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male dogs and working / service dogs feeding
• males
Brood males shall be kept in a reproductive condition. Till 2 year age this condition is average keep, but by the beginning of the breeding use the male shall be well-fed. Well keep, but no obesity, health, agility, and reproductive activity are the signs of proper feeding and successful use of males.
Due to live weight and temperament differences every stallion shall have own ration established. Rottweiler males preparing for the mating is started 1—1,5 months before. Easy digestible and not too bulk food shall compose the ration. Otherwise sex activity is depressed. Also pay attention to the proteins quality. So not less than 70% of meat and meat products shall be in the ration. During mating season it's also good to give a stallion one raw egg mixed with a food or separately after daily or every second day. It's useful to include raw liver which is enriched by vitamins to the ration. Glycerophosphate and grinded eggshell are to be used as a mineral additive. It's also useful to give nettle, salad, parsley.
Feed males 2—3 times a day during mating period, avoid increasing of the food bulk, especially for soup. Approximate amount of food per feeding is about 2—2,5 litres / 2 1/10—2 3/5 quarts for rottweiler male. Increase of food bulk causes overfilling of the stomach and worsens it's digestibility.
The stallion shall be fed always at the same time, about 8 am, 1 and 6 pm (8, 13, 18). The stallion is fed 2—3 hours after the mating.
• working and service dogs
Working and service dogs, primarily rottweilers, perform a lot of different functions. Depending on that they have different regimes of training, work and rest what certainly leads to differences in these dogs' ration and feeding regime.
Necessary «overquantity» of energy depends on environment, exercising intensiveness and kind of work. It's been found that dog's run for 5 km / ˜3 miles increases daily energy needs by 10%. So, energy needs of working dog which runs for long distances may double or even triple normal needs of adult dog. Hard work causes stress, so nutrition shall include components to loosen the stress as well as a «fuel» for muscles work. Researches (on humans) proved that glycogen ration in the muscle tissue is the most important for vitality and stamina reserves. To increase glycogen ration in the muscle tissue sportsmen use «carbohydrates load» before the exercising.
Most working dogs may be divided into two main groups.
First group is represented by greyhounds. Efforts of these dogs during the run are great but short in time. Muscles fiber work is based rather on glucose, than on fats. So, ration with comparably high carbohydrates ratio suits dogs of the first group. Cereals, oat meal, rice, and potato may be used as a ource of carbohydrates.
Though we're more interested in the Second group rottweiler is in (as the most large breed dogs, certainly) — the working group. Dogs from this group are mobile for longer time and have higher endurance, even in worse climatic conditions (for example, arctic riding dogs). So they need more calories to perform work and to keep body temperature). Main «fuel» for these dogs is fats, and energy is produced from aerobic oxidation of fat acids, while fats are source of 70—90% calories and carbohydrates supply the rest of energy.
Moreover, fats compose has a great meaning, especially relation between saturated fat acids with long chain (seam, axunge, and goose fat), moderate fat long-chain acids (coconut and palm oil) and indispensable fat acids (sunflower oil, corn oil and fish oils (fats)). It's recommended that 25% of fats would be fats composed by short and medium chain fat acids, as they are absorbed and utilized sooner during the oxidization processes and less predisposed to fat depots. Feeding of this group dogs by food with high carbohydrates ratio leads to decrease of mobility due to lactic acid production.
There's no sufficient evaluation of protein needs for working / service dogs now. Though considering published information we may conclude that dogs consuming food with high protein (53%) and fats (37%) ratio benefit during the work comparing to dogs with dogs on ration enriched by carbohydrates (first group). Researches based on arctic working dogs leave the question open if visible improvement of dog's shape is related to excessive consume of proteins or digestion of great amount of fats. It's clear that dogs could handle ration with high proteins and fats ratio without any ill effects.
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Energy capacity relation, %
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Proteins —
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— 32
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Fats —
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— 51
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Carbohydrates —
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— 17
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table 1
Ration for hard working dogs and during the stress situations
Results of researches on other animals let to suppose that on energy needs satisfaction need in proteins won't exceed organism supply needs. Though hard work leads to increase of energy spends due to fatigue, food consumption may decrease. To keep adequate food consumption by dogs performing hard work, that may be necessary to improve taste qualities of the food adding fats and proteins. As a source of proteins different kinds of meat, fish products, egg powder may be used.
There's a bit of information about hard working dogs need for minerals and vitamins. If the nutrition is well balanced, the dog will consume food satisfying one's needs for energy, minerals, and vitamins. Speaking about endurance, organism's iron reserves may run out after long lasting exercising. Iron participates in hemoglobin formation and oxygen transportation, so animals performing hard work may have increased need in it. Working dogs whose food contains fat polyunsaturated acids may also need increased ratio of vitamin E and selenium which perform antioxidant function and resist fragility of red blood cells.
Feeding regime of working dogs is very important. Only small portion of food shall be given before the work as full stomach decreases their work efficiency. It is also source of discomfort for guarding dogs, dogs-bodyguards and guide dogs related to the defecation during service. Main feeding shall supply 2/3 of daily needs and be after rest. To prevent dehydration provide easy access to the source of water to the working dog — one shall have a bowl with sufficient fresh water (not less than 2—3 litres / 2—3 quarts) and water bowl.
Conclusion. Food for working dog shall have good taste qualities, be concentrated, easy-digestible and well-balanced.
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