Clinical Evaluation of Exercise-Induced Physiological Changes in Military Working Dogs (MWDs) Resulting from the Use or Non-Use of Cooling Vests during Training in Moderately Hot Environments

Mila Benito; Diego Lozano; Francisco Miró

doi:10.3390/ani12182347

Clinical Evaluation of Exercise-Induced Physiological Changes in Military Working Dogs (MWDs) Resulting from the Use or Non-Use of Cooling Vests during Training in Moderately Hot Environments

Animals (Basel). 2022 Sep 8;12(18):2347. doi: 10.3390/ani12182347.

Authors

Mila Benito¹, Diego Lozano², Francisco Miró³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, CEU-Cardenal Herrera University, 46115 Valencia, Spain.
² Centro Militar de Veterinaria de la Defensa, 28024 Madrid, Spain.
³ Department of Comparative Anatomy and Pathology, University of Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain.

Abstract

Nose work with military working dogs (MWDs) in warmer-than-usual areas has led us to look for new tools to reduce both heat stress and the risk of heat stroke. One of the different strategies to manage heat stress is the use of cooling vests, such as those used in humans. The aim was to assess three cooling conditions (using two different cooling vests during exercise and the non-use of such garments) by measuring core body temperature, systemic blood pressure and pulse rate before and after the exercise (moment: four measurement times) in military dogs of the I Military Police Battalion (in Valencia, Spain). All dogs were evaluated under all three conditions during the three days of the study. Significant differences were observed between condition, moment, and the interaction of these two factors, in relation to core body temperature and pulse rate. Therefore, the use of an evaporative cooling vest may further be useful as a routine thermal control and conditioning measure in MWDs.

Keywords: canine sports medicine; cooling vests; military working dogs (MWDs).

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding. The author of reference has acquired the material from the different companies without prior communication, to preserve the transparency of the study.