The Alaskan sled dog is widely known as being the most athletic dog in the world.  These marathon runners are revered for their strength and endurance.  However, just like human athletes, they’re not problem free.  Some of their issues arise from characteristics inherent to their breed; others arise from their athletic training similar to humans.

While it’s commonly known that the Iditarod dogs go through a regimen of tests and physicals both before and during the race, lesser known is that there’s ongoing research on sled dogs at major universities.  For the past twenty years research has been conducted in six major areas concerning sled dogs:  enlarged heart, gastric ulcers, muscle metabolism, vaccine titers, red blood cell count, and most recently diarrhea.

It’s a fact that sled dogs have enlarged hearts.  It is a genetic trait.  The question is, “Is that a problem?”  Studies conducted in the 1990s sought to answer that question.  ECGs were conducted on dogs and it was found that 50% of sled dogs have heart murmurs naturally, running or not.  Heart murmurs may be a problem for other breeds, but it’s not for sled dogs—well, not if the murmur is on the left side.  If the murmur is on the right side, however, it’s cause for concern.  A dog with this condition will be disallowed to run the race.

The second area of research on sled dogs concentrated on gastric ulcers, a condition also common to human marathon athletes.  Approximately 50% of sled dogs experience gastric ulcers; although they’re usually not a threat to their health unless internal bleeding occurs. Additionally, the research showed that no link between gastric ulcers and diarrhea exists.  As a result of this research, the Iditarod has recommended mushers give their dogs Pepcid, an antihistamine that blocks the release of stomach acid, in order to prevent gastric ulcers.  It’s believed that most mushers follow this advice for the best care of their team.

Another major study of sled dogs started in the early 2000s and is still ongoing.  You may be surprise to find out that it was financed by the U.S. government.  This 1.4 million dollar endeavor focused on muscle metabolism.  The aim was to study how the sled dog can run for such long distances day after day and have metabolic recovery.  The ultimate goal was to relate the endurance of dogs to humans, in this case soldiers.  Michael Davis from Oklahoma State University’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences says, “The secret to the dogs’ feats of day-to-day endurance lies in their ability to ‘reprogram’ their bodies’ responses to stress after just one day of competition.  Something humans can’t do.”  When an athlete, be it human or canine, pounds the pavement for miles, bits of muscle enzymes and proteins leak out of their cells.  This is a sign of cell damage.  For humans, the cells recover in a day or two.  However, as soon as a human goes for another run, the damage happens all over again.  For sled dogs, that’s not the case.  They adapt their systems within a day, and the leakage doesn’t occur.

Davis also found that sled dogs have voracious appetites.  During race season, a sled dog that weighs 55 pounds can consume up to 12,000 calories a day.  Human athletes can do the same, but their body weight is three times more than a sled dog.  Sled dogs diets need to be very high in fat and protein.  It’s comparable to a human marathoner training by “eating the Atkins’ diet,” says Erica McKenzie, researcher at Oregon State University who once worked under Davis.  As a runner herself, she also wishes that there’d be more transfer of the dog research they’re conducting to the human world of sports medicine.  But, “we just aren’t there yet.”

In 2006 & 2007 two studies were conducted at Oregon State University.  The first concentrated on vaccine titers.  The question explored was, “Does the stress on a sled dog affect the effectiveness of their vaccines?”  The study showed that some dogs did experience a weakening of vaccines. However, the study also revealed that when these same dogs were exposed to various diseases during race, their immune system built up a tolerance 4x that of the vaccine.  The second study focused on red blood cell count.  It was discovered that for every day of a race, the red blood cell count dropped by 1% in 40-45% of the dogs tested.  This phenomenon also happens in human athletes in races such as the Tour de France.  After the race, however, the red blood cell count returns to normal levels.  The conclusion reached is that the lowering of the red blood cell count is a natural response to exercise for both humans and dogs, and it has no harmful effects.

The most recent research conducted on sled dogs is in the area of diarrhea, which is a widespread and poorly understood problem.  Erica McKenzie has been a leader in this area of research for the last few years.  She took samples of dogs before the race and after 400 miles of running and conducted testing.  Although there’s still research to be done in this area, her studies showed that the diarrhea was not a result of disease, rather a natural response to the stress of running.  Again, this same issue is not foreign to human athletes.  She said that in most cases, the diarrhea is more of an annoyance than a health issue.  Dogs usually regain normal regularity  within a day or two.  There’s one exception though.  If the diarrhea is 9% watery, then it’s a sign of a health issue.  If the watery condition continues for more than a day, a dog will probably be dropped.

This research is hot off the presses and was shared this year with the mushers at their meeting the Thursday before the Iditarod start.  The practice of veterinary research being shared with mushers is a long standing practice.  Mushers are receptive to finding out about health issues concerning their dogs.  I’ve seen first-hand how the care for their dog team is the ultimate priority of a musher.  Now I know it’s also a priority with several researchers around the country.  It’s been said the sled dog is the most cared for athlete in the world.  I think it’s safe to say they’re also the most researched athlete in the world, at least the ones with fur.  Hopefully the research being done on sled dogs will be transferred more consistently to humans marathoners and help them as well.

(Special thanks to Erica McKenzie of Oregon State University for graciously giving of her time for an interview so I could learn about this fascinating subject).

For More Information:

Why Sled Dogs are Super Dogs:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26889282/

Iditarod Dog Car Measures:  http://www.iditarod.com/learn/vet-10.html

Sled Dogs and Enlarged Hearts:

*http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF12/1223.html

Sled Dog Endurance:

*http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/science/06dogs.html

*http://www.scienceline.org/2008/11/28/bio-teyan-sled-dog-metabolism-iditarod/

*http://www.faculty.uaf.edu/ffmew1/krista_west/magazine/SledDog_KristaWest_1p.pdf

*http://sleddoggin.com/mushing-news/sled-dog-endurance-capabilities-change-long-distance-racing-strategies

*http://www.newser.com/story/26658/what-we-can-learn-from-being-dog-tired.html

Sled Dogs Diet:

*http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/dominiquegrandjean-97205-nutrition-racing-sled-dogs-part-1-veterinary-medicine-isdvma-sport-nutrtion-science-technology-ppt-powerpoint/

*http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/128/12/2686S

Sled Dogs and Insulin/Diabetes Research:

* http://newsok.com/dogs-could-help-diabetes-studies/article/3335362?custom_click=lead_story_title

*http://spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com/2009/11/physiology-research-at-sp-kennel.html

Sled Dogs and Diarrhea:

*http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122686405/abstract

NOTE:  For high school students conducting scientific research, or who are involved with the INTEL science program, sharing this area of research might spark an interest in a related topic.

Iditarod sled dogs are the most amazing athletes in the world, literally.  We love the challenge they embody, both personal and physical, as they run full tilt across the state of Alaska. It is a passion we share with our best friends.  But if our best friends are not in the most superior condition possible they cannot pursue the challenge and their joy evaporates like snow in sunshine.

Last summer I spent a few weeks visiting kennels and watching what was being done to condition Iditarod sled dogs off season and what I saw at Jeff King’s kennels near Denali was a unique approach to conditioning dogs in the heat of summer.  Jeff had, during the 1989 Yukon Quest, found himself in a frightening overflow situation that threatened the lives of his dogs and him.  That situation and others like it led him to devise a unique approach to summer time training.  He hooked up a team of dogs to a paddle boat on Goose Lake, adjacent to his property.  The dogs gained several advantages from this experience.  They gained confidence in this aquatic environment, they gained strength in the specific muscles required for swimming and they gained endurance unique to this specifically stressful situation.  Other advantages to this particular workout were allowing the dogs to stay cool while doing serious conditioning in the summer heat and attention to specific muscle groups that might otherwise be ignored.  This kind of cross-training is similar to what human marathoners do which allows them to run with less effort and more insurance against injury.  I can’t wait to ask Jeff if he thinks this conditioning had anything to do with the slow drop rate out of his team in the new soft snow on the early parts of the trail this year.

Martin Buser, at Happy Trails Kennel in Big Lake, has for years worked with university researchers and dog food companies to develop dog food that efficiently fueled the unique requirements, ten to twelve thousand potent calories a day, of these dogs.  Now he has acquired the elephant treadmill cast off from the Anchorage Zoo and built a building around it.  (to control the environment?)  Who knows where that will lead?

Puppies are routinely born in the summer time when tourists eagerly visit mushing kennels across Alaska and wrap their affectionate arms around these furry little bundles.  The socialization gained from these experiences adds social and emotional balance to these dogs’ temperment allowing them to handle the stress of competition more easily and depend more confidently on their human counterparts.

The point is that the mushing community cares so dearly about the well being of their teammates that they are constantly studying and developing new methods to keep them in optimum physical and emotional health.  A healthier, happier team is a stronger, more resilient team – WIN and WIN.

To have my students understand these concerns more personally I have them study the nutritional and hydration needs of human marathoners as they train for their own long distance run.

Lesson Plan for Eat and Drink a Marathon

Lesson Summary:  Grades 7 – 12:

Physical Education high school course 1, standard 2.9 and Health expectation 1 – food choices.

Students weigh themselves regularly before daily running activity, run 30 minutes (on top of stretching and warm-up activities) and weigh again immediately after running.  Time of day and temperature should also be recorded.  The weight loss is equivalent to the amount of water lost from the body during this exercise and time interval that needs to be replaced. Students read about the need for hydration for optimum muscle functioning and brain activity.

Students also learn about the 60-20-20 ratio for caloric intake for physical activity (carbs-fats-protein) then design and prepare high quality pre-run meals.

]]> http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/2010/03/16/for-the-love-of-dogs/feed/ 0 http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/2010/03/16/caring-for-dogs-of-the-iditarod/ http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/2010/03/16/caring-for-dogs-of-the-iditarod/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:08:35 +0000 Diane http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/?p=3508 By Martha Dobson, Finalist, Target® Iditarod 2011 Teacher on the Trail™, North Carolina

Caring for the Iditarod dogs is as thorough and professional as care for human athletes. High school, college, and professional athletes undergo regular physical examinations to ascertain their health and physical condition. So do the Iditarod dogs. The veterinarians and mushers associated with these dogs demonstrate their concern for the dogs’ wellbeing by participating in health and performance studies, feeding the dogs nutritious diets, and evaluating each dog’s health before the Iditarod begins.

About a month before the Iditarod begins, mushers take their dogs to their own vet or to veterinary technicians around the state of Alaska for screening lab work and an ECG (electrocardiogram) diagnostic test. Used for the past 15 years, the ECG measures heart rhythm and activity. The CBC and basic blood panels lab work check, among other things, red and white blood cells and platelets to determine if all is normal in the blood. To identify the dog, its microchip is scanned or if a microchip needs to be placed, the technician does so. The microchip number is particular to that dog and is used to identify it at the next exam for the race as well as in the future.

Physical exams on every dog considered for racing in the upcoming Iditarod are done within 14 days of the race start. Volunteer vets from the United States and other countries use the HAW/L acronym for this exam. H stands for heart and hydration, A for appetite and attitude, W for weight, and L stands for lungs. Every dog’s legs, paws, and temperature are checked, too.

At checkpoints during the race, dogs are examined again by the vets who hopscotch down the trail in bush planes to care for the dogs, performing about 10,000 routine exams. Vets use the musher’s vet book, a diary of vets’ notes from previous checkpoint exams, to follow each dog’s condition during the race. Another team of volunteers handles urine specimen collection for drug testing purposes, another example of concern for the dogs’ wellbeing.

Dr. Michael Davis of Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Services School researches performance and health concerns for the Iditarod dogs, including ulcer studies and prevention of ulcers during the race. Dr. Stu Nelson, chief veterinarian for the Iditarod, is most encouraged by the ulcer prevention protocol, a daily dose of medicine during race time and training.

During the race, mushers check their dogs’ paws, applying ointment and booties, massage their legs and shoulders, and feed them high calorie snacks, caring for them as athletic trainers tape their human athletes’ legs, massage or whirlpool them after games, and monitor their game day diets. And when dogs fly to Anchorage or Nome ahead of their teammates, vets check them there again using the HAW/L acronym. George, a Talkeetna, Alaska vet, examined one of these dogs thoroughly at the Millennium Hotel during the race while explaining to onlookers the HAW/L acronym he was following.

With the physical exams and information Dr. Nelson provides to vets and mushers regarding optimal health care and symptoms to observe, the four-legged athletes of the Iditarod are definitely on the receiving end of a high level of concern for their wellbeing.

For more veterinary information, go to http://iditarod.com/learn/vetcenter.html

Permission is given for teachers to use the pictures in their classrooms.

Primary Grades Lesson Plan—Write a picture book showing the sequence of the vet exam.

Other Lesson and Activity Ideas:

Paper cube—Use this link for the cube template. http://atozteacherstuff.com/pdf.htm?cube_outline.pdf

Print the pictures to glue to each side of the cube. Number each picture in its correct sequence of the vet exam. Then, play a game with the cube. Roll the cube and move a playing piece along a trail map of the Iditarod from checkpoint to checkpoint.

Upper elementary/middle school—Write the story of the vet exam from the dog’s point of view.

Upper middle school/secondary— Use this article as a springboard for a research project. Research physical exams for people and dogs. Compare and contrast these exams in a formal paper. Cite sources in MLA format. Create a power point presentation.

Lesson Plan: Dog Care

Primary Level: Lesson Summary: Students will put the pictures of a vet check procedure in correct order and then write sentences describing the sequence of a vet check using words such as first, next, then, after, last. Each picture and sentence will be on a single page of their book.

Vet Check Sequence Photo Poster for you to download and print out.

Idita Walk in North Carolina

An Idita Walk is a fun  way to improve your health and keep physically fit.  It involves creating a walking program and using the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race® as the theme or inspiration for the exercise program.  An Idita Walk is a project that children and adults can participate in to not just be healthier but hopefully help create healthy living habits.

Research shows that walking is a great way to stay physically fit.   Experts say that taking 10,000 steps a day or 30 minutes of physical activity most days, helps reduce a risk of disease and leads to living healthier lives.  While some schools across the nation are decreasing recess time and physical education classes, others are recognizing that children must have time in their day to exercise and play.  Most experts are recommending 60 minutes a day– movement or play time for children.  What better way to tackle healthy living goals than through an Idita-Walk program.

Create or join and Idita Walk and get walking!

The Idita – Walk program can be designed to meet group or individual goals.  One can also create a flexible program to include other physical fitness activities such as swimming, jogging, or any activity that keeps people moving!

Ideas:

Display a large Iditarod Trail Map as a visual.  Supply each participant with a cut out of a sled, husky, or musher.  As participants meet their goal, they move from checkpoint to checkpoint along the Iditarod Trail.

Set walking (or physical movement) goals that are appropriate for the participants. Examples:

• 30 minutes a day= one checkpoint  (minutes of physical movement equate to checkpoints)
• use pedometers to ‘count’ steps and equate steps to miles using an appropriate scale
• laps around the gym = checkpoint

Celebrate success as the mushers arrive in Nome!

Download a PDF Document with Idita- Walk (and Idita Races) Information.

Download and print out a map to use for recording progress.

Looking for another idea?  Download 2006 Teacher on the Trail™ Terrie Hanke’s Checkpoint  Fitness Activity:  (click here)

Review a lesson plan by Sybil Jemmett, UT, click here!

Lesson Summary: Students run, jog or walk for a predetermined amount of time and intensity around the gym.  When time is up students choose a checkpoint to go to.  A student rolls the die to determine what exercise the group will do. All students perform the exercise.

Visit a website telling about the Nome’s Idita Walk.

We’d enjoy hearing about your Idita- Walk.  Send us a brief update about how your run your project.  Send pictures if you want, too.  We’ll share your ideas to help others create an Idita-Walk program in their school or community.  Click here to send an email.

Bob FitzPatrick
VP Physical Education-MAHPERD
fitzpatrick@peproviders.com
www.peproviders.com

Click to view the PDF Doc. Sled Dog Harness Activity

By Herb Brambley

2010 Target Teacher on the Trail Finalist

Imagine you are a professional athlete getting ready for your playing season, or even a high school athlete.  What is the first thing you have to do before stepping onto the playing field?  That’s right!  Get a physical by a qualified physician and have the paper work signed on the bottom providing proof that you have been examined.  The elite athletes of the Iditarod, the dogs, have to go through the same process. Every dog competing in the Iditarod must be examined by a qualified veterinarian.  Even more than that, every dog must receive an EKG in order to make sure its heart is healthy enough to safely run the race to Nome.

Mushers are evaluating the health of their dogs on a daily basis by asking themselves questions like, are the dogs maintaining their weight? Do they need to have booties on to protect their feet? Do the dogs appear enthusiastic about running or are the listless?  These and other questions are just part of the continuous evaluation by a musher of his or her team.

In order to begin to gain an understanding of this process, students can learn the acronym H.A.W.L.  Hawl, which means turn left if you’re mushing dogs, is also the acronym for Heart and Hydration, Attitude and Appetite, Weight, and Lungs.  The heart and lungs are the two main organs of a mammal that are part of the respiration process.  Weight is also related to respiration in that if a mammal is metabolizing more calories than it is taking in, it will lose weight.  If it is taking in more calories than it is metabolizing, it will gain weight. In order for metabolism to take place properly, oxygen must be present in the blood.  How does the oxygen get into the blood?  It gets there via the lungs. Therefore, the heart, lungs, and weight are all related to each other. Students can gain an understanding of this by doing a few simple lab experiments that require them to check their own pulse at rest, exercise for a short time, and check their pulse again. The following internet site shows this through the use of a lab. http://www.teachervision.fen.com/tv/printables/scottforesman/Sci_5_PBA_D.pdf

The heart is the organ that pumps blood through a mammal’s body. The heart consists of several chambers with valves between them. When the veterinarian is listening to the heart, he is listening for any abnormalities in rhythm or any sounds that may indicate a heart valve that is leaking. The following internet site has videos, animations, and lessons that may demonstrate this to students.

http://www.smm.org/heart/lessons/top.html

You may be wondering what attitude has to do with health.  Dogs are not like people in that they can’t use words to communicate how they are feeling.  Dogs communicate through their actions.  If a dog isn’t feeling well, it will often demonstrate this by restlessness, panting, or drooling.  It may stop eating or drinking or, it may refuse to pull.  Mushers are continually watching for changes in a dog’s habits that could indicate a problem.

In talking with Dr. Stuart Nelson, chief veterinarian for the Iditarod, I learned that diet and nutrition also play important roles in a dog’s overall health.  As mentioned above, diet and cardiovascular function are related to weight.  Proper weight in dogs, just as in humans, is achieved through proper diet and exercise.  A dog’s diet should be low in carbohydrates, and most of its caloric intake should come from fat.  Keep in mind that a dog’s diet is different than a healthy diet for humans.  To view a healthy diet for humans, use the food guide pyramid at the following site.

http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/pyramid.html

There is an old saying in the horse world, “no hoof, no horse.”  That means if a horses hooves aren’t taken care of properly, the horse won’t be able to be ridden or used for work.  The same holds true for a dog.  A dog’s paws must be taken care of properly or the dog may end up limping and won’t be able to pull effectively.  Mushers maintain good paw health in a few ways. They use booties to protect the paws if trail conditions require, and they put a liniment on them to keep them flexible. Dog bootie activities and uses may be found at the following site.

http://www.iditarod.com/pdfs/teacher/teachervol1complete.pdf

The following site shows a video clip of an actual Iditarod vet check.  It shows blood being drawn for the dogs blood work, and it shows a dog getting an EKG. I suggest that you view the clip before showing it to your students since this may be too graphic for some younger students.

http://spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com/search/label/Iditarod

There are rules that govern the Iditarod race.  Many of these rules have been made to protect the dogs who are the real athletes in this race.  Each musher must be a member of Mush with P.R.I.D.E.  This organization provides standards for dog care and equipment, and is concerned with the public’s perception of dog sled racing. The acronym stands for Providing Responsible Information on a Dogs Environment.  You can get more information at the following web site.

http://www.mushwithpride.org/

And finally, the sites listed below include this year’s Pre-Race Exam Form, the Iditarod Rules, which include specifics that protect these elite dog athletes, pictures of the vet check from last year, and an article that discusses the no doping policy of the Iditarod Trail Committee.

Iditarod Pre race exam form

http://www.iditarod.com/pdfs/2009/2009VetCheckForm.pdf

Iditarod Rules

http://www.iditarod.com/pdfs/2009/2009RulesFinal.pdf

Pictures of the vet check

http://backstage-iditarod.blogspot.com/2008/02/vet-check-iditarod-2008-part-1.html

Clean Race Article

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2008-02-29-iditarod-doping_N.htm#

Items a musher must have in the sled.

http://www.ultimateiditarod.com/sledcargoFK.htm

Answering the Critics

http://www.mushhusky.com/subject-guides/23-The%20Iditarod%20Fact,%20Not%20Fiction.pdf