AJP Early next month, bout 1,000 dogs will “E compete inthe Iditarod, the world’s longest sled dog race. More than 70 teams will cover 1,850 kilometers (1,150 miles) of rough, often icy, terrain from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska. ‘Along the way, the teams are likely to.encounter whiteout conditions with gale-force winds and tempera- tures as low as -40 degrees. Just finishing such a race, let alone winning it, requires super- canine levels of endurance. How do the dogs do it? For 10 years, Michael Davis, a professor of veterinary physiology at Oklahoma State University, has been conduct ing studies to find out “The dogs lave a hidden strategy,” he says. “They are fatigue-proof” ‘COOL CANINES Davis has tested about 5,000 sled dogs over the years. Many are pure- bred Siberian huskies. The est are ‘mutts—mixtures of Siberian husky, ‘Alaskan malamute, pointer, and other breeds. ‘What gives the dogs their incredi- be stamina? One answer is the ‘Alaska winter. All dogs are prone to overheating because they don’t perspire, as people do. When you perspire, body heat escapes iio the 44 February 27 2000 Cunmane Scrence ie i eae © The e By Stephen Fraser How do sled dogs endure Alaska’s grueling Iditarod? airas the sweat on your skin evapo-_{-12 degrees Celsius) or so" says rates. Ina dog, body heat is expelled Davis. "Below that temperature, the ‘instead with the moisture released by dogs can generally run as fast as the animal's respiraiory (breathing) _ they want without worrying about ‘tact. That process is very inefficient, overheating.” says Davis, and becomes even more Along the route, the mushers 0 asthe temperature ofthe air ‘monitor the dogs for signs of over- ‘increases. So dogs can exercise heating —stumbling and weaving. strenuously only inthe very cold. Overheating ean damage a dog's “In most eases, the musher [sled brain, kidneys, and muscles and, river} has to control the speed ofthe even kil the animal “Ifa dog starts ‘dogs to limitthe rte at which they to overheat on the tral, the musher produce heat until the temperature _will remove it from the team, pack drops below 10 degrees Farenheit snow around it to cool it, and put it ‘lod dogs eat and rst checkpoint along the 1850-4ometer Iditarod routeinside the sled until they get to the next checkpoint,” he says, To help the dogs maint ‘endurance, the mushers maintain 50-50 schedule. “Unless trail or ‘ace conditions dictate otherwise, ‘most mushers will run six hours, then rest six hours,” says Davis, “The dogs are fed lange meals at the beginning and end of each rest Period. They are also given frequent ‘Quick snacks on the tral, with the ‘usher stopping for just a few min- testo distribute the smal teats.” Iditarod dogs are fed a diet that is 60 percent to 70 percent fat and includes salmon and lard balls. The combination of meals and snacks ‘amounts to about 12,000 kilocalories a day—the equivalent of 24 Big Macs. High-fat diets can clog the arteries, but not those of the Iditarod dogs. “We never see dogs with heart problems,” says Davis. “It may be as simple as the fact that they bum the fat so quickly, i's ‘not around long enough to cause ‘problem. Itis probably more ‘complicated than that, though, During the summer, when they're ot racing, the dogs still eat ahigh- fat dit without any problems Davis believes that the musele cells in sled dogs have a unique ability to transport more nutrients ‘across their membranes, The mem- ‘brane isthe barrier that separates the cell from its surroundings. That ability enables the muscle cells to absorb nutrients diretly from the bloodstream instead of from storage inthe muscles, Fatigue occurs in dogs and humans when stored Inthe Iditarod dogs, continued huteiemts are used up too quickly. exercise does no further muscle damage. “I'S as though they are DAMAGE CONTROL starting off fesh atthe beginning lditarod dogs have other amazing ofeach day,” says Davis. “When abilities. Months of training may people run a marathon, they have double their aerobic eapactty—the to take the next day, or four or five ability to process oxygen. That dys, off to recover, But by repro- enhanced capacity has two compo- gramming their bodies, sled dogs nents, ss Davis. Thefts isawelle can run marathons day ale day conditioned heart and circulatory afer day” system, which transports oxygen ‘more efficiently to the muscles, BEING THERE The second isa high density of Each year, Davis and his colleagues ‘iiochondria inthe muscle cells. spend the winter in Alaska testing Mitochondria are structures that dogs. Their time there isn’t all work Use oxygen to break down digested and no play, though, They get to food and release energy. (See Watch Alaska’s most popular sport- “Power Cells”) ing event, “You have tobe prepared Finally, Davis has discovered that for things to be very cold, since Mitarod dogs can “reprogram” their you can't control the weather and bodies. in humans, strenuous exer- the race must go on,” he says, cise causes the muscle cells to leak “The dogs are excited” he adds, enzymes and proteins. The cells “the mushers are excited, and so need a day or two of rest to recover, are we" CS. ‘rapes % ay boay powecceis ae Dogs (and people) resp in two ways. espiretionisthe act of ‘taking in oxygen (and rlessing bon dioxide] though the ‘ose, mouth, winipe, and lungs. Celiviar respirations ‘the chemical procass in which Aigested food inthe form of lcose is broken downto release energy. Mitochondri, the ces power stations, break ov the glucose aerobicaly (with oxygen] and release energy (and carbon sxe), Sid dogs more energetic than other dogs because their muscle cols ‘contain more mitochon, tous (Cuma Sc1ence. Feri, 27,2008