Effect of moderate treadmill exercise on some physiological parameters in untrained Beagle dogs

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the modifications of some physiological parameters during moderate treadmill exercise in seven healthy Beagle dogs. All animals were submitted to treadmill exercise consisting of walking (15 min), trotting (20 min) and walking (10 min). At every step, rectal temperature (RT) was measured, and the mean heart rate (HR) was assessed. Venous blood samples were collected immediately before starting the treadmill exercise session (at rest), after the end of walking (15 min), trotting (20 min) and walking (10 min), and after 30 min of passive recovery. For immediate assessment of lactate and glucose concentration, blood was analyzed with portable blood lactate and blood glucose analyzers, respectively. Blood was also transferred into sterile glass tubes containing K(3)-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (K(3)-EDTA) for evaluation of red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), platelets (PLT), hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). One-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant effect of treadmill exercise (P<0.05) on RT, HR, lactate, glucose, RBC and Hct. Considering these significant variations, the knowledge of RT, HR, glucose and lactate concentrations, RBC, and Hct, the most suitable and sensitive indicators of response to treadmill exercise in untrained dogs, is essential in order to evidence the individual levels of exercise tolerance, to investigate exercise-related problems and to design specific and individual treadmill protocols.