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BOULDER BROOK KENNEL BOX 1 MARKHAM, VA 22643
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FEED LESS FOR
BETTER HEALTH
LOWER HIP DYSPLASIA RATES
INCREASE LIFE
DELAY ARTHRITIS MANY YEARS
Boykin Spaniels are active energetic dogs who will hunt all day. This requires food for energy. But overfeeding a pup while he is growing can be disastrous.
The study below shows a reduction of hip dysplasia by feeding 25% less food starting at age 8 weeks. The limited feed group had 57% less hip dysplasia by one measurement method and 72% hip dysplasia reduction by second measurement method.
NOTE THIS APPLIES ONLY UNTIL
AGE 2 YEARS OLD. FEED NORMAL AMOUNTS
THEN.
PREVIOUSLY to 2003 I suggested
"Instead of feeding less quantity, you may be able to achieve the same
results by using a 20-21% protein food instead of a higher protein 26% puppy
food."
After years of recommending the
above feeding program, the manufacturers
of dog feed have caught up. Several
manufacturers have formulated a "LARGE DOG PUPPY" food for pups which
will be over 50-60 pounds at full growth.
This new formulation generally
has a lower fat level in the 10-12 % fat
range but maintains a higher protein amount of 26-28% protein. The lower fat reduces the calories and helps
keep the pups weight down. This should
reduce the hip stress from too much weight.
It is my feeling that this approach may be as effective as reducing the
food intake by 25% which in effect reduces the calorie amount, but also reduces the needed protein. This new formulation, by reducing the fat from 15-20% to 10-12%, is
essentially a direct reduction of caloric input, but now has the advantage
of protein remaining at the same
level.
Effects
of Limited Food consumption on the
Incidence of Hip Dysplasia in
Growing Dogs
By: Dr. Richard K. Kealy,
PhD, Ralston-Purina Company
Forty-eight 8-week old Labrador Retrievers were allotted to 2 groups of 24 dogs each; 1 group was fed ad libitum [ed.at ones pleasure or free feeding] and the other group was given 25% less of the same feed until the dogs were 2 years old. Radiography of the hip joints was done when the dogs were 30, 42, 54, 78, and 104 weeks old. Subluxation was measured by the Norberg angle on radiographs made with the dog in the standard (extended limb) position. Independent of age at which the radiography was done, there was less subluxation of the femoral heads in the limit-fed dogs. Using the Swedish method of hip joint evaluation on the same radiographs, it was found that fewer dogs on limited food intake had signs of hip dysplasia.
Radiographs done when dogs were 2 years old, for all the methods
used (Norberg angle, the OFA score, and the Swedish score), revealed less hip
dysplasia in the limit-fed dogs. Using the OFA method, 7 of the 24 limit-fed
dogs and 16 of the 24 ad libitum-fed dogs were diagnosed as having hip
dysplasia. Similarly, using the Swedish method, 5 of the 24 limit-fed dogs and
18 of the 24 ad libitum-fed dogs were diagnosed as having hip dysplasia. The
food-intake related differences were significant both for the OFA score and for
the Swedish score. There was a significant correlation between the Norberg
angle measured on the radiographs made with the dog in the standard position
when it was 30 weeks old and the result obtained when the dog was 2 years old
by the OFA and Swedish methods. The interrelationships of food intake and
genetics will be discussed. The role of early hip joint subluxation to later
osteoarthritis in those same joints will be covered.
The findings support the
clinical recommendation to avoid overfeeding of growing dogs, particularly in
breeds prone to canine hip dysplasia.
Food intake is an environmental
factor that may have a profound effect on development of osteoarthritis in
dogs. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2000;217:1678–1680)
The
control-fed group was fed ad libitum, and the diet-restricted group was fed 25%
less on a pairwise basis of the same diet for life. 41 of the 48 (85.4%)
dogs had a circumferential femoral head osteophyte (CFHO), which was
detected at a median age of 5.4 years, and 33 of those 41 (80.5%) developed
radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis. Nineteen (79.2%) dogs in the
diet-restricted group and 22 (91.7%) in the control-fed group had a CFHO at a
median age of 9 and 3 years, respectively. Of the dogs with a CFHO, 12 (63.2%)
in the diet-restricted group and 20 (90.0%) in the control-fed group developed
radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis characteristic of hip dysplasia at a
median age of 11 and 6.5 years, respectively. . (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2007;231:889-892)
Interpretation: Both groups had nearly the same rate of CFHO,
but CFHO was DELAYED 6 YEARS in the Diet
restricted group!!
Osteoarthritis occurred 5 years SOONER
in the ad-libetum group in dogs with CFHO
Results suggest that 25%
restriction in food intake for life increased median life span and
delayed the onset of signs of chronic disease in these Diet restricted dogs. The average age
(median) of death increased significantly for the restricted diet grouip. (J Am Vet Med Assoc
2002;220:1315–1320)
CONTACT BILL -
EMAIL: jwwiii@HOTMAIL.COM
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