Food Disorders

Before
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After

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This is an interesting case as our family has adopted Patch a Boerboel puppy a month ago. Patch was presented to the Vet because of his "floppy paws". As you can seein Photo 1 (shot by the breeder) both front and hind limbs were weak and the radio-carpal joints were almost touching the ground. He was the only one of the litter that presented this problem. Patch was born October 24th 2009. He was 5 months old when the Vet examined him for this condition, X-rays were also taken. The prognosis was poor so the breeder opted for euthanasia. As I was visting the practice (where Maxheath is available), the Doctor on duty asked me to check the X-rays and examine the puppy. My opinion was that Patch may have been fed a wrong diet and that we would adopt him, no further discussion was held.

After two week on only Maxhealth Junior Puppy, "floppy paws Patch" is standing tall and growing beautifully. Patch is now just over 6 months old (Photo 2).

Feeding large breed puppies is not an easy task as they have genetic differences in growth patterns compared to smaller breeds. They have a fast growth rate and the skeleton can be under stress resulting in malfomation including joint abnormalities. If large breeds dogs are overfed while growing they tend to have a high body weight for which bones, joints, ligaments and tendons are not suitably developed. Earlier studies have demonstrated that a higher protein level in the diet does not contribute to impaired bone and joint tissue growth (Nap, RC et. al. 1991). To the contrary some people still believe that the solution to the problem is to feed adult formulae because they have lower protein content. High energy diets (high fats contents) are not good for large breed puppies. Excessive calcium in the diet is also not indicated.

The environment, genetic background and diet may all play a role in developmental skeletal and joint disease. In Patch case because a diet change was so effective we can think of a previously wrong feeding strategy although the environment where he was kept may also have been in part responsible for his condition.

On the other hand overfeeding is also not right even if the energy density of the diet is optimal, keeping a relaxed feeding skedule may result in overweight. Maxhealth Puppy Juinior has a low fat content compared to most of the puppy diets available on the South African market and the Calcium to Phosphorus ratio is 1:1.3 (recommended 1:1 to 1:1.5). Smaller breeds are not at risk for developmental disease as the larger breeds. Although Maxhealth Puppy Junior has not been specifically formulated for large breeds the priciple on which it is based will make it a very good growing formula for all puppies.

This short note was partially extracted from Dr Jennifer Larsen comprehensive article: "Feeding large-breed puppies".

Focus on nutrition Vetlearn.com/May 2010/ Compendium: Continuning Education for Veterinarians

Nap RC, Hazewinkel HAW, Voorhout G, et. al. Growth and skeletal development in Great Dane pups fed different levels of protein intake. J Nutr 1991; 121: 107S-113S.

Signs frequently connected to food disorders

Red and watery eyes
Dull, dry and rough coat
Dandruff, patchy loss of hair
Foul skin odor
Constant scratching
Dry, moist, dorsal and ventral skin inflammation
Paw licking
Chronic inflammation of the ear/s
Excessive desire to eat grass
Halitosis (bad breath)
Blocked anal glands (resulting in scooting)
Severe summer itch

Excess of body fat (obesity)

From the theoretical point of view we are able to distinguish allergy from intolerance, the former being immune-mediated whilst the second is not. In practice this distinction is not obvious. Allergy and intolerance have similar appearance but the first may be easier to understand because lots of research has been and is currently being published and mechanisms of action proved. On the other hand intolerance is a more difficult field to investigate as the cause and the mechanism are not well understood, though, as mentioned before, the symptoms are similar. It is important to remember that true food allergy in dogs is very rare and does not affect more than 3% of presented cases. Itching can start at a very young age. Puppies may be itchy at 50-60 days of age, shortly after weaning (when the dog food is introduced). An intensive farming meat and animal by-products free diet control the itch. The presence of itching in puppies which did not have the time for sensitization, could lead to the hypothesis that indeed we are dealing with a non-allergic reaction.

This Boerboel puppy 4 months old presented lesions on the ventral thorax and abdomen (Photo 3 and 4) attributable to contact allergy or allergy to grass. Diet was changed, treatment provided but to no avail. The owner found the Maxhealth web site and then contacted the Maxhealth Vet. The diet was changed again, this time to Maxhealth, two weeks later the owner took more pictures of the lesions (Photo 5 and 6). The puppy is now doing well on the Maxhealth Puppy Junior formula.

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The Skin

Mostly affected because we believe that the animal uses it as a burner to try to eliminate these metabolites or residues and does this through an inflammatory process which ultimately is a healing process. Itching is just a low grade chemical stimulation of the same fibers which also start pain (very small, also known as C-fibers). So the dog reacts by scratching and subsequently there could be a secondary infection of the scratched areas. Bacteria normally live on the skin and a scratch/lesion can help them penetrate through it. The most familiar of these cases is called “hot spot” many of which are seen in practice (Top Photo).

The skin can be inflamed and itchy but can also present bold areas where the coat can be smelly, rough and dull.

The skin Photo 7 and 8
Benji 9 years old suffering from Pyoderma "hot spot", treated with antibiotics for five days, diet changed to Maxhealth. Photo 2 taken 3 weeks later.

Brandy's story

Brandy was adopted from the SPCA. She suffered from a terrible itchy skin and consequent skin pathology. This problem was more severe during summer. The owners (Mr and Mrs Shapiro) went as far as purchasing a tailor-made coat to protect Brandy from the contact with environmental allergens and to prevent the self-skin damage caused by continuous scratching (Photo 9). Brandy was also kept on steroid/antihistamine/antibiotic medications.

When I met Mrs Shapiro (November 2005) she told me about Brandy’s condition. Subsequently I did examine Brandy and decided that a change of diet was needed. She started eating Maxhealth and she enjoyed the new food immediately. She was still on medications and although some improvement was noted within the first month, it took a few more months to see an almost complete healing.

While personally delivering Maxhealth every month I could keep an eye on Brandy since November 2005, I was, and still am, impressed by the long- term effect of Maxhealth on her. She has never recurred once, the itch is gone and her condition is optimal. She is now over 13 years of age (Photo 10).

Jozy

Jozy was presented because of her chronic skin condition (Photo 11 and 12). After a basic clinical examination was conducted she was placed on a course of antibiotic for 10 days, bathed with a medicated shampoo twice a week for 3 weeks and steroids were administered for only 4 days, just to control the terrible itch she was experiencing. Finally her diet was changed to Maxhealth. After this initial treatment I did not see Jozy until one year later when she was presented with an upset tummy. Honestly I did not recognize her immediately, only near the end of the consultation I did ask the owner if she was the same Jozy that had been treated for a skin condition a year before and the diet then changed to Maxhealth. Well the owner confirmed that she was still eating Maxhealth and doing so well with it. I took few more pictures to confirm that we were dealing with the same dog as I could not believe the great condition she was showing (Photo 13 and 14).

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Ears

Inflammation: it is important to remember that the prevention of ear/s problems in dogs does not depend solely on cleanliness and application of detergent agents, but also on a correct diet that will allow the production of the ear wax to be controlled, avoiding a change in the auricular environment which leads to an excessive development of yeast (i.e. Malassezia spp) and pathogenic bacteria (Staphylococcus pseudo intermedius). The use of a diet with fish and their naturally present fish oils can provide just that.

Ear/s - Photo 15 and 16
Same patient as above photos, Benji Suffering also from a chronic ear problem (Top photo), treated after ear flushing with topical medication for 5 days and diet change. Photo 4 taken 3 weeks later

Spaniel

9 months old spaniel, note the ear, eye and skin. A case of food-related disorder which started at a young age (Photo 17).

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DANDRUFF

Common in sensitive dogs and although is not of clinical importance it may not be well tolerated by dog owners.

SEBORRHEA

Also common in dogs and the smell that is connected to it is very characteristic. By using special shampoos and the Maxhealth diet or the diet alone, both seborrhea and dandruff were significantly reduced and controlled in less than 3 weeks.

Dry and moist dermatitis, redness of the skin, eczema, erythema of the labial region

These are also common in sensitive dogs and just the change of diet to a “fish diet” will help with these sometime difficult skin problems. Sometimes we observe a particular area, namely the chin, which is affected by foruncolosis presenting a typical black (very sticky) exudate, this is noted particularly in young subjects.

Another common problem in sensitive dogs is the constant lacrimation (Photo 18) and "redness" of the eyes with matted hairs around the nasal cantus of the eyes particularly in the morning. This may be related to anatomical conformation of some breeds but in dogs with normal nasal conformation we can see excessive lacrimation which is treated but will reoccur after medication is withdrawn. A period of “fish diet” may be rewarding in such cases.

Rafael 1 year old, before (Photo 18) and after 3 weeks on Maxhealth (Photo 19), no treatment given, excessive lacrimation had ceased and the matted stained area was slowly disappearing.

Another very common problem seen in practice in the dog is anal glands impaction which results in “scooting” behaviour, believed to be caused by worms. We believe instead that this is connected to metabolites/residues in the food which cause the content of the glands to become dense and therefore capable of blocking the small duct through which the glands are normally expressed when stools are passed. In extreme cases we see abscesses and ulceration of the area which mean that the duct has been completely blocked.

Do dogs eat grass? Yes sometimes they do but what about an excessive grass eating behavior? Dogs do eat grass and then they do vomit but they are otherwise well, grass can also be found in stools. Sometimes the excessive desire to eat grass is associated to another common behavioral problem namely constant paw licking. This is a very frustrating problem for the dog and for the dog owner. The licking could be so severe that it causes a chronic skin lesion (called lacral lick dermatitis/granuloma) sometime connected to deep skin infection (Photo 5). Nothing seems to cure it and the final diagnosis may be a sort of obsessive compulsive-like disorders (as seen in humans) which has to be treated with “brain medications”. Some cases presented were “treated” with the Maxhealth diet only and the results were significant. We have no doubt that some of these cases (constant paw licking) are connected to food.

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Sasha, 7 years old suffering from chronic acral lick dermatitis/granuloma for more than a year. The condition was complicated by deep Pyoderma (Photo 20). Sasha also had a high fever, treated with antibiotics for one week, buster collar and diet changed to Maxhealth. Photo 21 was taken 3 weeks later. Our experience in this type of problem has shown that about 50% of the dogs do very well on the diet, therefore a simple dietary modification may be a reasonable first line of intervention

Excess of body fat

Excess of body fat is a common problem in companion animals. Up to 30% of dogs presented to vets are overweight. Dietary fats exceeding the requirements are stored as triglycerides in subcutaneous fat, in fat surrounding vital organs (i.e. heart and kidneys) and intestine. Excess of body fat has been linked to a variety of conditions including osteoarthritis (1), respiratory distress(2), hypertension (3) insulin intolerance (4), pancreatitis (5), decreased heat tolerance, insulin therapy failure (6), diabetes (7), increased risk of anesthetic complications (8). There is no doubt that most dog foods on the market contain to much fat which if associated with elevated environmental temperature and very little activity could easily accumulate causing obesity. Maxhealth fat content is low (6%) and none of it is of land animal origin. Although high dietary fat is not the only cause of obesity, a low fat diet will be always desiderable to prevent and reduce overweight and decrease hyperlipidemia (9).

1) Marshall W, Bockstahler B, Hulse D and Carmichael S. A review of osteoarthritis and obesity: current understanding of the relationship and benefit of obesity treatment and prevention in the dog. Vet Comp Orthop Traumatol 2009; 22: 339-45.

2) Bach JF, Rozanski EA, Bedenice D, et al. Association of expiratory airways dysfunction with marked obesity in healthy adult dogs. Am J Vet Res 2007; 68: 670-765.

3) Rocchini AP, Yang JQ, Smith MJ and Supiano MA. Serial changes in norepinephrine kinetics associated with feeding dogs a high fat diet Clin Hypertension (Greenwich) 2010; 12: 117-24.

4) Slavov E, Georgiev IP, Dzhelebov P, et al. High-fat feeding and staphylococcus intermedius infection impair beta cell function and insulin sensitivity in mongrel dogs. Vet Res Commun 2010; 34: 205-15.

5) Lem KY, Fosgate GT, Norby B and Steiner JM. Association between dietary factors and pancreatitis in dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2008; 233:1425-31.

6)Kolka CM, Harrison LN, Lottati M, et al. Diet-induced obesity prevents interstitial dispersion of insulin in skeletal muscle. Diabetes 2010; 59: 619

7) Lonut V, Liu H, Mooradian V, et al. Novel canine models of obese pre-diabetes and of mild type-2 diabetes. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Oct 20.

8) Weiss M. How does obesity affect residence time dispersion and the shape of drug disposition curves? Thiopental as an example. 2008; J Pharmacokinet Pharmacodyn 2008; 35: 325-36

9) Xenoulis PG and Steiner JM. Lipid metabolism and hyperlipidemia in dogs. Vet J; 2010: 183: 12-21.

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food disorders