promoting ideal body weight. While an all life stages food provides optimal nutrition for puppies and hard- working adult dogs, they are not necessarily ideal for individual adult dogs or less active breeds.” Ultimately, a primary goal is to feed puppies to achieve ideal body condition as adult dogs, Dr. Cline says. The Purina Body Condition System, published in 1993, is a tool to help breeders and veterinarians evaluate an adult dog’s body fat mass on a 9-point scale. A dog in ideal body condition has palpable ribs without excess fat covering. The waist is observed behind the ribs when viewed from above, and the abdomen is tucked up when viewed from the side. Go to this link to view the Purina Body Condition System: https://www.purinainstitute.com/sites/default/ files/2023-09/body-condition-system-dog.pdf “While the body condition score system was developed for adult dogs, we can use this as a guide for puppies,” Dr. Cline says. “As puppies grow through the first year of life, we should keep them on track to have ideal body condition, especially as they are becoming more mature. You may follow the feeding guidelines on the pet food package in the beginning, but we want to adjust the calories as needed to make sure we are feeding to an ideal body condition score. “This also will help them be more successful at breeding when they are adult dogs. Stud dogs and brood females should be in ideal body condition for optimal reproductive health. Females in ideal body condition are more likely to achieve optimal conception, pregnancy, whelping and lactation.” Breeders generally transition puppies to an adult food around 1 year of age, though the timing varies depending on when the breed of dog or an individual dog reaches maturity. Toy- and small-breed dogs mature faster, and large- and giant-breed dogs tend to take longer to mature. Overfeeding large- and giant-breed puppies is partic- ularly concerning. If these large dogs grow too quickly, it could lead to developmental orthopedic diseases. Large- and giant-breeds should be fed targeted levels of calories and minerals to support a moderate growth rate throughout growth and development and even into adulthood, Dr. Cline says.
CAUTION NEEDED WHEN ADDING SUPPLEMENTS TO A COMPLETE & BALANCED PUPPY FOOD
In contrast, some toy- and small-breed dogs reach maturity before 1 year of age. Taking these puppies off a calorie-dense puppy food or all life stages food as they reach maturity to switch to an adult maintenance food may help them maintain ideal body condition, especially if they are experiencing excess body weight. “The good news is that as puppies grow and mature, you’re going to meet their nutritional needs whether you feed a puppy food or an all life stages food,” Dr. Cline says. “Keeping in mind the importance of feeding to ideal body weight will help set up puppies for optimal growth and a lifetime of good nutrition.” ■ Likewise, adding training treats or rewards could upset a dog food’s energy balance. “The goal of ideal body condition can be sidelined with too many treats,” Dr. Cline says. “Treats should be no more than 10 percent of a dog’s total caloric intake.” The nutritional risks associated with adding vitamins and minerals to a complete and balanced puppy food or all life stages food warrant caution. “When you add vitamins and minerals to a growth food, especially when supplementing with minerals, there are risks of throwing off the balance of the food,” Dr. Cline says. “There is no need to supplement a complete and balanced food with additional vitamins or minerals. Balanced diets provide the appropriate levels of nutrients that are crucial to get puppies off to a good start in life.” It is particularly important to avoid excess calcium in large and giant breeds. “More harm than good comes if large and giant breeds get too much calcium,” Dr. Cline says. “Increasing their dietary intake of calcium and altering the ratio of calcium to phos- phorus in the diet, which are important for bone development, puts these breeds at risk of develop- mental orthopedic diseases.”
Missouri Pet Breeders Association | Page 8
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