Lots of Carbs for higher energy dogs?

[xenabella]

Has anyone else heard that you should feed higher energy dogs more carbs? To release more seratonin in their brains, thus making them more calm. I would have thought higher protien would have been better?

[LisaT]

Actually, the main "energy carb" in dog food is corn, which is a serotonin inhibitor and will have the opposite effect on behaviour that you describe, because it's deficient in tryptophan (unless the dog food supplement tryptophan, which I haven't seen yet).

(When I was training, the first thing we did was take the dogs off a high corn food for better concentration and focus. Often the change was dramatic.)

But yes, high carbs for short spurts of energy in humans. Long term energy you want lower carbs and high fat. Dogs however, are not humans, and I believe that their digestive system is better suited to protein and fat than carbs.

It's hard to imagine a dog really "needing" a high carb diet, and always important to remember that carbs (sugars) feed cancer.

[carmspack]

second what LisaT just said .
Dogs metabolize fats and proteins .
I had the privilege to work with a professional sled dog racer to prepare his dogs for the season's competition circuit , which included the Iditarod . The energy came from fat -- unadulterated , in other words raw fat, not heated fat or drippings which many people resort to and wreaks havoc on digestion. Added chicken fat to the diet.

Carmen

[Trainer-Breeder]

Originally Posted by carmspack

second what LisaT just said .
Dogs metabolize fats and proteins .
I had the privilege to work with a professional sled dog racer to prepare his dogs for the season's competition circuit , which included the Iditarod . The energy came from fat -- unadulterated , in other words raw fat, not heated fat or drippings which many people resort to and wreaks havoc on digestion. Added chicken fat to the diet.

Carmen

Respectfully, this is completely false and misleading. First, while dogs should be metabolizing fat for energy, many do not and its not because of what they eat. Fat is metabolized once a dog reaches an aerobic state (fat adaptation) and since many dogs are not in competition-like physical condition and only receive normal amounts of activity like running in the yard or playing at the dog park, they actually burn more carbs than fats. Protein should never be used as an energy source. It is extremely inefficient as a source of energy. Protein is best used for muscle repair and not energy. It has been shown in sled dogs studies by Kronfeld that even highly stressed sled dogs do just fine on a dry food with 32% protein.

LisaT's post is equally false and purposely misleading. She is referring to one study where rats were fed ONLY corn protein, which is low in tryptophan. Even the worst junk dog foods with corn have other sources of protein. The rest of LisaT's post is also false.

The moderators should remove both these posts.

Now back to the OP's question, the answer is kinda yes and kinda no. It depends on the type of activity and what physical condition the dog is in. Greyhounds do benefit from greater amounts of carbohydrates because they need easily converted sources of energy. So a dog that does a lot of short-burst activity will find carbohydrates a more ready source of energy.

[JakodaCD OA]

excuse me, your second post here and I don't see 'your' credentials

You might want to go to the Introduction forum and introduce yourself it will make you more credible.

[ladylaw203]

Corn is not good for our dogs so the main thing to look for in a food is the source of the carbs. Corn is traditionally the source in lower end dog foods. Feed a high quality grain free dog food and your dog will be fine When mine are on a tough deployment,hunt tests etc I give them a little canine red cell.

[Trainer-Breeder]

Originally Posted by ladylaw203

Corn is not good for our dogs so the main thing to look for in a food is the source of the carbs. Corn is traditionally the source in lower end dog foods. Feed a high quality grain free dog food and your dog will be fine When mine are on a tough deployment,hunt tests etc I give them a little canine red cell.

These people never stop.

Please show me real science where "corn is not good for dogs".

I want to see a peer reviewed scientific study showing this. Whole grain corn is just as good as any other form of carbohydrate like rice, barley or oats. In fact, in some cases it can be better.

[Trainer-Breeder]

Originally Posted by JakodaCD OA

excuse me, your second post here and I don't see 'your' credentials

You might want to go to the Introduction forum and introduce yourself it will make you more credible.

No, take some time to research what the others said and you will find virtually everything stated as completely false.

[JakodaCD OA]

maybe so, but again, I don't see any of 'your' credentials to make such a statement.

What do "you" feed?

[ladylaw203]

It is a known fact that corn is an allergen. This is nothing new. You show ME studies showing it is okey dokey. I have personal experience for 25 years feeding all breeds. I have seen for myself what happens when feeding corn. THEN I did research Also, with the recalls later due to cheap Chinese corn being used. no thanks.

If a dog is doing well on what they are being fed, rock on. For those whose dogs have issues, they need to look further.

Exactly what do you feed? How many dogs and what breeds do you have?