I'm running with my australian shepherd. She used to be doing really well at it, but lately not so much. I'm beginning to think this is mainly a hydration issue. I run four times a week: a shorter run, two medium runs, and a long run. When I was doing 2 - 3 mile runs, she did great and would often out pace me. Now that I'm doing 5 -6 mile runs, she often lags towards the end. After doing some research, I think the diet (mostly dry food) isn't really facilitating high activity; not enough fat and probably not enough protein.

However, the real key seems to be hydration. I think she's running mostly dehydrated. After the first few miles she doesn't have enough fluids. On longer runs I bring water along and a foldable bowl. When I offer it to her she'll take a few laps, but not very much. How much is enough? How do I encourage her to drink more?

Well, you have lots of points here, including protein and fat (both very important to canine athletes).

I'm curious about what you're seeing as possibly inadequate hydration. I think key first signs might be tiredness and slowing and more panting. Are you seeing this?

(If you were seeing gum and skin evidence, these would be second-stage symptoms and would make me immediately stop the runs that were producing them.)

You probably know how bad human electrolyte drinks are for dogs.

But some dogs, like yours, seem to have kind of a thirst shutdown during workouts. I have read about folks baiting water for workouts exactly the way I would bait water for a dog dehydrated from diarrhea.

So I would pursue the information about better food and good raw fats, and I'd both teach the dog to drink from your squirty bottle (this might be something to teach at home, apart from the workouts) and start baiting water for the collapsing bowl.

My own preference for baited water is cooled water that was used to poach white poultry in and then chilled (or cooled water that was used to cook a more fatty meat in and then chilled enough to remove the congealed cooked fat from its surface). Also, I keep in mind that cooler is more palatable to many dogs but that closer to body temp gets the water to the tissues more quickly. At least you probably want to avoid cold.

I might have some canine athlete reading material saved; I can check tonight.

The symptoms are mainly that she slows and sometimes just stops. I don't see her panting, just looking tired and slowing. She looks much like a human would if they were over exerting.

We're running outside and it's quite cold still (20's and 30's). I don't think she's overheating, but it's certainly possible to dehydrate even in cold temperatures.

I don't cary a water bottle for her. I have mine and a collapsable bowl that I pour some into. I don't have any type of cool gadgetry for carrying water other than my hand, so I don't carry very much. I've been looking at Ruff Wear packs that include hydration packs. That seems cool and all, but also would be adding to her stress. Having dedicated water for her would definitely allow me to use baited water.

The other thing I've been looking at are glyco-gen energy products (http://www.bordercollies.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=81&cat=Glyco%2DGen+Energy+Products). It could be if she's not getting enough fat in her diet, then she's burning through the glycogen in her muscle tissue she hits The Wall similar to marathon runners and simply runs out of energy. So improving the fat content in her diet along with maybe complimenting her diet with these glyco-gen shakes for fluids prior, during, and after runs would give her what she needs to run farther/faster.

The reading I've done seems to indicate that an australian shepherd should have no problems running at the slow-ish pace (approx 10 minute miles) for the distances that I'm doing (5 -6 miles with some long runs around 10 miles). In fact, with proper conditioning, it seems like she should be good all the way up to marathon distances.

Given that she's not performing at this level, I'm very concerned I'm doing something wrong. Well, I know I'm doing something wrong and probably several things. I just need to figure out what to change.

Maybe a trip to the Vet is in order for some xrays or something. I don't know what to ask to have the Vet "check her out". I haven't taken her to the Vet in a while (6 - 9 months) and I'm not really that happy with the Vet I used. I know I really need to find a new Vet that I like and trust.

Could she just be getting bored?
Does she perk up with a little of something different?

Doug, she is young, and I doubt it is anything serious, but.....

My late senior, Domino, acted much the same way when she first started showing symptoms of congestive heart failure.

She would just stop. No panting, no nothing, but would not move.

Get her checked out for peace of mind.:wink:

Hey Doug,

You might check into what competitive dog mushers use for their diet programs. I do recall some pretty extreme caloric intakes by these dogs with some pretty high fat content. I also recall it to be pretty common to do a fat/warm water mini meal as well.

good luck!

 Quote: Michael_Wise

... Get her checked out for peace of mind.

I agree, because just slowing or stopping with no panting increase is not really typical (I mean based on what I've read) of low-level dehydration, and I'd want an eval.

I'm not a health professional.

 Quote: doug alcorn

... Maybe a trip to the Vet is in order for some xrays or something. I don't know what to ask to have the Vet "check her out". I haven't taken her to the Vet in a while (6 - 9 months) and I'm not really that happy with the Vet I used. I know I really need to find a new Vet that I like and trust.

I'd explain what you explained here. The vet would examine, feel the bones and joints, take blood, probably ask for urine, might talk about x-rays. Do you have friends who have vets they recommend?

 Quote: Melissa Thom

You might check into what competitive dog mushers use for their diet programs. I do recall some pretty extreme caloric intakes by these dogs with some pretty high fat content. I also recall it to be pretty common to do a fat/warm water mini meal as well.

Yea, what I saw today in my research is some of these competitive sled dogs are consuming like 10,000 cal/day at like 65% fat. That's not a typo: 10,000 calories a day. They are doing like 100 miles a day of running near 4 minute miles for like 5 or 6 days in a row. It's insane.

For my dog, she's not doing anything near that level. So I'm not sure how to scale that down to what we're doing.

 Quote: randy allen

Could she just be getting bored?
Does she perk up with a little of something different?

I've definitely seen a difference when we go on new trails. But honestly, I think I see more perkiness when she's had several days off of running. Right now I'm only running her about once a week on my shorter runs. Last week I didn't run her at all until my long run. We did 8 miles together after she'd done zero for the week. She did great for the first 4 miles. Very perky, running slightly ahead of me. The next two miles she did OK, but not as perky. At around mile 6 or 7 she pretty much quit running. I had stopped for water at 4 miles and she had some but not much. After we restarted she was perky, but slowed shortly thereafter.

There's a good chance she's suffering from poor nutrition. When she's had a couple days to recoup and build back up fat reserves she can run well, but burns through it in about 3 or 4 miles.

I hear what you guys are saying and will find a Vet to go see. Unfortunately, I don't have any friends with competing sporting dogs or real working dogs. There's a dog club here in town, but I haven't been (yet). Until I get her checked by a Vet, I'll just continue leaving her mostly at home except for my shorter runs.

How old is your dog now? What surfaces are you running on? What is her current diet?

I know of people who have used that glycogen product with very good success. But before starting anything like that I would be making she was healthy and getting an adequate diet, including plenty of healthy fats since that is what a dog burns for energy.