External Rhabdomyolysis - Acidosis

[Guest maggiemay]

The below excerpt was published in our local group's newsletter recently, as an explanation for why playgroups are cancelled on hot days. I think a heat rule is a good idea in general, but was curious as to how common this condition is in retired hounds? Thanks.

 

Following on from last newsletter’s informa-

tion about the Heat Policy, it seems fitting to

include information on a condition known as

Acidosis. The following information has been

summarized and paraphrased from Care of

the Retired and Racing Greyhound and a

Vetsearch International article Acidosis Alert.

 

The technical term is actually Exertional

Rhabdomyolysis and it is primarily a meta-

bolic disease of healthy, young athletes. It is

also recognized in horses and humans, in

retired greyhounds that are excessively exer-

cised without being properly conditioned or in

greyhounds that escape from the owners

and run to exhaustion.

 

Certain environmental and managerial cir-

cumstances seem to predispose greyhounds

to “Acidosis”. These are:

♦ A lack of physical fitness in relationship to

exercise load

♦ The tendency of more highly strung grey-

hounds to become tense and excitable

prior to running

♦ Hot or humid climactic conditions during

travelling and exercise

♦ Excessive frequency of exercising in an

otherwise physically fit greyhound

♦ A low potassium content in the body

 

It is apparent that the origins of condition has

many contributing factors with the same end

result of varying degrees of muscle cell

leakage or even death.

 

Muscle groups may appear swollen and

tense and the dog finds it painful to

change position and move around. Mus-

cle protein may leak from muscles into

the urine giving it a red-brown appear-

ance. Dog do not have to be unfit to de-

velop acidosis. A fit dog raced or trained

excessively can also develop acidosis.

 

The condition can be arbitrarily subdivided

into three categories Hyperacute, Acute

and Subacute. While the following infor-

mation has been written predominantly for

racing greyhounds, the information about

environmental and managerial factors

applies equally to retired dogs.

 

Hyperacute Acidosis – this form tends

to be seen after an unfit dog is raced or

trialled. When an unfit greyhound is sub-

jected to excessive fast work there is an

enormous production of lactic acid in the

muscles. The intracellular buffers in the

muscle cell are unable to neutralise such

a large amount of lactic acid and acidosis

develops. In this situation the dog needs

to be treated with intravenous fluids and

electrolytes by a veterinarian.

 

Acute Acidosis – this form also follows a

race or trial. Greyhounds that are either

highly-strung or tense or racing under hot

and humid climatic conditions can de-

velop acute acidosis. These greyhounds

spend a lot of time barking and panting

and this can lead to loss of the electro-

lytes that buffer (neutralise) lactic acid.

The greyhound is primarily a non-

sweating animal and when the environ-

mental conditions are hot and humid it

has an increased difficulty in getting rid of

heat. A veterinarian should also treat

acute acidosis.

 

Subacute Acidosis - it is thought that

this form of less seen acidosis is due to a

deficiency in potassium that can develop

in greyhounds trialling or racing too fre-

quently. The immediate treatment is

aimed at minimising any damage to the

kidney from the myoglobin in the urine. It

is also important to keep the urine alka-

line. For this you can use Neutradex.

This is a special formulation of buffering

salts designed for use after racing to flush

the system and aid recovery.

 

Of course please remember that this in-

formation can never replace personal

veterinary attention. If you feel your grey-

hound may have a case of acidosis

please seek the services and opinions of

a qualified veterinarian.

 

 

 

[Guest KennelMom]

I don't know how common it is...the only anecdotal evidence I have is having been to lots of playgroups with lots of dogs over the years and I've never seen or heard of it happening. Even in the summer...though playgroups in the summer here are at night and with swimming pools or very early in the morning. Dogs are usually pretty good about self-regulating and not pushing too hard in a playgroup situation. I think you run into problems in events like lure coursing or amateur racing (or real racing) when a dog may be unfit and outrun their body because they have a "bunny" to chase. That always raises their intensity level. In lure coursing the runs are non-stop 800-1000+ yards (compared to a 650+/- in a greyhound race) and the dogs run it at least twice, sometimes 3 or 4 times in the course of a day. Obviously not something you want an unfit greyhound doing. But playgroup...usually not an issue that I've seen.

Edited May 11, 2009 by KennelMom

[Guest GreysAndMoreGreys]

I agree with Heather, the chances of a hound having this problem from Play group are pretty slim.

Even in race kennels you might have 2 or 3 hounds a year that "run their backs off" as it's called in the kennels

[Guest greytkidsmom]

It is not common as long as you exercise common sense.

There was a post about a year ago about an inactive dog who had been taken on a several-mile run on a warm day by a well-intentioned friend.

I don't think the outcome was very good for the dog.

 

 

 

 

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Would you think that it would at least be helpful in giving your hound a bannana or two before a summer playgroup? Just thinking the additional potassium would help. Thats what I used to do before I would lift weights in the military, it helped to keep the angry (craps) muscles at bay.

[Batmom]

Not likely to see that condition so much as you might see heat exhaustion and heat stroke, which can be fatal. You'd be more likely to see any of them amongst dogs who are very competitive about running and so forth; dogs who run a bit and then just hang out together, not so much.

[turbotaina]

It's not super common, but I do know of greyhounds who have had mild ER after play group or dog park time. None have required hospitalization and were fine with rest and fluids. We had one dog come off a haul in severe ER and die a few days later, in spite of intensive supportive care - his kidneys were shot.

 

So, keep your dogs fit and exercise common sense and you probably won't have any problems. Note that while hot, humid conditions may contribute to ER, they do not have to be present in order for ER to occur. The dog we pulled off the haul came to us in the middle of winter and heat was not a contributor at all. Dogs who have had ER may be prone to further attacks (which is what we think happened to the dog off our haul).

 

At a playgroup in warm conditions, I'd be much more concerned about heat exhaustion/heatstroke and malignant hyperthermia (stress/heat induced).