Support for High-Performance Dogs

It is always nice to receive a good review – be it short and succinct or a more detailed evaluation of how a pet owner or professional is using Karnlea to support the health and wellbeing of their dogs. Of course, every dog is different, both in breed – anatomy and characteristics – and their lifestyle and environment.

This is particularly true of sporting and working dogs whose nutritional needs need to be geared to supporting high-performance activity. Karnlea Bone Broth can help provide that little extra ‘fuel in the tank’ – easily digested and rich in collagen, vitamins and minerals.

That’s why we were delighted to receive this review from professional dog trainer and behaviourist Ronan McShane who is the founder/owner of Bushidog®, in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.

Ronan has spent the last 30 years working with all breeds and age groups over a variety of disciplines and is a specialist dog handler – certified in the use of canines for tracking and recovery. Clearly, these dogs need to be on top form to carry out exacting military protection duties and Bushidog® now feeds Karnlea to all their dogs some of whom undertake Schutzhund sporting events which test tracking, obedience and protection skills.

Here, in his own words, Ronan explains the importance of feeding bone broth to sporting and working dogs.

“Karnlea Bone Broth is an essential formula which supports the unique nutritional needs of high-performance dogs.  Their work includes sprinting i.e. intense periods of focus, tug and ball work, weight pulling and jumping.  Intermediate activities include agility and service work. While endurance events sees physical activity lasts many hours i.e. military protection dog work and Schutzhund in a sporting capacity.

“The success of performance dogs depends upon a combination of genetics, training, and nutrition. The latter which must always meet the demands of the dog’s activity. No matter the specific focus of training, several key principles hold:

  1. It is important to start a nutritional programme in the early stages of the dog’s training and find a baseline on which to improve current fitness levels and build capacity steadily. Karnlea Bone Broth is an essential supplement for a dog destined for high performance work. From the start, they not only need to compete, but to beat the competition. Performance work is all about winning and this is achieved through small daily gains. Karnlea Bone Broth provides that support to make an average dog, a great dog. It’s nutritional support is evident in the clarity of the eyes, colour and condition of the coat, mental and physical endurance as well as physiological repair.
  • As intensity and duration of training increases, the body and the tissues adapt to accept the greater challenge. Nutrition is the key component here, as the tissue fibres tear and repair during intense exercise diet supports recovery. Collagen helps repair the dog’s gastrointestinal system also so Karnlea Bone Broth is a vital weekly addition to our dogs diet. It is also effective in delaying arthritis as a dog’s physiology continues to repair, and this especially important for older dogs of seven years plus.
  • The nutritional goal for any effective training program is to provide an optimal nutrient profile to support overall health as well as performance, especially disease resistance and vitality in operational duty, day after day, in all weather conditions.

The Importance of Hydration

“The most important nutrient for performance, is often overlooked: water. Water is essential for all biological activity and it helps tissues absorb concussive forces during physical activity. Adding Karnlea Bone Broth to your dog’s water before, during and after exercise provides additional nutritional support and electrolytes which prevents muscular cramp, deterioration in your dog’s mental state, such as fatigue and crankiness, as well as providing your dog a quick meal before returning home or to the kennels.

“At Bushidog®, we feed our top dogs with Karnlea Bone Broth to support them in commercial work and in a companion capacity.  Now, with climate change and resulting extreme weather conditions, it is vitally important that we respond to our dogs’ needs by making bone broth ice cubes in the summer and warm drinks in the winter.  We even add it to our dumplings which can be rolled into a ball and stored in a pocket or backpack for a quick meal on the go. As the owner of Bushidog®, I highly recommend Karnlea Bone Broth and will continue to feed it to all the dogs which come through our schooling system.”