Petfinder.com forums :: View topic - October 18th-24th Dog Nutrition with Linda Case!! [ ]

This month we are thrilled to welcome Linda Case from AutumnGold Consulting! Linda is here to answer your questions regarding canine nutrition.

Linda Case has an undergraduate degree in Animal Science from Cornell University and a Master of Science degree in canine/feline nutrition from the University of IL. She is the owner of AutumnGold Consulting (www.autumngoldconsulting.com) , which provides scientific writing and research support to companion animal companies and organizations. Linda coordinated the companion animal science program at the University of IL for 15 years, where she taught coursework in companion animal care, nutrition, behavior, and training. She is the author of four books, including “Canine and Feline Nutrition, A Resource for Companion Animal Professionals”, just released in its third edition (Elsevier, June, 2010). Through AutumnGold, Linda’s most recent project is the Dog Talk Project, a web-based program of dog owner surveys that studies relationships between people and their dogs, which includes a new survey about nutrition and feeding practices (www.dogtalkproject.com).

Welcome Linda!

Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 4:29 pm Post subject:

Hello- what type of diet would you recommend for dog who has had pancreatitis? I have a 75 lb shepherd mix who has thankfully recovered, but going forward I'm wondering what's the best thing to feed him?

Linda's Answer:

Greetings dre,

First, I am glad to hear that your dog has recovered nicely from pancreatitis. You do not say whether he had an acute form, but I am assuming that is the case, since acute pancreatitis is the most common manifestation of this disease in dogs. As I am sure you are aware, anorexia is often a long-term issue with pancreatitis because of the severe pain that occurs with an episode. Once a dog has recovered from all of the clinical signs of pancreatitis and is showing a normal appetite, a food that has reduced levels of dietary fat should be selected. Reduced fat is recommended because pancreatitis leads to severe impairment of the ability to digest fat and also because there is some evidence that a high fat meal (and dietary indiscretions) may be predisposing factors for pancreatitis in dogs. Therefore, reduced fat is advised with the intent of preventing another episode. If your dog is overweight, this is also a good time to work towards gradual weight reduction. The reduced fat diet will help with that as well, as it will have a lower energy density. A general rule of thumb for dogs who have recovered from pancreatitis is to select a food that contains 11 percent fat or less (dry matter basis). It may also be beneficial to select a food that has increased omega-3 fatty acids (particularly eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA) which can have some anti-inflammatory benefits. Although there is not any current research showing a benefit of omega-3 fatty acids specifically for dogs with pancreatitis, there is some evidence that they can help with GI diseases in general.

It is equally important to choose a food that includes high quality and highly digestible ingredients, especially protein. (This usually means an animal source protein). The overall digestibility of the diet should be greater than 90 percent, as the goal is to limit the stress on the pancreas for the need for digestive enzymes. Last, although this is typically a recommendation for pets with other types of inflammatory gastrointestinal disease, there is a general consensus that feeding a limited ingredient diet can benefit pets with GI disorders. This means finding a food that contains one (high quality) protein source and a single primary carbohydrate source. Luckily, there are now foods of this type available over the counter (at feed stores and pet supply stores, not in grocery stores), and there are also several veterinary prescription diets that meet these criteria. If you have trouble finding a reduced fat, high quality protein, highly digestible food, that preferably is single-source protein and carbohydrate, you may want to ask your veterinarian about prescribing the therapeutic diet that he or she uses for dogs with gastrointestinal disease.

I hope this is helpful to you – best of luck with your boy and I hope he does well for a long time to come!

Best,

Linda Case
Owner, AutumnGold Consulting (www.autumngoldconsulting.com)
The Dog Talk Project (www.dogtalkproject.com)

Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 11:11 pm Post subject:

I have a 14 year old dachshund who has low thyroid. He was found as a stray a few years ago and was nearly bald. He is on medication now and most of his hair has grown back, but his ears are dry and flaky without much hair. Could this be food related? He gets a fish oil capsule in his dinner every evening and eats a good quality food.

Linda's Answer:

Greetings Jeepsterhound,

The problem that you describe in your boy may still be related to his hypothyroidism, so the first thing that I would recommend is to have his thyroid levels rechecked if you have not done this within the last several months to make sure he does not need an adjustment in the levels of his replacement therapy.

If all if fine in terms of thyroxine levels, the lack of hair on his ears could be a problem called acanthosis nigricans. This occurs most commonly in Dachshunds, and is usually more severe than the problem that you describe. It is also typified by black pigment in affected areas, which I am not sure if you are seeing or not. However, it is possible that this is the underlying cause of the lack of hair on your dog’s ears. Nutritionally, it does not represent a nutrient deficiency or imbalance. However, some Dachshunds with this disorder respond favorably to supplementation with vitamin E. The dosage is 200 IUs per day; although this is much higher than the dog’s Vitamin E requirement, this level is safe and does not represent danger of toxicity. If you try this, you should allow one to two months to evaluate its effectiveness. Also, dogs with acanthosis nigricans also respond to corticosteroids (i.e. prednisolone), but these are associated with side effects and there is risk with long-term use. (If your dog’s ears are pruritic (itchy), a corticosteroid would reduce this).

Including fish oil capsule to your dog’s diet is fine as this provides an excellent source of the omega-3 fatty acid EPA, which can have anti-inflammatory effects. However, another approach to this is to feed a food that has an adjusted omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of less than 12:1. You may want to check the omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio of the food you are feeding. If it is high (> 12:1) it may contribute to some itchiness (if you are seeing this). If you switch to a food with increased omega-3 fatty acids, I would also recommend no longer including the fish oil to the diet to avoid over-supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids.

Last, if you are feeding a high quality food, this should not be due to a nutrient deficiency. The only deficiency that can cause the problem you describe is linoleic acid or zinc deficiency which are both extremely rare to almost non-existent in dogs today.

I hope this is helpful to you – enjoy your senior fellow – they are the best!

Linda

Linda Case
Owner, AutumnGold Consulting (www.autumngoldconsulting.com)
The Dog Talk Project (www.dogtalkproject.com)

Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2010 8:26 am Post subject:

My border collie mix eats high quality dry dog food. Even though he is brushed regularly, his coat has no shine. Is there something I can add to his diet that will improve its appearance?

Also, a question about dog food in general. I've noticed that many high quality dog foods now offer seafood and/or shellfish as a primary protein source. Is this a new nutritional development? Wouldn't a dog be more likely to be allergic to this protein?

Linda's Answer:

Hi Debby,

Whenever we hear that a dog is being fed a high quality food but his or her guardian is not happy with coat shine, the first thing to double-check is the possible presence of intestinal parasites. Two that may cause minimal or no intestinal signs, but that can affect coat quality over time are tapeworm and whipworm. So, you may want to do a fecal check just to eliminate a parasitic infection as the underlying cause. If these tests are negative (which, I suspect they will be), it is possible that even though your dog is getting a high quality food, it may not be a good match for his lifestyle or activity level. Since your boy is a BC, my thoughts immediately go to a highly active dog. And, if you are involved in a dog sport with him or if he receives a high level of daily exercise, feeding a normal maintenance food may not be the best food for him. Switching to a performance food that has its energy nutrient balance shifted towards increased fat and protein and away from soluble carbohydrate may be a better food for him (assuming you are currently feeding a maintenance food). While it is very unlikely that he is suffering from an overt essential fatty acid deficiency, he may benefit from a food that provides a bit higher level of fat and protein if he is a hard working dog.

Regarding fish in pet food; yes, innovative and new ingredients are popular lately in pet foods. In terms of allergies, fish as a protein source is no more allergenic than other proteins that are of sufficient molecular size. The problem of cutaneous adverse food reactions (allergies) is more one of exposure to the protein, the size of the protein (affects its antigenic potential), possibly some types of processing, and individual dog predispositions. Dogs can (and do) develop immunological adverse reactions to many types of protein, with the most common being beef, soy and dairy. Corn allergies are seen, but they are not as common as people believe them to be. These ingredients most commonly cause allergic reactions in dogs simply because they have been historically commonly included in many pet foods. One specific benefit to including certain types of fish (not shellfish) in dog foods is that they are also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, which have several health benefits.

I hope this was helpful to you – best wishes with your BC!

Linda

Owner, AutumnGold Consulting (www.autumngoldconsulting.com)

The Dog Talk Project (www.dogtalkproject.com)

Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2010 9:37 am Post subject:

Hi Linda! We received this question by email from one of our visitors:

"Allergy testing has revealed that my dog is allergic to beef, lamb and pork. The dog food that was recommended has bison as the primary protein. Why can my dog eat bison but not beef?"

Linda's Answer:

Greetings,

You do not say what type of allergy testing was conducted with your dog. If intradermal skin testing or serological testing (i.e. a blood test) were used to give you this information, it is important to realize that these tests have been shown to be unreliable in diagnosing food hypersensitivities in dogs. The standard method for identifying specific dietary antigens is quite prolonged and challenging. It involves first feeding an elimination diet containing single-source protein/carb combination that is novel to the dog; monitoring for up to 10 weeks for the elimination of signs; rechallenging with the original diet to confirm a diagnosis of adverse food reaction; and finally, testing with a series of specific protein sources (i.e. feeding) to identify the specific allergens. If this was the method that you used to identify these antigens, we can trust the results. However, if you did not use this approach and instead a skin or blood test was used, I would question whether or not these protein sources are really the cause of your dog’s symptoms because these tests are not reliable for food-related allergies and so should not be used for this type of diagnosis.

If you are certain about these allergens, feeding bison is considered to be a novel protein source for dogs as it has been used very infrequently in pet foods. However, that said, there is some evidence with poultry and chicken that some dogs who show an immunological reaction to chicken may also react to other types of poultry, such as duck. This has not been shown with ruminant species (i.e. beef cattle vs. bison), but it is certainly a reasonable concern. Perhaps, just to play it safe, a good approach for you is to try a food with a different novel protein source, such as chicken or duck, since your results for him do not include a reaction to poultry.

Good luck with your dog - I hope this information is helpful to you!

Best,

Linda

Linda Case
Owner, AutumnGold Consulting (www.autumngoldconsulting.com)
The Dog Talk Project (www.dogtalkproject.com)

Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 10:28 am Post subject:

I have a question about senior dog food. It seems like most are lower calorie than regular. I often have seniors who are more prone to being underweight than overweight. Is it better to give them regular food, lots of senior food, or supplement with canned?

Linda's Answer:

Hi Jeepsterhound,

Yes, you are correct that most foods that are formulated for senior dogs are moderately reduced in energy (calories). This is because most older dogs (not all, as you experience with some of your own dogs) have reduced energy needs and so are prone to overweight conditions. Because being overweight can contribute to or worsen several chronic problems that are common in our older pets, most companies reduce the calorie content of their senior dog products to help to keep older dogs at their optimal body weight.

When you have a senior dog who is having trouble maintaining optimal body condition, you can continue to feed a normal adult maintenance food, provided that food is of very high quality (especially high quality protein sources) and provided the dog does not have any specific health issues that would warrant a therapeutic diet. If your older gal or fellow has some arthritis problems, feeding a food that includes a joint protective agent such as glucosamine or chondroitin sulfate is a good choice. Protein level is not a concern for older dogs, unless they are in the later stages of kidney disease (in fact we now know that healthy seniors benefit from slightly higher protein levels, provided as high quality protein). If you cannot find a maintenance food that works well, it is also acceptable to supplement a senior food with a high quality canned food, as you mentioned. This will increase caloric density and still provide highly digestible nutrients. If you are finding that your older gal or guy is less interested in food or not eating enough, adding canned food can also help with increasing palatability. Feeding several small meals per day is also a good approach with dogs who may be finicky eaters. The only option I would probably not recommend is trying to feed amounts of a senior ration that are much higher than a normal amount for a given dog’s body size. When we attempt this, we can cause GI upsets because of overloading the gastrointestinal tract with too much volume of food. This can lead to increased “rate of passage” which essential decreases digestibility of the food and can lead to diarrhea and nutrient malabsorption.

This was a very good question – your dogs are very lucky to have such a dedicated and astute caretaker like you!

Best wishes,

Linda

Linda Case
Owner, AutumnGold Consulting (www.autumngoldconsulting.com)
The Dog Talk Project (www.dogtalkproject.com)

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