Effect of fish oil supplementation on heart rate and rectal temperature in healthy dogs during a treadmill training program

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of fish oil supplementation on heart rate and rectal temperature in healthy dogs during a treadmill training program. In a crossover experimental design, 5 male dogs were randomly assigned to control and fish oil groups, and received 54 mg fish oil/kg of body weight0.75 per day. All dogs were trained on a treadmill twice a week for 12 weeks. Each session was 30 minutes long, at 8 km/h speed and a 7.5 % slope. Heart rate was assessed before, immediately after and 5 minutes after finishing each training session. Rectal temperature was measured before and after each session. In the fish oil group, heart rate and rectal temperature after each training session were significantly reduced (P<0.01), and heart rate after 5 minutes showed a downward trend (P=0.07). No significant differences were found between groups for previous heart rate and rectal temperature (P>0.1). The results obtained might show an improvement in the performance of dogs receiving fish oil supplementation during treadmill training. However, it would be interesting to conduct further studies to explain the mechanisms by which fish oil supplementation might improve performance during training.