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Dogs, in the age range 1-3 years old, were randomly selected from the largest animal insurance database in Sweden for inclusion in the study. The study was performed in 1997, and a total of 680 dog owners were selected for the study. A total of 461 dog owners completed the survey, at an overall response rate of 68%. Data was compared to a recent gallup performed on a sample of all dogs in Sweden. The demographic statistics of the insured dog population were in many aspects similar to the total dog population of Sweden. Typical for both insured dogs and the total population of dogs were a low proportion of neutered dogs, that many dogs were bought at an early age, that many dogs were in contact with a "breeder" when sold, and a similar profile of health status. However, "dog breeders" seemed to have their dogs insured to a higher extent than the general dog owner. It was concluded that as the populations were alike in many respects, it is reasonable to use the insurance database for epidemiological studies on diet and exercise in Swedish dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most athletic horses are fed a high-starch diet despite the risk of health problems. Replacing starch concentrate with high-energy forage would alleviate these health problems, but could result in a shift in major substrates for muscle energy supply from glucose to short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) due to more hindgut fermentation of fibre. Dietary fat inclusion has previously been shown to promote aerobic energy supply during exercise, but the contribution of SCFA to exercise metabolism has received little attention. This study compared metabolic response with exercise and lactate threshold (VLa4) in horses fed a forage-only diet (F) and a more traditional high-starch, low-energy forage diet (forage-concentrate diet - FC). The hypothesis was that diet F would increase plasma acetate concentration and increase VLa4 compared with diet FC. Six Standardbred geldings in race training were used in a 29-day change-over experiment. Plasma acetate, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), lactate, glucose and insulin concentrations and venous pH were measured in samples collected before, during and after a treadmill exercise test (ET, day 25) and muscle glycogen concentrations before and after ET. Plasma acetate concentration was higher before and after exercise in horses on diet F compared with diet FC, and there was a tendency (P = 0.09) for increased VLa4 on diet F. Venous pH and plasma glucose concentrations during exercise were higher in horses on diet F than diet FC, as was plasma NEFA on the day after ET. Plasma insulin and muscle glycogen concentrations were lower for diet F, but glycogen utilisation was similar for the two diets. The results show that a high-energy, forage-only diet alters the metabolic response to exercise and, with the exception of lowered glycogen stores, appears to have positive rather than negative effects on performance traits.

The validity and repeatability of a telephone questionnaire on demographics, diet, living patterns, exercise and health status in a well-defined dog population was assessed. Randomly selected dogs aged 1-3 years in the largest animal-insurance database of Sweden were included in the study. The repeatability was measured by doing two identical interviews with 64 dog owners on average 39 (S.D. 17) days apart. The overall response percentage was 66% (64/97). The repeatabilities for demographic data were excellent (r(sp) 0.82-1.00), and dietary intake and feeding patterns correlated well between interviews (r(sp) 0.66-0.99, kappa 0.57-0.95). However, correlations for the frequency and daily intake of specific table foods had a wide range (r(sp) 0.06-0.97). The energy and specific nutrient intakes had high repeatabilities (r(sp) 0.72-0.79). Dog owners were quite consistent in reporting living patterns, exercise and dog-training activities (r(sp) 0.65-0.94, kappa 0.43-0.88), except for number of walks per day (r(sp) 0.50). The repeatabilities also were excellent for the evaluation of health status (r(sp) 0.78-0.99, kappa 0.81-1.00). The questionnaire also was compared to a 7-day weighed record of total food intake and registration of exercise to give data on the validity. The questionnaire was given 62 (S.D. 19) days before the weighed registrations, and the overall response percentage was 76% (58/76). Correlations for the frequency and amount of commercial feeds given were high (0.81-0.92), although correlations for specific table foods had a wider range (0.03-0.81). Correlations for total energy, protein, fat and carbohydrate intakes were between 0.80 and 0.85 in the total diet, and 0.79-0.85 in the commercial part of the diet. The correlations for frequency and amount of exercise ranged between 0.50 and 0.77. Corresponding correlations for training activities (such as hunting, tracking, and obedience) were 0.51-0.68.