Comments on: Nutrition in Large Breed Puppies

By: skeptvet

skeptvet — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 17:07:43 +0000

The various calorie restriction studies on large breed puppies used free choice feeding levels as the control and restricted the test group puppies to 60-75% of what they or the control puppies would eat if fed as much as they wanted. Theoretically, you could let your puppy free choice feed for a short period, say a week, and then restrict him to 75% of the amount he eats, but of course that’s going to change as he grows, so you would have to periodicallly repeat the experiment, which isn’t really practical.

The reason body condition is emphasized is that calculated calorie requirements are based on population averages, and they aren’t going to fit perfectly any individual dog. Age, breed, weight, neuter status, activity level, diet, and many other factors make such calculations no better than a rough guess. However, if you feed to achieve an optimal body condition, you are automatically feeding the appropriate amount to minimize the risk of developmental orthopedic problems because you only achieve that optimal body condition if you are feeding the right number of calories.

So the bottom line is to feed to an optimal (lean) body condition. As a very rough starting point, I usually tell owners to begin with about 25% less than the recommended quantity suggested by the manufacturer of the food they are feeding, but that is purely a guestimate with no scientific basis. Ultimately, the best results will come from closely monitoring the puppy’s body condition and adjusting the amount fed to maintain this.

Hope that helps!

By: Priscilla Hensel

Priscilla Hensel — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 03:18:21 +0000

Did Purina publish a way to calculate kcal needed by a giant puppy based on his weight? While the body condition system is fine, I would like to be able to calculate how many kcal to feed a growing Newfoundland puppy based on his weight (assuming it is ideal). I can’t find the information any more. Purina did a study with matched controls and the experimental puppy was fed 75% of whatever his control puppy ate. Since I won’t have a control puppy, of course, do you know how to calculate roughly what 75% of what a control puppy eats (given that he eats all that he wants) would be? Thanks.

By: skeptvet

skeptvet — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 19:13:53 +0000

Karla,

It can be tricky to identify the nutrient content of specific diets because there are many different ways to measure and report them. If your particular diet reports them on a “dry matter basis,” then the moisture content does have an impact. If the nutrient levels are reported on an “as fed” basis, then it has already been accounted for. Unfortunately, there is no reliable, consistent conversion factor you can use to translate from one to another. There are formulae out there, but they are not always reliable from food to food or measuring method to measuring method. For something like calcium, recommended levels are usually stated inmilligrams per kilogram of body weight per day (mg/kg/day), so ideally you should be able to calculate how many mg of calcium per cup or can you are feeding.

What I suggest is calling the manufactuers of the foods you are interested in and trying to get the numbers you need. It shouldn’t be this difficult, but iunfortunately it is.

By: Karla (mamaduck)Houst

Karla (mamaduck)Houst — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:27:09 +0000

Helpful – almost. I can see the studies have progressed a great deal, since protein is not such an issue.
Since pet food bags break up nutrition like human food is on boxes, percentages would be more helpful. The portion sizes should come close to making adjustments. I had read somewhere that 9-12% fat, 21-25% protein, and 1-1.7% calcium was ideal for lg breed pups. (I only found 2 of 50 in the stores containing those ratios, and the one I got my puppy HATES to eat).
There was something about moisture content being a factor, and oddly, a ‘low grade’ food my adult dog eats has all the right percentages, but also 18% moisture. I read that affects everything else (plus it has some grains that may not be ideal). The calicum is in that is 1%. How do I calculate the impact the moisture content has on everything else?
The info you gave to avoid supplements very helpful.

By: skeptvet

skeptvet — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:36:28 +0000

Art,

I agree, but I’m not sure what that has to do with this article. *?*

By: art malernee dvm

art malernee dvm — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:04:03 +0000

Cosequin® does not work.

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