...this came up on a running board i post on sporadically. someone asked about running w/dogs, and i made the comment that for distance, runners shouldn't assume that dogs need to eat/take in calories, just b/c the humans running do.

i made this mistake w/luc before i learnt more about bloat etc. i commented that dogs, like wolves, are designed to be able to go for days without eating and still function, so that the ability of a dog to complete a distance run w/out food was not an issue.

b/c this is my understanding. as far as i know, they have the same canid digestive system and i've certainly found info and links on wolves having periods of fasts between kills.

some people got upset i posted that - b/c they felt that it would encourage people to ignore dogs who had suddenly gone off their food, which wasn't the context at all. also, now i'm getting 'humans can also function for days without eating' which, in the context of distance running, simply isn't correct.

i'm just wondering - b/c i don't think i'm off - does anyone have any links/info on dogs and their ability to function under fast? i wasn't able to find dog specific studies. obviously mine get fed daily (they are fasted for a day once in a while, well, not neb, but the adults)

like i said, i found lots of stuff about wolves fasting, and that dogs and wolves share the same digestive system, so it's sort of a 1+1=2 thing for me, but i'd love to see some dog specific studies.

this is just for my own curiousity, more than anything. after a post about how one guy's chow couldn't run b/c it kept on pulling off to go sniff fire hydrants and other dogs i decided i was just banging my head against a wall though i am concerned that people aren't really getting the bloat issue.

I fast my dog on training day.

She performs at or above her normal level.

I have three reasons for this- one, because of the way the training schedule is broken up, there really isn't a good "time" to feed her, without risking bloat. Not enough downtime between eating and working.

Two, we are still in the food stage of tracking and rewards, so I need a hungry dog.

Three, I strongly believe that fasting dogs is good for them.
You are 110% right that wolves will sometimes go weeks without a kill, and do just fine. Wolves basically live a feast-or-famine diet.

I believe fasting is mentioned in Leerburg's diet plan.

I don't have any studies, obviously, but I do know that fasting for 24 hours doesn't hurt my dog's performance one bit.

i agree totally. and it hasn't hurt luc's. i fast him, and i'll run with him on/after fast days, and he's fine.

i did discuss that dogs use fat like human's use carbs, so for luc, during periods of intensive training, the fat in his diet is upped.

it bugged me too b/c a vet tech came on and said people would think it was okay if their dogs stopped eating, and then gave the way to figure out how much kibble or canned food :arggghhh: to feed your dog (i do give the dogs grain-free kibble sometimes, but they're mostly fed raw, whether it be THK or fresh raw; and for luc when he's running, he gets no kibble at all). and went on about how you can buy energy bars for dogs, which, fine, but to a bunch of runners, will be associated with nutrition during the run, which is a big bloat risk. i was unimpressed with the vet tech....

it just bugged me that i could say 'look....same digestive system, and wolves are designed to do this', so the inference is obvious, but i couldn't find any dog-specific studies. i did find raw diet info that mentions the 24-hrs fast and wolves, but no studies.

I agree w/ the fat content.
Usually the pup breaks her fast the next day, with a nice chicken quarter, skin left on.