Dog Feeding Mistakes: How an Imbalanced Diet Affects Bone & Joint Health

Dog Feed Guide

Feeding dogs is not a simple matter. Dogs are one of the most diverse animal species in the world. Thousands of years of evolution of the species of domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris L.), have resulted in the fact that nowadays there are hundreds of

Foods are produced that are adapted to the dog’s age, lifestyle, physical activity and breed size. Despite this, often the animal’s diet is inadequate balanced. The caregivers make the mistake of choosing a food that is not adapted to the age and size of the dog. A common problem, for example, is to give puppy food to adult dogs of small breeds, although representatives of these breeds reach maturity more quickly than large breed dogs.

Many orthopaedic diseases in dogs may be the result of improper nutrition during puppyhood (Lauten et al. 2002).

Deficiency or lack of certain nutrients in the diet that are important for bone development may have long-term effects in the future. Particular attention should be paid to the metabolism related to calcium absorption (Tryfonidou et al. 2003, Mack et al. 2015).

Excess dietary calcium is stored in the skeletal bones of growing puppies. Therefore, to avoid calcium overdose, an ideal calcium to phosphorus ratio of 1.2:1 should be maintained.

The calcium content in the food of large and giant breed dogs should be approximately 1%, and the phosphorus level should be approximately 0.8% in dry matter (Laflamme 2001, Villarreal et al. 2019). Moreover, puppies of large and giant breeds are genetically “programmed” to grow quickly (Lauten 2006).

However, too much body weight resulting from an inadequately balanced diet may put too much strain on the developing skeleton and lead to diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Overfeeding puppies may result in skeletal deformations, especially in large and giant breeds. Therefore, puppies should never be fed ad libitum and their body weight should be closely monitored.

A balanced diet during the puppy period is a key factor in the proper development of the body in many respects. At this stage of life, extremely intense growth and development takes place over a relatively short period of time. The feeding method is influenced by the breed pre-disposition, as dogs have different nutritional needs depending on the breed size.

The growth phase is shorter in small breeds – the transition from puppy food to adult food should take place at 10–12 months of age. In puppies of large breeds, the growth phase is extended, therefore puppy food should be given to them until 15–18 months of age, and in giant breed dogs – up to 24 months of age (Hołda and Głogowski 2016; Villarreal et al. 2019).

During the first 4–8 weeks of a dog’s life, digestive and metabolic changes occur to adapt the puppy to food other than milk, making it possible to wean the offspring from the mother.

Puppies acquire the ability to eat dry food at the age of 4–6 weeks. During this period, it is essential to ensure a diet that is complete in terms of energy and protein, but the most important thing is that the food is easily digestible. Boutigny et al. (2016) found that the growth rate of large breed puppies from large litters may be affected by insufficient maternal milk consumption.

While there is concern about the maximum growth rate of large and giant breed puppies in the post-weaning period (2 months to adulthood) as this could lead to orthopedic problems, it is doubtful that the same would be true for the suckling phase.

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Macronutrients 

The first, if not the most important nutrient necessary for the proper growth and development of a puppy is protein. The protein requirements of growing individuals are higher than that of adults because proteins are the building blocks of developing tissues during the growth pro-cess. The most valuable protein for a dog is always animal protein – the food should contain the most of it, if compared with vegetable protein. Growing dogs consume more energy as well as more food than adults, and they also consume more protein.

Digestibility is extremely important as the protein will not be used by the body if it is not completely digested and amino acids are not absorbed in the small intestine. The digestibility depends on the processing of the raw materials intended for animal consumption.

According to Weber et al. (2017), protein di-gestibility is higher in individuals of large breeds. The minimum recommended level (MRL) of protein varies depending on whether the puppy is in the early or late growth stage.If you want to reach the animal's protein requirement, you can always add protein sources such as bully sticks.

ENERGY

Apart from fat, the source of energy are also carbohydrates. However, their amounts should not be too high, because this may lead not only to obesity at the stage of development, but also to pancreatic dysfunction in later adulthood. Feeding a diet that is too calorically dense (high in fat) can make a pup grow faster than his bones can accommodate resulting in skeletal abnormalities.

Small breeds are characterized by a much faster metabolism, therefore the energy density of food intended for representatives of small breeds should be higher than of food for large breed dogs. Nevertheless, there are exceptions. The energy demand of Newfoundland is lower than that of the average dog, while in the case of Great Danes – the energy demand is greater (Dobenecker et al. 2013).

Too high energy content of food may contribute to the development of obesity. Obesity and related diseases are common problems in dogs, and poor feeding during development con-tributes to lifelong obesity problems. Assessing the right amount of food for a growing puppy is quite a challenge and it is essential to give a simple recommendation to the caregivers.

An important aspect is that small breed dogs gain weight and grow faster every day than rep-resentatives of large breeds (Schrank et al. 2020). On the other hand, puppies of large breeds have a greater growth intensity than smaller ones, i.e. in the same period they gain more weight per kg of body weight.

Dogs of large and giant breeds tend to hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, and osteochondro-sis, which lead to secondary osteoarthritis. All these skeletal diseases are favored by nutritional errors already in the period of their growth – e.g. the use of excess energy (mainly in the form of fat and carbohydrates), the development of obesity and incorrect calcium balance. An excess of nutrients leads to obesity, which has a direct impact on the formation of joints and limbs due to the increased stress on the joints. This can cause malformations in the joint, leading to con-ditions such as secondary osteoarthritis.

Dogs and vitamins

MINERALS AND VITAMINS

In addition to basic nutrients, minerals play an important role in the nutrition of dogs. Not only their number is important, but also their mutual proportions.

Slower weight gain is more benecial for the development of the skeletal system. Calcium and phosphorus are the two most important minerals for puppy’s growth. Puppy caregivers, espe-cially of large and giant breeds, pay great attention to the supply of calcium and phosphorus, as they are important in shaping the skeleton.

A diet low in phosphorus causes the renal excretion of phosphorus to decrease while the renal excretion of calcium increases signicantly. As a consequence, there are disturbances in appetite, growth, and the quality of the skin and hair. A diet low in phosphorus also contributes to disorders of the musculoskeletal system.

The aforementioned vitamin D is primarily responsible for maintaining calcium homeosta-sis, regulates the hormonal balance and inuences the immune response. Too low vitamin D levels are also associated with progressive kidney disease and secondary hyperparathyroidism (Parker et al. 2017). Excess dietary vitamin D can lead to hypercalcemia, causing lethargy, stiff gait, and polyuria (Mellanby et al. 2005).

With rapid development of large breed puppies, they may develop transient anemia due to iron deficiency. It can occur primarily when dietary intake does not meet the body’s needs. Con-sequently, the iron requirements are higher in puppies due to their rapid growth (Dzanis 1994; Naigamwalla et al. 2012).In puppies, zinc levels are also important due to the risk of zinc-responsive dermatosis, which is a rare skin disease.

CONCLUSION

However, the pet’s diet is not properly balanced, as the caregivers make the mistake of choosing a food that is unsuitable for the age and size of the dog. Furthermore, the current nutritional guidelines do not provide recommended minimum and maximum levels of nutrient based on the breed size of the dog. In general, the diet of puppies of large and giant breed dogs should be rich in high-value protein, while at the same time containing fat rich in valuable fatty acids, especially EPA and DHA.

Is believed that the Ca to P ratio for puppies of large breeds should be higher than for puppies of small breeds. It should be remembered that the correct amount of calcium in the diet is much more important than its ratio to phosphorus. Additional administration of supplements containing vitamins and minerals is not recommended, unless the veterinarian recommends otherwise.

An unbalanced diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies or excesses, with harmful health consequences, especially during growth.

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