Pet Animal Nutrition

Energy: Protein, Fat & Carbohydrate are necessary substrates for production of energy in body for various metabolic r  and to provide body heat. 

Measuring Energy: 

1. Gross Energy: Total energy content of food is measured by bomb calorimetry.

2. DE = GE – FE

3. ME = DE – Urinary E

Influences on caloric requirement: 

1. Physiological State: - Relative to adult dog a growing up pup requires as much as 2-4 times more energy per pound body weight.

·         As pup approaches adult food caloric required for maintenance are reduced.

·         For reproducing female caloric requirement at end of gastation and during early lactation can be 2-4 times greater than that of adult maintenance requirement. 

2. Breed Differences: - Small breed dogs grow to a mature weight which is upto 30 times greater than birth weight.

    

   • Small breed dog category include mature wt less than 20 pounds
• Medium breed dog – 20-50 pounds
• Large breed dog – 50-100 pounds
• Giant breed dog – above 100 pounds
• Large, fast growing dog breed require less per pound food of body weight than small breed.
• To relate energy need to body size, energy standards for dog are usually established by body weight.
• Individual animal can vary diet according to their body weight or these standards.
• Dog, mature less than 20 pounds, requires approximately 50 Kcal ME/lb of body weight/day
• Dog mature below 20-50 lb requires approximately 30-40 cal ME/lb/day
• Dog mature greater than 50 lb requires 20-30 cal ME/lb/day

3. Enviornment & Activity: -

·         During hot weather energy need decreases and less food required.

·         During cold weather energy need increases and more food required to maintain body temperature.

·         During seasons of conditioning and hard work, individual dogs energy requirement will be more than maintenance. 

·         Hard working dog requires more energy / lb body weight during when they are training or working. 

·         Hard working dog includes – hunting dog, racing dog, sheep heirding dogs. 

·         Feeding increases calorie, nut dense food to dogs when they are not training or working could contribute excessive weight gain unless appropriate adjustment is done in ant of feed. 

·         Growing puppy require 2 times as much energy / unit body weight as adult dog of some breed. 

·         The newly weaned (4-6 weeks) dog can readily adopt to their level feeding particularly when food offered in multiple meals. However, on decreasing to 1.6 times maintenance is recommended when 40% of adult body weight is achieved and 1-2 times maintenance when 80% of adult weight is reached. This reduction compensates for decline in energy from weaning to adult age. 

·         Excessive nut intake from weaning to adolesence is incompetible with proper skelatal development because of maximum growth rates. 

·         Energy requirement of normal pregnant bitch are only slightly more than its maintenance requirement for first 2/3^rd of gastation. During last triamerter energy requirements may increase to as much as 150 –160 % of preconception values. 

·         Energy requirement during lactation increases greatly and are influenced by size of litter 

·         Bitches are with large litters require 3 or more time of maintenance energy. So foods of high nutrient are recommended for feeding this time.

ME Requirement/day 

Maintenance     – 132 Kcal/kg

Growing           – 264 Kcal/kg

Adolescence     – 200 Kcal/kg

Pregnancy        – 188 Kcal/kg

Lactation          – 470 Kcal/kg

Energy food requirements for dogs 

*Protein 

Essential nutrient serve functions in body like muscle growth tissue repair.

Enzyme, blood, immune function, hormone, energy.

Definition: - A group of amino acid linked to each other in different quantity and sequence.

*Precise combination of Amino Acid which is specific for protein of specific nature.

Dietary protein à Digested (Stomach, SI)à Free A.A. à absorbed in to blood stream à Distributed to cell of body utilized to build body protein.

20 A.A are present in nature and out of them 10 are essential for dog.

Essential Amino Acid: - Arginine, isoleucine, Lysine, Leucine, Histidine, Methionine, Tryptophan, Valine, Phenylalanine and Threonine.

Protein Requirement of Dogs: 

• Depends on life stage and activity of dog
• Pups require more dietary protein than adult
• Pups require – 20 – 25%
• Geriatric dogs require about 50% greater than younger adult dogs.

Protein Deficiency: 

Poor food intake, growth retardation, weight loss, subnormal concentration of body protein, muscle wasting, emaciation & death. 

In less severe deficiency – rough, dull hair coat, compromised function of immune system, poor milk production in reproducing bitches. 

Inadequate protein reserve: 

Appear healthy but susceptible to stresses and infection, susceptibility to toxic compound or cancer causing agents. 

During stress protein requirement increases. 

eg. dog 1600 kcal/lb of food atleast 21% protein (dry type dog food) recommended for reproduction.  

Hardworking dogs require higher level of calorie and fat. As calorie level increase, protein content in diet increase. 

Weight reduction (low calorie) diets formulated for sedentary dogs contain low fat, decrease calorie and decrease protein level. Increase % of crude fibre. This diet is not appropriate for young, growing, pups, pregnant, nursing. 

Source:

Animal and Plants: Most protein contain inadequate amount of A.A (one or more) and properly utilize as a sole source of meeting protein need except milk and egg protein.

Eg: Soybean meal and corn supplement is perfect because of definition of one source compensated by other source.

Plant Protein: Properly processed and well balanced à good for all phases dog’s life.

Protein Digestibility:

Factors affecting

1. Level of protein

2. Protein digestibility / availability

eg. 21% with 85% digestibility == 23% protein with 78% digestibility

With protein level, quality control during processing of pet food is important.

Excessive Protein:

• Extra protein metabolized and used for energy

• Unlike fat, excess protein is not stored in body

• Once demand is filled, protein goes to fat production.

Deficiency :

Decrease appetite, poor growth, weight loss , rough and dull hair coat.

Decrease immune function and reproductive performance

Decrease milk production.

Protein requirement per day

For maintenance 4.8 g/kg body weight

For growth 9.6 g/kg body weight

Recommended minimum dietary level of nutrients for dog in 100 g DM in commercial pet food

Protein – For dog –22g / 100g DM

• Lysine is 1^st limiting A.A in canine diet and should be added as synthetic lysine or Soybean meal.

• Methionine, Threnine, Isoleucine may be limiting A.A depending on diet.

• Protein Supplements – Soybean meal, cornglutan meal, meat and bone meal, & poultry byproduct meal

Cereal Product – very low digestibility (50%)

Animal Protein – Egg, meat, milk (95%)

About 15% good quality protein on DM basis (3.5 –4.0 Mcal/Kg DM) is adequate for dog’s diet to take care of E.A.A.

Carbohydrate

• Sugar, starch and dietary fiber

• Sugar – simplest Carbohydrate early digest and absorb

• Starch (complex Carbohydrate) – combination of sugar in long chain

• Dietary fibre – Carbohydrate do not digest completely

• Carbohydrate supplied in diet by cereal grains and simple sugar like glucose, sucrose (“table sugar), lactose (milk sugar).

• Primary site of Carbohydrate digestion is SI where complex form à simpler form

• In dog, Carbohydrate broken down & absorbed as glucose as a normal source of energy.

• Excessive Carbohydrate à Stored as glycogen in liver and muscle

à Converted in fats

• During fasting, stress and exercise: glycogen à Glucose & delivered to blood stream.

Functions:

• Provide Energy
• Digested by enzyme in SI or gut and in dog provide 40 – 50% of total energy in diet.
• Carbohydrate make 40-55% of dry diets.

Source: 

• Cereals – corn, oat, wheat, rice, barley.
• Milling Product – Corn gluten meal, oat meal, wheat middling, rice hulls.
• Milk Products – Dried skim milk, dried whey

Fibers: 

• Complex Carbohydrate, not digestible in SI of dog

• Partially degraded by normal micro flora of LI.

• Fibres are – Cellulose, hemicelluloses, Lignine, Pectine, gums, waxes, mucilage. Increase fibre, stronger cell wall.

Functions:

• Swell H₂O, have high H₂O holding capacity. Influence rate of passage in GIT.

• Increase dietary bulk, cause stomach distension, cause animal to eat lesser calorie.

• Slowing stomach empting , decrease diarrhea, increase constipation.

• Protection Mechanism – fiber binds with some toxins and prevent their absorption.

Excessive dietary fibers:

Adverse effect as production of loose stool volume and frequency decrease dietary calorie density.

Diabetes Mellitus:

Diseases of Carbohydrate metabolism resulting from inadequate insulin secretion from pancreases.

Increase thirst, increase appetite, weakness, weight loss, increase urination.

Managed by insulin therapy regulation of food intake & exercise

Carbohydrate Metabolism:

• Dietary Carbohydrate                     simple Carbohydrate

• Carbohydrate not completely digested cause GIT upset, gas production, and diarrhea.

• Deficiency of lactase require to break lactose.

• Ability to digest depend upon activity B-galactosidase in intestine

• Reported in adult dog with intake greater than 0.6 – 1 g lactose/kg body weight/day equivalent to 10-20 ml of milk / kg body weight.

Bitch Milk – 3.2 % lactose

Queen Milk – 4.9% lactose

Optimum Crude Fiber 

• Typical Crude Fiber level range from 2.5 –5%

• Level below 2.5% wd likely to impede normal bowel function.

• Recommended level of fibre

Dog - 3.5%

• Oat and Oat bran – Insoluble fibre

Soluble fibre à increase capacity to absorb H₂O à serve as source of ME (fermentation in colon)

• Short chain fatly acid, butyric acid – key source of energy for caloric epithelium

 Fat

• Concentrated from energy

• Compared to protein & Carbohydrate contain approx 2 ½ times the amount of energy /lb

• Dietary fat is made up of triglyceride.

• Fatly acid classified on basis of

1)      Length of chain

2)      Presence or absence of double bond

3)      No of double bond

4)      Position of double bond

5)      Melting point

• Saturated fats are solids but unsaturated fats are liquid in room temperature

• Fat digestion is more complex than Carbohydrate or protein. Healthy dog can digest fat with great efficiency approx 90-95%.

Requirement:

Dogs – Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) – Linoleic acid only

• Linoleic acid is primarily req to maintain normal skin and skin conditions.