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HYDRATION & ACCLIMATION STRATEGY
With the end of the racing season come higher temperatures, temperatures our dogs are not yet used to. I’m saying ‘not yet’ because dogs can be conditioned to work in higher temperatures if we allow them time to acclimate and follow a hydration and conditioning program!
HYDRATION
Your dog’s hydration is very important throughout their entire training and racing cycle, whether it is during the racing season or the summer, a suitable hydration strategy ensures your dog acclimatises quickly to the higher temperatures during the summer and sustains their increasing training load during the racing season.
Just think of it like this: if you are dehydrated you will feel sluggish, grumpy, might have headaches, the legs won’t want to move, you would have a dry mouth and everything would basically feel just hard to do. Dogs would feel exactly the same except they won’t be able to tell us, so it is our responsibility to make sure they are suitably hydrated especially if we want them to perform at their best.
These are a few steps I take to ensure my dogs are suitably hydrated. The amount of water and timing is very important:
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Approx. 300ml (this amount is for my dogs that weigh 20-28kg) of baited water 2h or 1h30’ before a harness session/race (no matter how short the session is) / a long free run (+1h) where I run at an easy pace / a faster free run (average speed 17k/h) where I cycle for a minimum of 10k / a long cani-hike (+2h) / cani-hike with sprints
This helps with preparing the dog’s body for exercise which includes speeding the process of emptying their bowels before exercising, all the internal processes required of transforming food & fat into energy when a dog is moving, lubricating their joints so they can move better and achieve full range of motion.
I do this whether it is winter or summer. In order to avoid bloat complications, I wait until the dogs have calmed down with panting (which is more obvious during the summer) and never give cold water as the stomach can spasm which can result in bloat complications, after a training session/free run/race.
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Offer water with electrolytes at first after a long activity: free running for more than 1h or when I cycle, long cani-hikes; and other good stuff with water when we get back home or at the racing site. Good stuff includes protein, fat and carbs to replace the fuel used during the activity (from meat, kibble etc.) and speed up recovery.
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Add water to their dinner, especially if they have dry food too. Not much but it is always helpful as digestion requires water in itself
In addition to hydrating your dog, the steps above act as a cue for what’s about to happen and as a reward. My dogs get very excited when I give them baited water because they have come to learn this happens before we have fun (training or racing) and because it predicts fun my dogs perform enthusiastically at their best. The after-activity water with food is a reward for them and keeps them motivated throughout the activity not to mention it speeds up recovery. And because this is something I do before and after each of those activities they have come to love each of those activities listed above. It is all part of our routine.
Baited water with:
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Sardines in olive oil (can) – half of it or 1/3
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Mackerel in olive oil (can) – half of it or 1/3
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Dry food, a little bit in hot water to moisten quickly then add cold water to even the temperature
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Canned dog food, a spoonful
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Chicken soup (unsalted)
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Dog milk
If your dog is not impressed with the change in their diet, follow these steps:
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Don’t feed their full breakfast, instead offer less breakfast with a bit of water before their morning walk (to introduce this into their routine)
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Gradually increase the amount of water until you reach the desired quantity
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Feed the rest of the breakfast after the walk / activity with a bit of water especially if it is warm outside or you are feeding dry food
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Adjust the routine to only feed this way when you want to canicross (train or race) or free run your dog for more than 30 minutes
Even with all the water I include into my dogs’ diet they still drink a lot of water throughout the day but less so during the winter. The difference is they are not desperate for water as a result (they can ignore a puddle during a race or a training session) of including water in their routine and diet.
ANOTHER WAY of keeping your dog from overheating during training is PRE-COOLING when the temperature starts to rise, usually towards the end of the season. This is very simple, you just need to get your dog wet up to the skin, especially the thighs and shoulders, using cold water if you can but any water will do the job just fine. You will notice your dog performing much better right away.
ACCLIMATION
This is not a strategy in itself but more like guidelines to help you understand how to help your dog adjust to higher temperatures so that you can train better in lower but still higher than the winter temperatures. The ideal winter temperatures for racing are somewhere around 5 degrees C. For most dogs this is optimal temperature for training and racing.
During the summer temperatures throughout the day can reach 30 degrees C but due to the nature of the British weather it isn’t constant and it does not rise gradually throughout the spring and summer but early in the morning temperature can be low enough for dogs to be able to train. For this I would consider 10-13 degrees C to be acceptable to train the dogs during the summer but they need to go through a process of acclimation to higher temperatures in order for 10-13 degrees to feel alright for them.
There isn’t enough scientific data for canine athletes research available so I rely mostly on data from research on human athletes. When it comes to athletic performance us humans are not that different from dogs. We need time to acclimate to different environments too in order to perform at our best, whether colder or hotter and from my experience with my dogs I have now and all the dogs I’ve had in my life (which is a lot of dogs) acclimation is very possible and quick to achieve if a protocol is followed.
This is the theory:
Acclimation requires 10-14 days period of a minimum 90 minutes per day, with best results with exercise performed gradually during acclimation. Acclimation goes away within 7 days but it is easier to re-acclimate again. Working dogs conditioned for endurance respond with best result to acclimation.
An interesting study I found on a website about other dog sports:
‘Fifteen young, purebred, healthy, thermally naïve, untrained Belgian Malinois dogs imported from Western Europe to Israel by the Israeli Defence Force Military Working Unit were included in the study. The dogs were examined upon arrival in Israel and monitored throughout their 2 year training period. The training protocol was individualised for each dog on the basis of progress and performance. Study dogs were gradually and progressively trained by increasing the time and distance of treadmill exercise by 10% every 2 week during the study period. The training regimen included 2 to 3 bouts of treadmill exercise of between 2 and 8k in an acclimatised room (22 degrees C), outdoor exercise between 3 and 10k, and 10-20 minutes following outdoor obstacle trails under conditions of high heat and humidity. The study was approved by the Israeli Defence Force ethical committee.’
As you can see, the dogs underwent exercise at different intensity in various environments throughout a given period. Although not very clear from the summary of the study, the frequency of these activities is 2-3/week for each and combined in order to condition endurance, strength and stamina.
And now the practice:
In practice things are a little different as most adults work from Monday to Friday and do not have that much time to take their dogs out to acclimate to higher temperatures every day. It isn’t impossible tough. With a bit of planning you can do it too 😊
Here is what I do:
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I take my dogs with me for an easy run (min 30’) around the country park where I live at midday when the temperatures start to rise (17-20 degrees C); I make sure they are hydrated by following the protocol presented earlier
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If I do this for a week (if the weather stays hot for a week of course) they just trot along sniffing, maybe chase each other for a couple of minutes at the beginning when I let them off the lead but then they settle into a boring trot at my super slow pace; I don’t do this every day as I simply can’t but every other day is better than not doing this at all
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I gradually increase the time of my easy runs at midday until I run for an hour in that temperature or higher
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If it isn’t too hot in the morning (around 10:00 am) – 20 degrees C or so, I take them for a bike ride, this is the week after the one with my easy runs or after 2 weeks of easy runs
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By now my dogs are used to moving in higher temperatures and I can increase the intensity of their exercise. Since my goal is to maintain or improve their endurance (and mine) because it is the foundation of canicross, I start with 8-10k on the bike (35 -50 minutes on trails) and gradually increase the distance – the aim is for them to be cantering for the entire time hence why I go on the bike. If they feel very good and the temperature is not that high they have a few bouts of gallops along the ride. The more they gallop the better they are acclimatised and conditioned to the higher temperatures and distance
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I always watch how my dogs behave during our runs/rides to see when they get tired so I can adjust the distance and frequency of the times they exercise accordingly and also to know when I can increase the distance and the intensity of their exercise
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When the temperature is right – 11-14 degrees, during the summer I train them on the scooter early in the morning doing intervals; one day on, one day off, or two days in a row, and as they get conditioned to the total distance I then increase the distance and I combine with a bike ride later in the morning for even better results
