I'm interested in how many calories my dogs burn while walking. I've
googled quite a bit on this, but could only find sites with calculators
for how many calories that PEOPLE burn while walking their dogs. Does
anybody have any info on this? Clearly the size of the dog and the
walking speed need to be considered, but I am surprised that the answer
isn't just poping out at me.

Thanks,
John

wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm interested in how many calories my dogs burn while walking.
Clearly the size of the dog and the
walking speed need to be considered, but I am surprised that the answer
isn't just poping out at me.

.......I can't answer your question directly and I'm not going to waste time
looking for a chart. This is a bit of a round about answer. However it
appears the size of the dog is the biggest factor to consider. Speed
appears to be unimportant.

They have calculated the RER (resting energy requirement) and DER (daily
energy requirement) of dogs. RER is what it sounds like - lying around.
DER probably involves all the activities most normal dogs partake of -
running to the front door to bark at the UPS guy, going for a walk with you,
playing with another dog. I imagine they expend a similar number of
calories in doggy activities whenever they're not lying down. They've also
done extensive work on what canine athletes require.

*Calculation of DER is based on the RER for the animal modified by a factor
to account for normal activity or production (e.g., growth, gestation,
lactation, work). RER is a function of metabolic body size. RER is
calculated by raising the animal's body weight in kg to the 0.75 power. The
average RER for mammals is about 70 kcal/day/kg metabolic body size: RER
(kcal/day) = 70 (BW in kg) to the 0.75 power.

Canine DER - Maintenance
Neutered adult = 1.6 x RER
Intact adult = 1.8 x RER
Obese prone = 1.4 x RER
Weight loss = 1.0 x RER
Critical care = 1.0 x RER
Weight gain = 1.2-1.4 x RER

Canine DER - Work
Light work = 2 x RER
moderate work = 3 x RER
Heavy work = 4=8 x RER
(From TAble 1.7, p. 12, Sm An Clin Nutr, 4th ed., 2000)

p. 262 Sm An Clin Nutrition (op cit) - Key Points for The Canine Athlete
chapter
-A 30 kg dog expends about 30 kcal to cover 1 km on a flat surface,
regardless of how fast it walks or runs.
-Functionally, exercise can be divided into three types based on intensity
and duration: 1) sprint - high intensity activities that can be sustained
less than two minutes, 2) intermediate - activities lasting a few minutes to
a few hours and 3) endurance - activities that last many hours.

p. 270 and 271 - Sm An Clin Nutr (op cit)
*Daily energy requirement (DER) for canine athletes is highly variable and
is directly related to the amount of work done in a day. Work for canine
athletes is usually running. A racing greyhound that usually only runs a
fraction of a mile in a race has a DER very similar to that of a house pet
(1.6 to 1.8 x resting energy requirement [RER]).

(partial) Table 10.5 Caloric cost of running 1 km for dogs of varying size
BW (in kg) --- Cost of running 1 km (kcal)
5 -- 9
10 -- 14
15 -- 19
20 -- 23
25 -- 26
30 -- 30
35 -- 33
40 -- 36
45 -- 39
50 -- 42
70 -- 53
__________________

..........So, the above table probably gives you a good idea of the number of
calories burned by walking with your dogs. If you feel like you need more
calculations g, I'd imagine you could calculate the RER and DER for each
of your dogs and find out how many calories they're probably burning all day
long in normal activities. RER, after all represents the energy used to
keep the body alive, metabolic processes, etc. Anything over that is used
for activity.

.......oh and the Pope probably doesn't have much to do with it. g

buglady
take out the dog before replying

buglady wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm interested in how many calories my dogs burn while walking.
Clearly the size of the dog and the
walking speed need to be considered, but I am surprised that the answer
isn't just poping out at me.

......I can't answer your question directly and I'm not going to waste time
looking for a chart. This is a bit of a round about answer. However it
appears the size of the dog is the biggest factor to consider. Speed
appears to be unimportant.

They have calculated the RER (resting energy requirement) and DER (daily
energy requirement) of dogs. RER is what it sounds like - lying around.
DER probably involves all the activities most normal dogs partake of -
running to the front door to bark at the UPS guy, going for a walk with you,
playing with another dog. I imagine they expend a similar number of
calories in doggy activities whenever they're not lying down. They've also
done extensive work on what canine athletes require.

*Calculation of DER is based on the RER for the animal modified by a factor
to account for normal activity or production (e.g., growth, gestation,
lactation, work). RER is a function of metabolic body size. RER is
calculated by raising the animal's body weight in kg to the 0.75 power. The
average RER for mammals is about 70 kcal/day/kg metabolic body size: RER
(kcal/day) = 70 (BW in kg) to the 0.75 power.

Canine DER - Maintenance
Neutered adult = 1.6 x RER
Intact adult = 1.8 x RER
Obese prone = 1.4 x RER
Weight loss = 1.0 x RER
Critical care = 1.0 x RER
Weight gain = 1.2-1.4 x RER

Canine DER - Work
Light work = 2 x RER
moderate work = 3 x RER
Heavy work = 4=8 x RER
(From TAble 1.7, p. 12, Sm An Clin Nutr, 4th ed., 2000)

p. 262 Sm An Clin Nutrition (op cit) - Key Points for The Canine Athlete
chapter
-A 30 kg dog expends about 30 kcal to cover 1 km on a flat surface,
regardless of how fast it walks or runs.
-Functionally, exercise can be divided into three types based on intensity
and duration: 1) sprint - high intensity activities that can be sustained
less than two minutes, 2) intermediate - activities lasting a few minutes to
a few hours and 3) endurance - activities that last many hours.

p. 270 and 271 - Sm An Clin Nutr (op cit)
*Daily energy requirement (DER) for canine athletes is highly variable and
is directly related to the amount of work done in a day. Work for canine
athletes is usually running. A racing greyhound that usually only runs a
fraction of a mile in a race has a DER very similar to that of a house pet
(1.6 to 1.8 x resting energy requirement [RER]).

(partial) Table 10.5 Caloric cost of running 1 km for dogs of varying size
BW (in kg) --- Cost of running 1 km (kcal)
5 -- 9
10 -- 14
15 -- 19
20 -- 23
25 -- 26
30 -- 30
35 -- 33
40 -- 36
45 -- 39
50 -- 42
70 -- 53
__________________

.........So, the above table probably gives you a good idea of the number of
calories burned by walking with your dogs. If you feel like you need more
calculations g, I'd imagine you could calculate the RER and DER for each
of your dogs and find out how many calories they're probably burning all day
long in normal activities. RER, after all represents the energy used to
keep the body alive, metabolic processes, etc. Anything over that is used
for activity.

......oh and the Pope probably doesn't have much to do with it. g


Thank you much for all the information. It does give me some insight.
I am somewhat surprised that the issue hasn't been studied in more
detail, especially given the constantly rising devotion of people to
dogs. I mean, you can find masseuses and psychologists for dogs, you
can bring them to work and kennel them in the animal equivalent of a
4-star hotel when you travel, but you can't easily find out how far to
walk the dog to burn 100 calories. It's bizarre.

I have heard that speed is also unimportant for people, that is a
marathon winner burns as many calories as a marathon walker. I have
hard time believing it for 2 reasons: 1) I've only "heard" it and 2)
the world is a nonlinear place. When running, you have to propel
yourself off the ground, something that doesn't happen while walking.
It also would require that your mechanical efficiency be constant. Just
the fact that the RER goes with the 0.75 power of body mass confirms
the nonlinearity.

We recently purchased a treadmill to help the physical rehab for a
Welsh Terrier that had Legg-Perthes disease, which was treated by a
femoral head ostectomy. The treadmill has a display of "calories
burned". I know the number is of dubious value, but it did make me
question how many calories the dog burned while walking compared to me
or my wife.

Oh, and I had originally spelled it as "pooping", and I thought I had
corrected it. Well, I did. It no longer was pooping. But it still
wasn't what I wanted to say.

John

"buglady" wrote in message
nk.net...

...forgot one thing - one kcal = 1 Calorie - which is the kind of calorie we
all talk about.

buglady
take out the dog before replying

wrote in message
oups.com...
I am somewhat surprised that the issue hasn't been studied in more
detail, especially given the constantly rising devotion of people to
dogs. I mean, you can find masseuses and psychologists for dogs, you
can bring them to work and kennel them in the animal equivalent of a
4-star hotel when you travel, but you can't easily find out how far to
walk the dog to burn 100 calories. It's bizarre.

..........not really. They know how much activity is needed not to gain
weight on a certain normal diet. That's all that is important. And I did
find one study that said that metabolic rates goes down in dogs as they age
(as it does in humans - study is at J. of Nutrition, www.nutrition.org), BUT
this didn't appear to be true for working Border Collies. Don't think the
breed had much to do with it, it was the fact that their energy expenditure
was fairly high (compared to a pet dog) and was constant over time.

.....One wonders exactly *how* they came up with the calorie expenditure for
humans for, say, cleaning the house, reading a book. It's probably all done
with calculations, not actual measurement in an experiment. We want to know
those facts to help us keep busy and chose high caloric expenditure activity
so we lose weight. For dogs, this isn't so important. As the givers of
food, we just need to know how much activity to insist on and how much to
feed. After all, they have studied the canine athlete. And if you want to
increase the value of your dog's *workout*, teach him to pull a cart.
Weight work expends a lot more calories, as does endurance work.

I have
hard time believing it for 2 reasons: 1) I've only "heard" it and 2)
the world is a nonlinear place.
........With a little searching, I'm sure you'd be able to find the answer to
this question.

We recently purchased a treadmill to help the physical rehab for a
Welsh Terrier that had Legg-Perthes disease, which was treated by a
femoral head ostectomy. The treadmill has a display of "calories
burned". I know the number is of dubious value, but it did make me
question how many calories the dog burned while walking compared to me
or my wife.
.........Well, if it's of short duration, then the last chart I posted will
tell you. For a dog, I think 100 calories would be a pretty large
expenditure. Fat has 9 cal/gram, carbs and proteins each have 4 cal/gram.

Oh, and I had originally spelled it as "pooping",

..........huh, I DID think, well at least it wasn't pooping out at him! g

buglady
take out the dog before replying