The Role of Antioxidants in Recovery
Bird dogs and retrievers can be seemingly strong as steel if they've been forged to handle elevated work levels. Pre-season conditioning helps dogs run for longer periods of time. Regularly exercised dogs develop strong, powerful muscles and cardiovascular systems that help them run long and hard. Conditioning also helps support mental sharpness to keep hard-charging dogs focused on the tasks at hand. Dogs that are in good physical and mental shape are more likely to recover faster than out-of-shape dogs.
But even the best conditioned dogs can tire over time. Their energy levels can drop and their mental sharpness can soften. Some of their fatigue may come from oxidative stress and the buildup of free radicals. Free radicals, the by-product of strenuous activity, are a normal part of a dog's everyday life. Increased workload results in more free radicals being released in the dog's body. Large amounts of free radicals can slow down the rebuilding of cells lost during rigorous exercise. By reducing free radical production, dogs may recover more quickly.
[%BANNER-EUK650%]
That's where nutrition can play an important role in positively impacting post-exercise recovery of hard-working dogs. Antioxidants like Vitamin E, Vitamin C, lutein, beta-carotene and taurine, among others help reduce oxidative stress and free radicals. In a study* of Iditarod dogs, the ones that run a 938-mile course across 8 to 15 days, the results found that dogs with a higher pre-race plasma Vitamin E concentration were twice as likely to finish the race.
Recovery from daily work and training is important for a dog to work at his peak. Proper conditioning and optimal nutrition are both important for the recovery process. Nutrition that contains antioxidants like Eukanuba's Premium Performance line aids post-exercise recovery times and helps prepare dogs to perform at their peak tomorrow.
SOURCE: * PIERCY RJ ET AL. ASSOCIATION BETWEEN VITAMIN E AND ENHANCED ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE IN SLED DOGS. MED. SCI. SPORTS EXERC. 2001, 33 : 826-833
[%BANNER-EUK728%]
Related Aritlces
Nutrition to Support Your Sporting Breed Puppy’s Digestive Health
Digestive health is integral to a puppy’s overall health. The digestive system turns food into building blocks (nutrients) used by every other system, such as the muscular, skeletal, respiratory, and nervous systems, for proper growth and development. Feeding a highly digestible, nutrient-dense puppy food can help a highly active puppy’s body put vital nutrients to work with optimal efficiency.
THE BENEFITS OF ANTIOXIDANTS IN DOG FOOD
Hunters and trainers might argue about which breeds of sporting dogs are best for their preferred pursuits, but they can all agree on one thing, sporting dogs are driven to work. Whether it's a setter, pointer, shorthair, or retriever, sporting dogs are energetic, focused, and motivated. Off-season conditioning helps dogs maintain their hunting drive all year long. Well-conditioned bird dogs can run for miles without missing a step, and retrievers can run, jump, and swim their way through dozens of retrieves.
Tall Timbers: Burning Down the House
I’ve heard of folks figuring out the price tag on costs to raise wild quail, but I don’t know of anyone who has kept track of the amount of time that goes into the breeding, training and developing of a championship gun dog. Both are significant. Take that dog number, multiply it by 55, and you’ll have one heck of a lot of hours all represented in the dogs that qualified to run across 28 braces in the February 2025 National Championship for Bird Dogs held at Ames Plantation. The first brace of this 126-year old Super Bowl caliber event commenced on February 10th . The final brace ran over two weeks later on February 27, and during that time weather conditions ranged from a soggy, below-freezing 22 degrees Fahrenheit day to a 75-degree Fahrenheit sweat lodge. If you don’t like the weather in Grand Junction then wait five minutes.
