shown modest performance enhancement in rodents and human subjects
Sled dogs that had high-serum vitamin E concentrations prerace had a higher chance of finishing an endurance race than those with low-serum vitamin E concentrations; this may be a reflection of overall diet rather than vitamin E (11)
The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of a dietary proprietary supplement containing betaine, L-carnitine, dietary buffers, B-vitamins and yeast extract antioxidants on coyote tracking American Foxhounds during an event through evaluation of blood chemistry, complete blood cell counts (CBC) and cortisol concentrations
Summary
Enhancing performance through dietary measures is constantly sought as some supplements have shown modest performance enhancement in rodents and human subjects. According to the American Kennel Club, organised events for dogs and their handlers have grown significantly Performance tests such as field trials, hunt tests, lure coursing and coonhound events attracted 240 000 entries in 2011 making hunting performance dogs a significant group of canine athletes (http://www.akc.org/about/annual_report.cfm). There have been a number of papers published on racing Greyhounds and sled dogs, the current literature contains little information on the performance hunting dog as an athlete(1–3), with no information on the physiological and biochemical changes that occur due to the stress of the event. Sled dogs that had high-serum vitamin E concentrations prerace had a higher chance of finishing an endurance race than those with low-serum vitamin E concentrations; this may be a reflection of overall diet rather than vitamin E (11) Antioxidants, such as vitamins E and C may, have detrimental effects on performance in racing Greyhounds(12,13)
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