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Investigating the Effects of Incremental Conditioning

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Investigating the Effects of Incremental Conditioning EXPLORING THE EFFECTS OF REPETITIVE ENDURANCE EXERCISE AND TRYPTOPHAN SUPPLEMENTATION OR DIETARY SOLUBLE FIBER ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF SLED DOGS by Eve Robinson A Thesis presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Animal Biosciences Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Eve Robinson, August 2020 ABSTRACT EXPLORING THE EFFECTS OF REPETITIVE ENDURANCE EXERCISE AND TRYPTOPHAN SUPPLEMENTATION OR DIETARY SOLUBLE FIBER ON THE BEHAVIOUR OF SLED DOGS Eve Robinson Advisor: University of Guelph, 2020 Dr. Anna-Kate Shoveller The impacts of repetitive endurance exercise and dietary interventions on the behaviour and voluntary physical activity of dogs has not been previously studied. This thesis investigated the effects of incremental conditioning, supplemental tryptophan and increased dietary soluble fiber on the behaviour and voluntary physical activity of sled dogs. Repetitive endurance exercise generally resulted in a progressive decrease in voluntary physical activity and locomotive behaviours prior to an exercise bout. Additionally, voluntary physical activity increased after two consecutive rest days, indicating a potential recovery from the physiological impacts of endurance exercise. Increasing the tryptophan: large neutral amino acid ratio of the diet reduced agonistic behaviors prior to exercise, however, increasing the soluble fiber content had no effect on any behaviour prior to or following an exercise bout. This research could be used to improve the exercise training regimens and diets of sled dogs and promote their overall performance, health and well-being. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Anna-Kate Shoveller for providing me with this opportunity. I would not be where I am today without your support, encouragement, and confidence in me. I would also like thank my committee members, Drs Candace Croney and Lee Niel. Your knowledge and expertise have been invaluable throughout this process. I am extremely grateful to have had this team of women supporting me on this journey. A big thank you to James Templeman and Emma Thornton, for being part of the core team that made this possible. James, thank you for being a mentor. And thanks for freezing every morning driving the ATV, and for eventually teaching Emma and I to do the same. And Emma, thank you for being by my side every step of the way. This research did not come without challenges, but I am glad we were able to get through them together. Additionally, thank you to all the volunteers and students that put in time and effort to help us. Thank you to everyone else in the Shoveller lab: Sydney Banton, Fiona Tansil, Julia Guazzelli Pezzali, Cara Cargo-Froom and Renan Donadelli. From help with statistics, to de-stressing with drinks, you have all supported me in so many ways. My experience in graduate school would not have been the same without you. I would also like to thank all my friends and family for your constant love and encouragement. To my parents, thank you for supporting me (financially and otherwise!) and for allowing me to follow my passion. I will forever be grateful. To Ralph and Jen from RaJenn Siberian Huskies, thanks for welcoming us into your home and trusting us with your amazing dogs. And to all the dogs, thank you for making it so easy to come to the farm every day. And finally, thank you to Champion PetFoods and MITACS Accelerate for funding this research and making it possible. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ vi List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... vii List of Abbreviations............................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1: Literature Review.......................................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................1 1.2 The effects of endurance exercise on dog behaviour ......................................................1 1.2.1 Physiological and behavioural effects of endurance exercise and recovery .............2 1.2.2 Fatigue and overtraining.........................................................................................5 1.2.3 Future research ......................................................................................................6 1.3 The effects of tryptophan on dog behaviour...................................................................7 1.3.1 Serotonin influence on behaviour and mood ...........................................................7 1.3.2 Synthesis of serotonin ............................................................................................8 1.3.3 Tryptophan supplementation in dogs .................................................................... 10 1.3.4 Combined influence of tryptophan and exercise on behaviour .............................. 12 1.3.5 Future research .................................................................................................... 13 1.4 The effects of soluble fiber on dog behaviour .............................................................. 14 1.4.1 Gut-brain axis ...................................................................................................... 15 1.4.2 The canine gut microbiome .................................................................................. 16 1.4.3 Fiber impacts on canine gut microbiome .............................................................. 18 1.4.4 Combined influence of fiber and exercise on behaviour ....................................... 20 1.5 Overall conclusions ..................................................................................................... 22 1.6 Thesis Objectives and Hypotheses............................................................................... 22 1.7 References .................................................................................................................. 24 Chapter 2: Investigating the effects of incremental conditioning and supplemental dietary tryptophan on the voluntary activity and behaviour of mid-distance training sled dogs1 ............. 35 2.1 Abstract ...................................................................................................................... 35 2.2 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 36 2.3 Materials and methods ................................................................................................ 39 2.3.1 Animals, training regimen and diet ....................................................................... 39 2.3.2 Behavioral evaluation .......................................................................................... 41 2.3.3 Activity monitoring .............................................................................................. 42 2.3.4 Statistical analysis ................................................................................................ 42 2.4 Results ........................................................................................................................ 44 2.4.1 Behaviour ............................................................................................................ 44 2.4.2 Voluntary activity ................................................................................................ 50 2.5 Discussion................................................................................................................... 52 2.5.1 Tryptophan effect on aggression-related behaviours ............................................. 52 iv 2.5.2 Effect of single bout and repetitive exercise on behaviour and activity ................. 54 2.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 56 2.7 References .................................................................................................................. 58 Chapter 3: Investigating the effects of dietary soluble fiber and incremental exercise on the voluntary activity and behaviour of sled dogs ............................................................................ 62 3.1 Abstract ...................................................................................................................... 62 3.2 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 63 3.3 Materials and methods ................................................................................................ 65 3.3.1 Animals, training regimen and diet ....................................................................... 65 3.3.2 Behavioural evaluation........................................................................................
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