9b Lifecycle Nutrition of Dogs 1 Flashcards
What kind of puppies are more premature at birth?
- large breed
- more susceptible to malnutrition
What are the 3 critical phases during first year of life?
- nursing phase
- weaning period
- post weaning period
What is the mortality rate during first week of life and why?
- 10-30%
- birth weight highly correlated to mortality because low nutrition intake
- daily weighing
Describe the body temp of puppies at birth.
- poikilothermic during first 3 weeks
- low level of body fat
- unable to regulate body temp
- bitch may push puppy away or neglect it with low skin temp
Describe the requirement for colostrum.
- secreted within 24-48h after birth
- high DM content: viscous and sticky, suckling difficult for weak puppies
- DM content decreases 12-24 hours after birth (protein decrease)
Describe the nutrient content of colostrum.
- twice as much protein as mature milk (IgG, whereas normal milk has IgA)
- high levels of Ca, Mg, P, Fe, Zn and Cu
- high in vitamin A (born blind)
- low lactose level (1% vs 3.4% of mature milk
- laxative effect (puppies unable to control defecation)
- growth factors stimulate intestine growth
How does colostrum affect the immune system?
- depend on passive transfer of immunoglobulins
- transplacental transfer only 5-10% of IgG
- drink within 24 hours before gut closure
Describe the composition of milk.
- supports normal growth of neonates (not too fast)
- composition does not change much during lactation
Describe the energy requirement during nursing period.
- energy requirement = energy for maintenance + growth
- huddle together for warmth (decreases energy requirement during first week of life)
- puppies with lower birth weight consume same amount of milk
Describe the protein requirement during the nursing period.
- met with ingestion of adequate amounts f milk
- protein digestibility of milk up to 99% (nitrogen retention in first week 99% reflects high degree of anabolism)
- rich in arginine, lysine and branched chain amino acids
Describe the fat requirement during nursing period.
- fat reserves at birth very slow
- milk must contain a lot of fat = high energy
Describe the carb requirement during nursing period.
- primary carb lactose
- lactose readily digested after digestion (lactase high until 4 months of age, amylase low)
- lactose favours colonization of beneficial bacterial species (competitive exclusion of pathogenic bacteria)
Describe Ca and P requirement during nursing period.
- Ca and P sufficient in milk
- but calcification of skeleton does not keep pace with increase in body size until after weaning
Describe iron requirement during nursing.
- accumulation of Fe in liver during last week of pregnancy
- during first 3-4 weeks, body iron stores, hematocrit and hemoglobin values decrease below levels at birth
- milk poor source of iron
- additional food with Fe ASAP
- Fe stores normalize at 4 months
Describe how weaning occurs.
- restriction of food intake 1-2 days before weaning (less nutrients available for milk production and reduction of mammary gland engorgement)
- no food at weaning
- restriction of food 1-2 days after weaning
What are the advantages of puppies eating solid food?
- less reliance on bitch
- less nutritional burden of bitch
- less iron deficiency
When do puppies start to eat solid food?
- 3-4 weeks of age
- when deciduous teeth begin to erupt
- eat small amount of bitch’s fppd
What is gruel?
- blend moist weaning puppy food with warm water or milk replacer
- high in nutrients
- very digestible
- 25-30% DM highly digestible protein
What should happen at 6-7 weeks of age?
- puppies interest in solid food increases
- water content in gruel can be reduced
- weaning complete
What are the feeding goals of growing dogs?
- optimize growth
- minimize obesity
- minimize development of orthopaedic disease
Describe the energy requirements post weaning?
- maintenance + growth
- growth rate high in first weeks after weaning
- gradually, growth rate reaches plateau
How do the growth curves of different breeds of dogs differ?
- small and medium breeds achieve adult body weight faster than large breed dogs
- giant breeds can take up to 2 years to mature
What is the MER equation for puppies
130 x BW^0.75
What is important to take into consideration with large breed puppies?
- optimal not maximal growth is important factor for proper skeletal development
- excessive energy intake impairs endochondral bone formation
Describe protein requirement post weaning.
- follows pattern comparable to energy requirement
Describe the fat requirement post weaning.
suckling period >post weaning > adult maintenance
Describe the Ca and P requirement post weaning
- greatest needs during active formation of bones and teeth
- Ca homeostatic mechanisms less precise in puppies
- Ca:P 1:1
What can calcium deficiency do in growing dogs?
- nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism
- large and giant breed puppies more at risk
What can calcium excess do in growing dogs?
- large increase in bone mineral content can lead to osteochondrosis, radius curvus, stunted growth, decreased bone turnover, increased bone mineral content
- restricted in large and giant breed puppies
What may happen if puppies eat food with low energy density and digestibility?
- puppies must eat large quantities of food
- increases risk of flatulence, vomiting, diarrhea, appearance of pot belly
- therefore, puppy food more digestible
