Canine ProBalance is a super concentrated, fully balanced protein, fatty acid, vitamin and mineral supplement that also provides multiple specialty nutrients in support of a competent immune system, reduced inflammation, protection against free radical oxidation, to assist with normal digestion and utilization of nutrients, to aid in the nourishment and lubrication of joint cartilage and to protect eye, heart and brain function in dogs of all ages. ProBalance improves pet wellness, increases activity, maximizes performance, helps push back normal age related diseases, maintains physiological processes in a more youthful state and ultimately allows our canine friends to live a longer, healthier and more enjoyable life.
When is Canine ProBalance indicated?
ProBalance has been formulated to assist during life’s most common stressful periods such as weaning, growth, training, performance, hard work, reproduction, lactation, boarding, traveling, and when safe, effective weight control is indicated. In addition, ProBalance has clinically demonstrated its ability over the past 30 years to assist animals during illness, injury and surgical recovery.
Why ProBalance Works
ProBalance is able to accomplish all of this as a result of:
- Concentrated Nutritional Balance
- Unsurpassed Protein Quality
- Enhanced Amino Acid Profiles
- Exclusive use of proprietary and patented specialty ingredients
ProBalance contains multiple high quality protein sources that provide additional Arginine, Taurine, Carnitine and the Branch Chain Amino Acids (Isoleucine, Leucine and Valine) to provide an amino acid profile that assists in maintaining optimum health throughout life’s many stressful events and to facilitate rapid recovery following high activity, performance, illness, injury or disease.
ProBalance Research
Studies conducted at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University have demonstrated that using ProBalance following injury or surgery helps to positively influence nitrogen balance resulting in a decreased rate of skeletal muscle breakdown and weight loss, while providing an increase in both the rate and strength of wound healing.
Special Nutritional Needs of the Performance Athlete
Any dog that routinely trains for endurance, conditioning or strength should be considered an ProBalance dog. Examples include: police and military dogs; field trial and hunting breeds; show, racing, coursing, agility and sled dogs. Other examples may be less obvious. Dogs that accompany their owners on long daily runs or hike long trails with their athletic owners all require a higher level of protein and energy to be successful and remain healthy.
Active dogs competing in sports or those engaging in the physical and mental demands of service work burn more calories and have different energy needs than companion dogs. Performance-dog owners who want to keep their canine athletes in peak condition need to understand their dogs’ special nutritional needs.
It should be said that ultimate fitness cannot be achieved unless optimum health is present
Next to total body weight, activity is the second most important factor in determining dietary needs for a healthy pet. Often the lifestyle of the pet owner determines the activity level of their pet. The number of overweight dogs and cats today indicates that too few of us are adequately exercising our best friends resulting in human and pet health problems that could be avoided.
The various breeds and strains of dogs differ greatly in their degree and type of athletic ability. At one extreme are the sprinters such as Greyhounds and Whippets. At the other end of the spectrum are the endurance champions – northern sled dogs. In between is a full spectrum of working and sporting breeds.
Hard work requires extra nutrients for two purposes; first, fuel for the muscular activity and energy expenditure, and second, the energy loss due to stress. Larger food volumes are not conducive to better performance, thus performance dog nutrition must focus on providing diets and supplements that are both calorie and nutrient dense.
Calories come from the three primary food sources: proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Protein, preferably high-quality animal-based protein, provides more than just energy. Protein provides essential amino acids for muscle building, tissue repair, hormone synthesis, and other metabolic processes associated with high activity.
The Canine Athlete Presents a Big Nutritional Problem
An average dog weighing 55 pounds requires around 1500 calories per day for maintenance. If you feed a typical premium diet containing about 500 calories per cup you would need to feed 3 cups per day to fulfill their nutritional needs.
Compare that to the needs of a working dog. Imagine a 55 pound Siberian Husky that is about to begin the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, which involves running over a hundred miles a day for 10 days in temperatures that chill both the mind and spirit of both man and dog. Energy requirements can easily reach 10,000 calories per day. To meet this dog’s energy needs with a commercially prepared premium dog food one would need to feed 20 cups or 5-7 pounds of food a day – an amount that exceeds 10% of the dogs total body weight. To accomplish meeting such needs without putting the sled dog into unbelievable gastric pain…mushers have reversed the role of traditional feeding. They build their racing diet from highly concentrated protein and fat sources with the addition of a lot of concentrated supplements. When they occasionally add a little kibble it is usually done to satisfy endorsement contracts.
To put this into perspective…try feeding your 55 pound pet dog 7 times the normal volume of food and see how ready for action it will be.
Having worked with performance dog owners over the years, I can say this with utter certainty…in order to achieve ultimate performance you must feed a biologically appropriate, nutrient dense diet and utilize nutritional supplements to get the best results possible.
ProBalance Specialty Nutrients
ProBalance contains a proprietary protein blend (amino acid complex) along with a full complement of anti-oxidants known to be helpful to an animal’s ability to naturally defend itself against disease and reduce cellular damage from excessive free radical oxidation.
ProBalance also has a complete fatty acid profile including high EPA and DHA marine source Omega-3 fatty acids that serve as active modulators of numerous hormones and prostaglandins. In addition, ProBalance provides significant levels of phospholipids, which act as protective barriers for the cells of the body.
For the gastro-intestinal tract, ProBalance contains a proprietary enzyme blend accompanied by both Pre and Probiotics that help improve nutrient digestion and absorption while reducing the level of unwanted bacterial species that cause discomforting gas, toxins and disease.
ProBalance also contains a patented Type II Collagen that also provides natural Chondroitin and Hyaluronic Acid to help maintain the normal structure and function of healthy joint tissue without any unwanted side effects.
Finally, ProBalance offers the ability to enhance the daily diet of the dog in a highly palatable, easy to use powder.
Nutritional Concepts for Feeding the Ultimate Performance Dog:
- When increasing the fat content of the diet you must also balance it with higher levels of high biological protein. When doing so you create extra demands for riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid, which are precursors of the coenzymes involved in digestive oxidative processes.
- Most attempts to provide extra energy by increasing carbohydrate levels has led to a symptom called tying-up. This is where the large muscles of the hind legs become stiff, hard and painful.
- Sled dog owners have reported that when carbohydrate is fed above 10% their dog’s foot pads break down easier. Colon spasms from long distance running also occurs and results in rectal bleeding and anemia. In the event that carbohydrate is used at a rate of more than 10% of the diet additional thiamin should be supplemented.
- When additional fat is used to provide energy, additional biotin, choline and phospholipids should be supplemented. In order for fatty acids to be transported across cell membranes, additional L-Carnitine is required.
- Vitamin C is required for the synthesis of L-Carnitine. Exercise and stress have been shown to rapidly deplete the normal levels of vitamin C in the dog.
- Additional leucine, an amino acid that is essential for energy in the working muscle is required. Leucine oxidation accounts for about 5% of oxygen consumption in human muscle where, in the dog, it can reach 15%. The coenzymes involved in oxidative deamination of leucine in muscle are derived from biotin, pyridoxine and pantothenic acid. Leucine is one of the 10 essential amino acids of the dog, meaning it must be supplied in the diet.
- Several trace elements are required for hard work. Chromium is required for the action of insulin to facilitate glucose uptake by muscle cells. Iodine is incorporated into thyroxin. The rate of peripheral degradation of thyroxin is dependent on muscular activity. Selenium and vitamin E are required for cell membrane integrity, which is threatened mechanically and chemically during severe exercise.
- Iron is incorporated into three important oxygen carriers. Cytochrome is the terminal oxidative system in nearly all cells. Hemoglobin and myoglobin are essential for oxygen transport in the blood and muscle fibers.
- Zinc has also been shown to be essential for racing sled dogs.
Stress and Performance
Stress is a set of physiological changes that mimic the same responses a dog undergoes when the extra demand of performance is present. Up to a point, these responses can be beneficial (eustress). Beyond that point, the responses are regarded as disadvantageous or pathological (distress).
The responses involve a series of neural, endocrinologic and metabolic events. Stress stimulates the adrenal gland to secrete cortisone. Other hormones, notably glucagon and growth hormone, are released during stress.
Cortisone makes fuel available for muscle contraction along with several other beneficial actions. On the other hand, extra cortisone secretion over time suppresses immune competence and retards the production of red blood cells.
During stress, vitamin C is depleted progressively in the adrenal gland and in blood. The addition of vitamin C was shown to increase physical efficiency during heavy work.
Several nutrients have been shown in a variety of species to undergo typical changes during stress. Nutrient levels may become depleted in blood or other tissues. Urinary excretion may increase. These nutrients are known to be affected – protein, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, zinc, and vitamins A, E, C, niacin, thiamine and riboflavin. During stress, animals are likely to benefit from supplementary intakes of these nutrients, relative to the caloric intake.