A canine model to evaluate the effect of exercise intensity and duration on olfactory detection limits: the running nose.

Detection canines serve critical roles to support the military, homeland security and border protection. Some explosive detection tasks are physically demanding for dogs, and prior research suggests this can lead to a reduction in olfactory detection sensitivity. To further evaluate the effect of exercise intensity on olfactory sensitivity, we developed a novel olfactory paradigm that allowed us to measure olfactory detection thresholds while dogs exercised on a treadmill at two different exercise intensities. Dogs (n = 3) showed a decrement in olfactory detection for 1-bromooctane at 10-3 (v/v) dilutions and lower under greater exercise intensity. Dogs' hit rate for the lowest concentration dropped from 0.87 ± 0.04 when walking at low intensity to below 0.45 ± 0.06 when trotting at moderate intensity. This decline had an interaction with the duration of the session in moderate intensity exercise, whereby dogs performed near 100% detection in the first 10 min of the 8 km/h session, but showed 0% detection after 20 min. Hit rates for high odor concentrations (10-2) were relatively stable at both low (1 ± 0.00) and moderate (0.91 ± 0.04) exercise intensities. The paradigm and apparatus developed here may be useful to help further understand causes of operationally relevant olfactory detection threshold decline in dogs.

Rehabilitation to Return-to-Work for Working Dogs.

This article highlights the differences between working dog careers, unique protocols associated with health care of a working dog and provides a practical guide to creating and managing a return-to-work program. The rehabilitative approach to a working dog consists of four distinct sequential phases: activity restriction, rehabilitation, return-to-work, and maintenance. The timeline through each phase is dependent on the degree of injury, treatment intervention, prior health status of the dog, and compliance of the handler. Return-to-work for a working dog is considered a success if the dog can perform all career-related activities safely and proficiently.

Functional measurement of canine muscular fitness: refinement and reliability of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center Sprint Test.

Working, sporting, and companion dogs require muscular fitness to perform their daily tasks, competitive activities, and operational functions effectively and with a low risk of injury. There are currently no methods to measure the muscular fitness of dogs who are not debilitated. Sprint performance is highly correlated with muscular fitness in humans, and various sprint assessments are used to measure performance for sporting and tactical athletes. The Penn Vet Working Dog Center Sprint Test (ST) is a 25 m maximal effort sprint from a down position and was developed to be a low-cost measure of muscular fitness suitable for field use. The purpose of this project was to describe the refinements to the ST, detail the performance and measurement protocol, evaluate the measurement inter-rater and intra-rater reliability, characterize the acceleration profile, and explore the inter-day reliability. Both naïve and experienced raters demonstrated excellent intra-rater and inter-rater reliability. The acceleration profile of the dogs in this study was similar to that of average adult human sprinters and demonstrated the role of muscular fitness in performance over this short distance. Finally, a small group of dogs showed moderate inter-day reliability and provided initial performance data to inform future studies. The ST appears to be a reliable measure of canine muscular fitness and could be used to assess performance in healthy dogs and guide the return to sport or work of debilitated dogs.

A Formalized Method to Acclimate Dogs to Voluntary Treadmill Locomotion at Various Speeds and Inclines.

The land treadmill is a multipurpose tool with a unique set of behavioral and physical benefits for training and assessing active dogs. Habituation to voluntary treadmill locomotion is crucial for training a dog or accurately assessing a dog's fitness on a treadmill. Therefore, a treadmill acclimation program was developed and evaluated with working dogs in training or working dogs performing detection research. Seven of eight naive dogs became acclimated to the treadmill using the protocol developed. Two previously experienced dogs successfully conducted an acclimation assessment to test for habituation to the treadmill. A muscle soreness protocol was created to evaluate the soreness developed during the acclimation program. This detailed protocol was successful in acclimating dogs to the treadmill at various safe speeds and inclines.

Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation in Working Dogs.

Canine sports medicine and rehabilitation recently have evolved to embody the optimization of performance, injury prevention, and mitigation of musculoskeletal degeneration. This article discusses the diverse factors and considerations of working dog wellness and injury prevention and the importance of recognizing normal and abnormal posture and anatomic structure for performance evaluation and early indication of musculoskeletal injury. The importance of a canine physical fitness program is highlighted and the need for a 4-phase recovery plan to determine if a working dog can safely return to work after injury discussed.

Expert Perspectives on the Performance of Explosive Detection Canines: Operational Requirements.

Explosive detection canines (EDC) play an important role in protecting people and property. The utilization of and research on EDCs is often based on personal experience or incomplete knowledge. EDC practitioners (handlers, trainers, and leaders) possess the institutional knowledge necessary to understand EDC operational requirements. This study utilized a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews of EDC experts (n = 17) from across the employment spectrum. The interviews elicited EDC expert perceptions of the performance of the EDC team and the operational requirements in the physical, climate, operational, and explosive odor environments. Analysis of the data revealed commonalities across all EDCs and utilization-specific differences. To be effective, the EDC team must function well on both ends of the leash, and the handler likely has the greatest impact on the EDC's performance. Common requirements include expectations to perform at a high level in a variety of manmade and natural physical environments and under a range of climate conditions. EDCs must work through the visual, olfactory, and auditory challenges of the operational environment and the countermeasure efforts of those utilizing explosive devices. Utilization-specific differences like patrol or assault training and utilization add additional requirements for some EDCs. The results of this study can be used to inform EDC selection, training, assessment, and deployment, and further research into EDC performance.

Expert Perspectives on the Performance of Explosive Detection Canines: Performance Degrading Factors.

The explosive detection canine (EDC) team is currently the best available mobile sensor capability in the fight against explosive threats. While the EDC can perform at a high level, the EDC team faces numerous factors during the search process that may degrade performance. Understanding these factors is key to effective selection, training, assessment, deployment, and operationalizable research. A systematic description of these factors is absent from the literature. This qualitative study leveraged the perspectives of expert EDC handlers, trainers, and leaders (n = 17) to determine the factors that degrade EDC performance. The participants revealed factors specific to utilization, the EDC team, and the physical, climate, operational, and explosive odor environments. Key results were the reality of performance degradation, the impact of the handler, and the importance of preparation. This study's results can help improve EDC selection, training, assessment, and deployment and further research into sustaining EDC performance.

The Penn Vet Working Dog Center Fit to Work Program: A Formalized Method for Assessing and Developing Foundational Canine Physical Fitness.

Fit to Work is a formalized working dog foundational physical fitness assessment and development program. The Penn Vet Working Dog Center developed this program to address the needs of working dog handlers, trainers, and programs for simple, effective, and efficient methods to develop and assess working dog physical fitness. Fit to Work focuses on the foundational fitness modalities of strength, stability, mobility, and proprioception. The Penn Vet Working Dog Center piloted and refined this program over 3 months in a closed population of 31 working dogs in training. Fit to Work consists of posture development and maintenance, warm-up and cool-down routines, training exercises, and assessment methods. To simplify implementation for dogs and personnel, the foundational training program incorporates a discrete number of exercises, standardized progression steps, defined criteria for progression, and a reduced emphasis on learned behaviors. Fit to Work also enables safe and progressive assessment of foundational fitness through a tiered and inexpensive process. Future research will focus on validation of training and assessment methods, development of assessment standards, and correlation of physical fitness with operational performance.

Impact of prior exercise on hamstring flexibility: a comparison of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation and static stretching.

Position stands from the American College of Sports Medicine and the Surgeon General site a need for strategies capable of enhancing the effectiveness of stretching on flexibility and joint range of motion. One strategy for enhancing flexibility that has received anecdotal support but lacks substantial experimental evidence is the impact of prior exercise. This study compared 5 minutes of static stretching and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) on hamstring flexibility performed with and without exercise. Forty undergraduate student-athletes participated in a repeated measure, counterbalanced experimental design. Within-group comparisons indicated that PNF resulted in a significant (p < 0.05) increase in flexibility after 60 minutes of exercise when compared with baseline (9.6%) and without exercise (7.8%). No differences were observed with static stretching across time. In addition, no differences were observed between the groups at any time point. Results demonstrated that PNF performed after exercise enhanced acute hamstring flexibility, and implementing a PNF stretching routine following exercise may augment current stretching practices among athletes.