Good.

You take good care of Neb.

Hello Jennifer,

When I'm out for longer montain bike rides or skis with the 4-legger I carry a bit of frozen chicken skin or salmon trimmings (which one can buy cheaply here in season and freeze for later use). When I went on a sledding tour in the Yukon this past winter, where we snacked the dogs about that often also (athough when they race long distance events like the Iditarod the mushers snack their teams about every hour in an effort to get all the calories they need to consume in order not to lose weight into them). Immediately after finishing, we gave the dogs a warm slurry of water with bits of fat and meat mixed in. I'm sure Neb (and the others?) will love the extra grub while on their adventures!

I hope this helps.

Isabelle

Thanks Connie! I'm a little freaked out by this. The vet said it may be nothing I'm doing and just something he's predisposed towards.

Isabelle, thanks! Maybe not so much for summer (edit: raw on longer trips anyways) but that will be good for winter, and I'm teaching Neb (with Luc) to pull a sled so I was a bit worried about that. The slurry is a good idea and the little trimmings are as well.

Well, he's not to hike with us Sunday (they said to let him rest 7-10 days before really exercising him), but in 10 days we're up in Lake Superior backpacking so I will at least be able to keep an eye on this and try stuff out. No crazy distances, I think our longest day is 25k (Teagan is with us and I'm careful with her dyplasia/arthritis about distances).

My little guy....

Sorry about Neb. Make sure to give feedback after the hike. Knowledge is a good thing.

I fed him this morning and now I'm all worried I didn't feed him enough! Sigh, now I'm freaking myself out.

I will report back when we are back from it. I'm off to buy a helmet at MEC (the outdoor store) on lunch today so will see what they have there that I can use as snacks for him.

I was reading back entries of Susan Garrett's blog since I have been away for 3 weeks in Europe and her world team dog Encore is slightly hypoglycemic after agility runs.

She has experimented with different dog cookies to see what works as carbs bring up the blood sugar. All her dogs are fed raw but the cookies help balance out Encore when she's running low.

You may want to look into something like http://www.k9energyedge.com to keep on hand to give when needed. I know many border collie handlers that swear by that product when their dogs are expending extra energy at trials or simular situations. It targets restoring a dogs glycogen stores and allows them to bounce back from times of strenuious activity much faster.

Jenn, I don't know if this is appropriate or not, but what about cheese sticks that are individually wrapped? They can go all day without refrigeration, IME.

Thanks everyone.

Melissa, I will check out her blog.

Lynne, I'm not sure. Fatty, but - hmmm. I never give them cheese. I dunno.

Mara, that looks good, but it goes against the scientific studies I've read that say dogs use fat the way humans use carbs in terms of energy expenditure (which, I guess, duh to my first question/post, but I wasn't sure if there was a difference in blood sugar and well, I don't know).

THK carries well too, just need to add it to water. I just wish it were a bit cheaper!

It a little different than carbs per say as the product quickly restores the body's glycogen stores - which become depleated when the body converts other available energy into glucose. Even though a human and a dogs metabolism works very differently, they both rely on glycogen for energy when you get right down to it. Sugars will raise blood sugar of course, but glygogen provides the next step to fall back on. Yes, meat and fat will provide the dog with the building blocks that they need, but it will take longer for the body to convert it to a useable form.

This is just my opinion (so take it with a huge grain of salt if you'd like ), but I would carry a glycogen product with me and give it at the first sign of my dog "hitting the wall" or after he had expended an unusual amount of energy (sheepdog handlers I know don't use it in everyday circumastances, but after their dog has run in a trail which takes a huge amount of pyshical and mental energy). Feeding a good diet and snacking your dog will help to reduce instances where you'd give it, but if the time would arise that your dog did "hit the wall" a product like that would help him recover much quicker than just sugar or fat because it quickly replenishes his depleated stores.

Anyways, I hope you find a solution that works well for your dog!