Glycogen Replenishment in Hard Working Dogs

Dogs that participate in activities such as sled dog racing, pack hound hunting, field trialing and working livestock will typically have increased energy requirements. These dogs, along with greyhounds, search and rescue, military and police dogs may also have special requirements for carbohydrates post-exercise.

Recently, it was found that dogs which are exercised at 75-80 % VO2 max could only replace 65% of the pre-exercise levels of muscle glycogen within 24 hours when fed a normal food ration. This level of exercise intensity would be approximately equivalent to the amount of effort hunting fox hounds or sprint sled racing dogs would typically expend. Dogs that perform intense exercise, especially on successive days or successive times in one day, may require a supplemental carbohydrate source post-exercise to help them recover and replenish glycogen stores.

Recent research has shown that the most effective way to replenish carbohydrates in a canine athlete is through provision of modified starches called maltodextrins. Maltodextrins are 8-20 glucose units long, therefore, they fall between simple sugar and complex starches in structure. Maltodextrins are rapidly absorbed and taken up by the muscle without the insulin spikes or other associated GI problems attributed to other carbohydrate sources.

Several studies have examined the benefits of post-exercise maltodextrin supplementation in dogs that perform prolonged exercise. Dogs that were given 1.5-2.0 g carbohydrate/ kg body weight post-exercise in the form of maltodextrins were able to recover, on average, about 50% of pre-exercise glycogen stores within 4 hours of exercise and about 85 % of pre-exercise glycogen within 24 hours, while dogs fed but not supplemented recovered less than 40% of their pre-exercise glycogen after 24-hours.

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