Recharging Your Dog’s Batteries: A Guide to Cellular Energy

Fall is here, and I keep hearing the same thing. People tell me they feel a little tired, as if hibernation is coming. Some say their dogs are sleeping more too. I feel kind of the same. My mornings are lazier and I would love to just cuddle up with Pax on the sofa, and read a book. For the next few weeks, my plan is to talk about recharging your and your dog’s batteries. Everyone wants good energy. We want to feel happy and rested without needing four coffees a day. We all know what comes after drinking too much coffee. The crash. So buckle your seatbelts. Here we go: Have you ever wondered why two dogs of the same breed and the same age can be so different? One bounces back from a long hike by the next morning. The other needs two days on the couch. One shrugs off an illness. The other struggles. A big part of the answer is metabolism, or how well each body turns food into energy, and how it's used. Here is how it works, in plain words. When your dog eats, the body breaks food down into its smallest pieces. Carbohydrates become glucose. Fats become fatty acids. Proteins become amino acids. All of these roads lead to the same place: the mitochondria. Inside the mitochondria runs s...