If Chester and Gretel were riding in the Tour de France, K9 GoDog Sports Drink probably wouldn’t be. It’s like a performance enhancing drug….or something like that. Ha, ha.
This doggy sports drink was made for highly active dogs that participate in things like agility, Flyball, lure coursing, hunting or hunt tests. I discovered it while browsing online and bought some to try. I have always said that hiking is our flavor of agility and the energy expenditure is very similar to that of those other “performance sports” dogs. I don’t go hiking with my dogs without it.
This supplement is more than just a human sports drink reconfigured for dogs. Its designed specifically for the canine metabolism and features a proprietary blend of electrolytes, short-burst and long-range energy fuels, plus vital buffering agents that help neutralize performance-robbing, potentially-lethal lactic acid buildup. The drink claims to help keep your dog hydrated, increase endurance, increase oxygen delivery and increase safety and fun.
I can honestly say that this stuff is amazing (not that I would lie and say it’s amazing or anything)!
In previous articles I have suggested to add a splash of no, or very low, sodium beef or chicken broth to your dog’s water on a hike to get them to drink more. K9 GoDog has some kind of “meaty” flavor that Chester and Gretel love. The smell is subtle so I can’t tell you what flavor it is but they lap the stuff up as soon as I pour in their bowl. Sometimes they drink it right out of the water bottle.
I notice they have energy longer when they drink it. It is not just “power of suggestion” either. I always come from a place of skepticism when something makes such strong claims. I can’t say if all the “behind the scenes science stuff” is true but I have seen the pep in their step increase (or last longer), them stay more chipper and wide-eyed and them recover quicker (OK, THAT part might be “imagined” but I really feel they do).
This stuff is really easy to use. I bought the little packets and you just dump it into a standard sports bottle (about 20 oz.) and mix. I actually put more water in it than that to make it go farther and Chester and Gretel love it the same. I have put in about 30 oz of water and it seems to have the same effect.
The only thing is that you can’t share a water bottle with your dogs and will have to bring a separate one for them. That can make your pack a little heavier but it is WAY worth it.
The mix does have a tiny bit of an ick factor, at least to me. I am used to human sports drink powder that usually dissolves completely in water. This stuff doesn’t dissolve completely so you can see a bit of a “scum” on the top of the water when you put it in the bowl. That is not a “deal breaker” in my book though.
I would recommend this dog sports drink to anyone that hikes or does highly active sports with their dogs. I even use it if we are in a place that is super hot so they stay hydrated.
As soon as we run out I will definitely order more. I comes in a big canister too but I will continue to buy the packets because it is more convenient for us to hike and travel with.
You can find the company that makes K9 GoDog, Animal Naturals, on Facebook for more info.
Kristine says
July 6, 2012 at 4:15 AMHuh. I had no idea there even was such a thing! I am going to share this with my agility group and see if anyone else has heard of it before. It may be something we should look into trying as well. Thanks!
AdventureJess says
July 6, 2012 at 8:35 AMLet me know if they have heard of it and what they think. Inquiring minds want to know……. 🙂
houndstooth says
July 6, 2012 at 5:33 AMOh wow! This would be great for us for hiking, too, but more importantly, for Kuster when he’s out working. I worry about him staying hydrated when he’s out because he is very intense about his work and being solid black, he just sucks up the heat like a furnace. I’d never heard of this stuff, so thanks for sharing!
AdventureJess says
July 6, 2012 at 8:36 AMI know what you mean. When Chester is in the sun, his black fur gets so hot. Fortunately, most of the places we hike are under tree cover. Some are not though. I can only imagine how Kuster feels being out in the sun all day.
Crystal says
July 6, 2012 at 7:31 AMI used some of it after a friend bought some and let me try. I had numerical proof that it helped, since I was at a flyball tournament. Sunday afternoon is when the slowest times are normally posted for most dogs, after two full days of running. The times were much better with the GoDog than without it. Unfortunately, I keep forgetting to buy it again!
AdventureJess says
July 6, 2012 at 8:37 AMThat is great to know! You would think with those kind of results you wouldn’t forget. Ha, ha.
Roxy the traveling dog says
July 6, 2012 at 7:58 AMHmmm, that looks interesting. Roxy is getting older and could really use something like that.
AdventureJess says
July 6, 2012 at 8:38 AMI bet she would drink it right up. I am sure she gets real hot hiking in the desert…..with all that hair especially.
Roberta says
July 6, 2012 at 8:27 AMSent the post to two persons – my dog store owner and a woman who runs/walks dogs for a living. They may find it very interesting.
AdventureJess says
July 6, 2012 at 8:39 AMAwesome. Thanks. I am surprised how many people have not heard of this. I thought I was the only one behind the curve 🙂
Dachshund Nola and her mom says
July 6, 2012 at 8:47 AMWhat a cool product! I might have to get that for Nola when we start modified agility in a few mOnths
Nola’s mom
Montecristo Travels says
July 6, 2012 at 9:57 AMInterestign and thank you! We often go for 3-4 hour hikes in the woods or long walks in medieval towns accross Europe and have to say – energy is often an issue. We might just have to look into this. I already have my own water bottle so the ick factor will nto be a deal breaker either. I had no idea this stuff existed! and I DO agility training!
Scrappy says
July 6, 2012 at 4:10 PMWOW – who knew? I wonder if it would affect my pancreatitis?
Great info…I will pass it along!
AdventureJess says
July 6, 2012 at 4:41 PMI don’t know. I am not familiar with pancreatitis in dogs and what is on the no-no list for them.
Beth & 4Doxies says
July 6, 2012 at 6:26 PMGreat idea to make it flavored to appeal to them. I always worry about keeping the dogs hydrated, especially in our heat. Did you find this at BlogPaws?
AdventureJess says
July 6, 2012 at 6:29 PMNo. I found this about 6 months ago while I was surfing the internet. I forget what I was actually looking for at the time.
Sibyl says
July 6, 2012 at 8:12 PMI may have to try some of this since it gets quite hot down here in FL and Sasha gets so hot being a black and tan. It might be a good addition for us on our beach adventures!
Anne Craig says
July 7, 2012 at 8:05 AMFull of sugar, first ingredient is Glucose polymers, also D-ribose….look up the ingredients. Dogs do not need sugar. This is why we have an epidemic of diabetic dogs. This is junk, pure junk marketed to you, not for your dog.
AdventureJess says
July 7, 2012 at 8:15 AMThanks for the heads-up Anne. Usually I look at the ingredients closely and didn’t here. I would have assumed it contained some sugar though. Almost all sports drinks (dog – because there are some other kinds too – and human) do. Chester and Gretel only get it a maximum of once a week and it helps them in so many ways (like recovery and comfort) that I don’t feel this will be an issue for them. If you know of one that works as good as this and doesn’t contain sugar, please share.
AdventureJess says
July 7, 2012 at 8:26 AMI looked up all of the ingredients (they can be found here . The sugars are not sucrose, fructose, corn syrup or the like. It doesn’t say where the “long chain complex carbohydrates” come from though. I agree that dog’s don’t need sugar to fuel muscles like humans too but the longer chain carbohydrates are less harmful. The rest of the ingredients look awesome. If your dog is otherwise healthy, I don’t see how occasional use of this is going to hurt them. Like I said, it helps mine so much that any benefits outweigh the risks. If I am wrong, please educate me.
MNB says
July 5, 2014 at 1:59 PMFYI, this last comment is a little misleading. First, let me say that I’m always cynical too of things marketed “for dogs” that appeal to what we think of as being healthy for humans. Most of the commercial dog foods out there, for example – claiming that whole grains, or specific vegetables, make up for low-quality meat byproducts.
That being said, I have a background in medicine and nutrition and felt I should respond to this last comment. First, “glucose polymers” are not sugars. Glucose is. Glucose polymers are carbohydrates. Regardless, dogs DO need sugars. Every living creature does. Everything we eat (proteins/fats/carbs) are eventually broken down into and/or used to convert other nutrients to sugars, to maintain adequate blood sugar levels (which is depleted when we exercise). Diabetes can result if we constantly ingest “extra” sugar that we don’t need – so I wouldn’t suggest a product like this EXCEPT during vigorous and sustained exercise. But there’s no reason that if a dog’s energy is flagging and you need to keep pushing on, that a little sugar (and certainly the extra water) couldn’t be helpful.
I haven’t tried this yet, but I do dog sports with my dog and plan to. He’s a big dog who works hard – especially in the summer – and I’ve heard a lot of positive reviews of the results from friends.
Jessica @ YouDidWhatWithYourWeiner says
July 5, 2014 at 5:52 PMHi there. Thanks so much for your comment! The dog’s do or don’t need sugar thing is so confusing. Staunch raw feeders would claim that your dog doesn’t need any carbohydrates – that they get all of their energy from fat and protein. On the other end of the spectrum are those “junk” dog foods that you speak of that are full of carbs and bad sugars that claim to be “perfectly engineered nutrition” for your dog.
As far as the GoDog goes, I am glad to hear that glucose polymers are carbohydrates and not straight sugar. It wouldn’t have changed my mind about giving it to Chester and Gretel though because we only use it a few times a month and, as you said, during vigorous and sustained exercise. They recover so much faster after our hikes with it because they aren’t depleting all of their stores on the trail.
Please let me know how you like it!
snoopy@snoopysdogblog says
July 7, 2012 at 11:30 AMHi Jessica,
I’ve never heard of anything like this before……
Maybe when I’m a little older my Mum will need something for my energy levels, but right now she has to run with me every day to burn off my energy 🙂
I hope you’re having a fun day,
Your pal Snoopy 🙂
AdventureJess says
July 7, 2012 at 12:06 PMI don’t notice that it gives them extra energy. It just gives them more stamina – what they have lasts longer or if I can tell they are getting tired it peps them back up again.
Alfie |Alfie's Blog says
July 8, 2012 at 4:05 AMRooo – this sounds like really good stuff. My human says she’d be a little worried to give me an energy drink through as I’m such a high energy dog anyway but it sounds like a real good product for hot days! *waggy tail*
2 brwon dawgs says
July 9, 2012 at 5:39 PMInteresting. I have never heard of this product before.
AdventureJess says
July 9, 2012 at 8:35 PMIt’s funny. I have talked to NO ONE who has heard of it. I am surprised that even owners of athletic dogs haven’t.
Montecristo Travels says
July 13, 2012 at 8:27 AMI agree – I do agility and not a single one of us, or even the trainers and teachers knew about this! They have some marketing work to do!
AdventureJess says
July 13, 2012 at 8:59 AMApparently so. I am a little “new” when it comes to doggie sports nutrition. It makes me wonder if they haven’t heard of it because they marketing is bad or because it isn’t as good for dogs as I thought. If it was the latter I am sure you guys still would have heard of it….just had a bad opinion of it.