POST RACE CONVULSIONS
17/5/2010
Gordon its great to hear that another OTV has concerns about the welfare of these dogs.
The Chief Steward in WA has similar concerns to we three OTV's and yourself.
I understand that he took a similar proposal to yours regarding stand down penalties to GA Stewards
meeting recently and was out voted.
He and we are wanting some immediate action so as to prevent public outcry.
At the moment we have over 20 KNOWN dogs that present with the milder form of "PEDS" or "PRDS" as
we have called it to date., in WA. In fact we still refer to it as "Hypoxia".
My real concern is that we dont know what is causing this problem and that it will take another 18 months
at least to gain further insight into possible causes.
My other concern is that there are other OTV's and Vets interested in Greyhounds who defend these
dogs on the basis that they are the ones we bred to chase harder! "This then should give these dogs the
right to race."
Its disturbing to me that some very well known champion Greyhounds were allowed to race, some of
them so ataxic that they couldnt present to the winning dais.
Some OTV's and trainers are confusing the milder form of PEDS with cramping- although it may be an
extension of cramping.
It would be great to obtain some video of an affected dog and either circulate it or present it at the next
conference in May.The late Peter Thomas did so along with "thumping" dogs at last year's conference.
These are very brief comments on how I feel about this condition.
Lastly we must bear in mind that the Greyhound has no choice whether it races or not and no jockey to
ease it down if it's under extreme stress.
Dr B.
19/5/2010
Gordon
I am sorry you have been confronted with this situation.It is questionable whether or not it should even
be racing. If this animal is repeatedly doing this over both 200 and 400 m there are signicant grounds for
banning the dog from racing .It as been suggested and acted on here that two dogs nominations will no
longer be accepted.However this is a fruitless exercise if no followed through in other states.!!!
Ray has clearly set out a protocol for dealing with this, and this or something similar in your juristiction
should be introduced and adhered to.My resolve on this issue changed dramatically after a dog died post
race in full view of patrons at Angle Park on a day meeting.This particular dog unknown to me had a
collapse episode at one of the country tracks without anything being done.Each individual case has to be
dealt with on the day with appropriate severity.The guide lines mentioned are agood start.It will get worse
in the hot weather and possibly with overracing which I am sure we will see in the future.
I must say the stewards are very supportive in these situations and have given me great support in
dealing with a very stressing situation.
Brian your concern and deep and ongoing interest in this issue is well known to those of us who initiated
the studies.I am sure the OTVs Aust wide share this concern as well.
The research will be ongoing soon after the details are sorted with the proposed change of research
venue.
I still think we are dealing with 2 separate issues.Thumps And Post race Collapse which have been
lumped together for correctness.
20/5/2010
The dose of calcium used = 2ml of 10% calcium glyconate i/v.
SOME dogs have required this for 2 or 3 gallops then the condition seems controlled.
Ionizied calcium only available to me as part of blood gas exam.
Why causes the low level I do not know, oral treatment has not helped (have only tried 3 week admin).
Barry
4/6/2010
I am unaware of any discussion on the aetiology of Post Race Distress. I send this email in the hope that
others may contribute some ideas.
Personally I have completely resolved one case with 2 ml I/V 10% calcium gluconate given 6 hours prior
to racing. Three other cases were greatly improved but not resolved (these three all showed improved
performance). These four cases were all W.A. located / trained dogs. Currently there are no active
cases in my Victorian based clients. Why ? The suggestions that follow are not scientifically valid, merely
observations on the difference between one W.A. client and my Victorian
clients.
Vic clients
:: do NOT use any electrolyte supplement other than potassium chloride 1/2 teaspoon once daily,
approx 50% of my clients also use a magnesium supplement .
:: do NOT use any urinary alkalising agents.
:: do NOT use oral iron / vitamin supplements - injections of iron once monthly is used.
:: they use more thyroid hormone supplement than can be justified scientifically.
:: do NOT use any wheat based food source.
:: only use Beef (no horse / no kangaroo).
W.A. clients
:: did not use Potassium nor magnesium
:: kangaroo is the meat source
:: use wheat based kibble
:: do not use thyroid supplements.
(W.A. appears to make more use of underground water (bore) than in
Victoria, electrolytes dissolved in this water may induce imbalance if
used as the water source for greyhounds).
Barry
6/6/2010
PRDS is definitely a complex issue.
From a WA point of view we have over 20 recorded cases of "hypoxia" since november last. Some of
these dogs are no longer racing, some race every week.All but 2 or 3 of these dogs are "mildly hypoxic"
ie they do not collapse nor would they if not supported after the race by the handler. I doubt that any
two of these dogs would receive the same diet, vitamin supplement ,thyroid hormone replacement or
water source.
The composition of the underground water source varies a lot due to soil types and depth of the bores.
Beef and horse constitute a fair amount of the meat source fed to Greyhounds in WA in addition to
chicken and roo.
The indiscriminate administration of Thyroxin 400mcg per day is very common-I sell truckloads of it!
Two "hypoxic" dogs that I blood tested 2-3 days after their race had normal Ca levels but were both
mildly anaemic by GH standards.
Two dogs from the same bitch but by two different sires in the same trainer's keeping were "hypoxic".
Most if not all recorded dogs in WA have a common sire somewhere in their breeding.
Not all dogs in the litter suffer from "hypoxia" even when maintained and trained by the same trainer.
Some trainers use Magnesium Orotate "to prevent cramping".
A wide range of multivitamin/mineral/trace element supplements are administered either systemically
or orally. Slow K is commonly used.
Unless the OTV examines dogs soon after the dogs leave the catching pen "hypoxic" dogs may go
undetected. Many trainers aware that their dogs are ataxic will go to great lengths to disguise the
symptoms- eg carry the dog by the neck/collar into the wash bay and/or keep the dog still until it
returns to normal. Some will hide their dogs from the view of the sterwards or OTV.As OTV's we need to
be vigilant.
Our Stewards will not entertain the use of oxygen post race as they feel these dogs should not race.
There may be public or RSPCA or animal welfare group outcries if it was known that these dogs needed
medical treatment after every race.
We should also be aware of our post race treatment policies.
How can we justify saying the winner or place getter in that race couldnt be presented to the dias
because it was undergoing medical treatment?
"Hypoxic" dogs may have an underlying cardiovascular disorder as a contributing factor. We should
perform ECG's on "hypoxic" dogs before,immediately after and perhaps well after or before racing.
As we in WA have introduced a policy on "hypoxia" trainers and owners,
Vets and Stewards are looking for ways to prevent this condition.
All suggestions such as intravenous injections or Calcium will be considered.
Dr B.
6/6/10
I no longer work as a regular race track vet but I feel that there was not an obvious hypoxic syndrome
on Victorian tracks at that time.
At present I do not have clients reporting distressed or hypoxic patients and only occasionally have
reports of thumps.
I always regarded thumps as a transient phase in a greyhounds preparation and resolved when the
fitness level improved.
This does not appear to be the case in Western Australia.
Like Barry I do not recommend a regular electrolyte supplement except for those grehounds that are
suffering from excessive thirst, post race.
I reccomend a potassium supplement daily and I strongly recommend potassium citrate as a urinary
alkinaliser pre and post race.
It is well recognised that urinary alkinalisers improve the alkaline buffer capacity in a variety of human
sprint and endurance athletes and the intense acidity generated by skeletal muscle activity along with the
myoglobin and associated muscle damage must cause some protein coagulation within the proximal
tubule of the kidney, these plaques could well be the seed for long term kidney damage that I am seeing
in many older breeding and gap dogs.
Many patients are on regular thyroid supplement, which I regard as low and abnormal. The academics
tell us there is nothing wrong with the thyroid gland by TSH response testing which I am prepared to
accept but I do beleive as a breed the greyhound has a weak hypothalmic output which is probably
further weakened by the stress of racing, so I feel justified in recommending a supplement to augment
the low T4 levels.
I reccomend a teaspoon of DCP daily for all dogs in work. I do not reccomend calcium rich supplements
such as calci d which has a ratio of calium to phosphorus of 10 to 1 compared to 2 to 1 in bone - the
original supplement.
I have seen a couple of dogs that had 'hypoxic syndrome' like symptoms for many months that went on
to have full epileptic fits post race. One many years ago was a very successful dog and had over a
hundred starts but had to be helped off the track post race.
Des
7/6/2010
Sounds like there is much room for research.
1) Are they hypoxic? I have done pulse oximetry pre and post race, and they do show reduced sat.pO2
to about 87-90%, so this fits with aerobic metabolism repairing the oxygen debt. Has any immediate
post-race workup been done in clinical cases? You must also consider hyperthermia (>39.5 C) and
hypoglycaemia as causes of ataxia.
2) Electrolyte levels - immediate post-race b/s show very little electrolyte disturbance, but a HUGE
bicarbonate deficit, and high
lactate. They are temporarily acidotic.
Richard
8/6/2010
Very interesting observations.
Post race what PO unit is used and how is the P/Ox unit used such that doesn't upset the dog post race?
Maybe we start mimicking the trotters. Bicarb may be more effective if a tolerable dose could be
devised although extreme levels do attract penalty in harness racing. Pot cit is used frequently yet is not
considered a
prohibited substance.
Tom
9/6/2010
the dose I use for potassium citrate is 75mg/kg which for a thirty kilo dog is half a teaspoon twice daily.
Des
12/6/2010
I used an infrared transcutaneous probe which measured both pulse rate and %age O2 saturation. I
placed this over the femoral artery at the inguinal region, or the branch that runs cranially over the
medial surface of the quadriceps. This gave a reading within 10-15 seconds.
Contact was either with a small dab of vegetable oil or water.
End expiratory pCO2 was measured using a capnograph attached to a standard box muzzle. This was
taped up to direct the air flow forwards.
The probe of the "sniffer" was fixed within the airflow. It was then a simple matter to place this over the
GH's head and get a measurement within 20-30 seconds with no effect on the normal panting post-race.
This was left in place whilst I fiddled with the pulse oximeter head.
Bicarbonate has no effect on monogastric exercise parameters. This has been studied. The bicarb just
reacts with stomach acid to produce CO2. **Burp**
The idea behind citrate is to provide an alternative energy source. Saturated fats are a better source.
Richard
12/6/2010
Most state horse racing authorites in Australia tend to disagree with you about bicarbonate and last time
I checked horses were monogastric. The net effect of the bicarbonate is to increase the alkaline reserve
of the body, otherwise the billions that people spend every year on bicarbonates marketed as antacids
would be completely wasted. The use of sodium bicarbonate in the greyhound is not to be reccomended
because of lack of sweat glands and the overload of sodium leads to shedding of potassium which is very
likely to be a vital electrolyte in the muscle extracellular fluid probably as a trigger for increased
perfusion.
Des
5/7/2010
We had a dog win a 520m race here in Wanganui a few weeks ago. Broke 30sec (29.80) which is a very
good time for this track. Pulled up at the lure OK then collapsed & died. Witnesses said the respiration
just got slower & shallower until it stopped altogether-probably took less than 1-1.5 minutes. Is this
typical of what you expect to see in dogs dying of "post race distress?." This was an imported Australian
dog & the trainer reports that a litter sister did exactly the same within the last few months, after
winning a group race somewhere in Australia.
All comments gratefully received
Malcolm
6/7/2010
Personally I cant say that this is typical of say "hypoxia" . But after
having seen dogs with milder forms where they would collapse if not
supported by the handler (and that usually is 3-4 minutes after clearing the
catching pen) I can imagine this is the most severe form of post race
distress syndrome.
Last week I saw a dog collapse in the catching pen immediately after the
race and at first glance diagnosed "hypoxia". However this dog cramped
especially in both hind legs but the cramping muscles extended to the lumbar
area as well.
Another dog left the catching pen and was obviously cramped in one loin to
the effect of actually causing the dog to walk crab-like!
A very unusual cold snap has been experienced in Perth lately and I suspect
these dogs are not taking in enough water nor are they working hard enough
betweeen races.
Dr B
7/7/2010
Cold weather always increased the dogs energy demands and unless trainers
increase rugging and kennel warmth AND increase the fats and oils in the
dogs diets (i.e. energy supplements) the dogs tend to lose weight and do
suffer metabolic problems such as pu/pd and cramping.
I would NOT be inclined to increase their work load at all. Rather the
reverse is to be considered.
USG should be monitored and if it is consistently less than 1.025, both work
load and energy intake must be modified.
Ray
6/7/2010
ordered a PM which I did after the meeting.Took samples of liver,lung, heart & kidney.Nothing abnormal
in heart; liver & kidney markedly congested & lung showed evidence of "mild anthracosis-relatively
common in urban dogs & generally of no clinical significance."
I can fax the full lab report to anyone who may be interested.
Malcolm.
7/7/2010
From the sudden death survey in the UK, we are finding that death within a few minutes of stopping at
the pickup are unrevealing on PM, and have been put down to some cardiac event (either metabolic or
electrical).
Was it pale or cyanotic?
Was the dog bumped at all during the race?
Richard
8/7/2010
thought that the symptoms being described were reminiscent of various forms of Chastek Disease.
Has anyone looked into the diet of these greyhounds to see if the Thiamine might be being destroyed
totally or partially by Sodium Metabisulphite or other preservative ? - or by cooking the meal in the cold
weather ?
There might be some benefit in obtaining steward's permission to take a blood sample - granted a postrace sample incorporating some difficulty in interpretation - but the haematology & serum biochemistry
just might be revealing ?
Dr. Jim Gannon - BVSc ; FACVSc ; MRCVS
11/7/2010
Couldn't agree with you more. It's got to be all about available kilojules / calories and fats are the best
way to supply them. Not only are they worth 2 x the value of protien or carbs, but they produce
'metabolic' water as a by product of metabolism. Most of my trainers used a measureable quantity of
lard and monitored the dogs weight. Urine s.g. is of value but some dogs have chronically low s.g. and
may need intermittent use of vasopressin plus increased fats. I guess I have been preaching this for 40
years, and our constant reference to the horse mystifies me. I own horses, mine eat grass. I own two
Italian Greyhounds, they rarely eaty grass, but they do eat meat! How the devil can we compare one
with the other, to my way of thinking they are both athletes, but with very different fuels.
Harry
16/7/2010
One of my discoveries as a middle distance runner in Ireland many moons ago, was how CRITICAL a
proper warm up prior to racing is in cold weather. Our coach drummed into us that the minimum was 10
minutes of jogging stretching and sprinting. I discovered the truth of it when one day after a two hour
drive to a race meeting we had insufficient time to warm up - result dead legs & cramps. Greyhound
trainers do not warm dogs up any where near enough, most time in the parade ring is spent watching
the last race or talking and most dogs have spent 2-5 hours confined in trailers or kennels.
Jane
19/7/2010
I agree on increasing fats & oils, there has been lots of nutritional work on sled dogs in North America &
there is good evidence that dogs utilise fats more efficiently than humans, even for short distance
running. Sled dogs run on diets of 60% fat and increasing carbohydrates & reducing fats has been shown
to reduce performance. Most greyhounds are probably on fat deficeint diets as many trainers seem to
have a phobia of feeding fat ; for years I have fed 100-150 grams lard or fat trims per dog daily and as
others have pointed out, fat can be a source of metablisable water so it prevents the chronic
dehydration seen in so many racers. Feeding more fat can also improve stamina ie. increase the distance
a dog can comfortably run over, eg. change a struggling 450 metre dog to a comfortable 520 metre dog
if the training programme is concurrently modified to include more half pace /jogging work.
Although modern dogs are now classified as omnivores rather than strict carnivores, probably as a result
of 12,000 years scavenging around human settlements, and their feral cousins (foxes in this part of the
world) consume grapes, figs & mulberries(personal observation) I have never seen a dog willingly eat
grain unless it has been freshly processed & delivered from the back end of a herbivore, yet cereals form
the bulk of most processed foods. Butchers throw out tonnes of fat trims so they are readily available &
free or cheap, so encourage trainers to feed them in place of grain. It only takes a little juggling of food
weights to maintain dogs racing weight
Does anyone still advocate biling out dogs? Logic suggests that if a dog is accumulating bile it must be a
result of insufficient stimulation of bile secretion due to fat deficient diet - solution - feed more fat.
Some background reading if anyone is interested;
Am J Clin Nutr. 1977 Mar ;30 (3):419-30 842493 Cit:17
Hematological and metabolic responses to training in racing sled dogs fed diets containing medium, low,
or zero carbohydrate.
D S Kronfeld, E P Hammel, C F Ramberg, H L Dunlap
Biochemical and Metabolic Changes due to Exercise in Sprint-Racing Sled dogs; Implications for post
exercise Carbohydrate supplements and Hydration management.
Joseph J. Washlag, Kimberl;y Sneddon, Arleigh J. Reynolds
Veterinary Therapeutics, Vol 5 (1) Spring 2004
Jane