Managing Gastrointestinal Health of Dogs in the Field: What Goes in - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Managing Gastrointestinal Health

• f Dogs in the Field:

What Goes in Must Come Out!

Erin Perry, MS PhD

Today’s Discussion

• Pet food in the news
• Nutritional decisions
• Deployment
• GI distress

K9 Charlie & K9 Calvary Hurricane Katrina

First things first…

• FDA Report

– 560 animals – 119 deaths

• DCM and BEG diets

What is DCM?

• Thinning of heart muscle

– Poor contractility – Compromised blood flow

• Dx echocardiogram
• Three types

– Diet associated taurine deficiency – Diet associated taurine normal – Genetic

• Boxers, Dobermans, Goldens

What is a BEG diet?

• B = Boutique

– Lack full time experts – Research vs Science

• E = Exotic

– Traditional meat sources – NRC guidelines – Market share

• G = Grain free

– Legumes

What is research?

• Scientific research

– Proposed plan (hypothesis) – Ethics review – Execution of experiment – Statistical analysis – Peer review – Publication of results

• Evidence (vs information)
• Social media experts

Evidence in the DCM issue

• Brands

– 16 brands (> 10 cases)

• Size matters

– Market share? – Large vs small

What about the grains?

• 90% Grain free

– Food allergies

• Dx requires elimination diet
• Environmental allergens

– Hensen et al., 2015

– Grain free ≠ low starch

• Resistant to degradation
• 93% legume products

– Microbial fermentation

• SCFA production

Are novel proteins an issue?

• Protein source
• Market share

– Chicken

• 113 cases

– Kangaroo

• 58 cases

Squid, kangaroo, alligator…what?

• Purchasing drivers
• Pets viewed as children
• Human diet trends
• Science vs marketing
• Emotion vs data

Who’s in charge?

• Regulation & enforcement
• Labeling
• Nutrition

Cracking the Code

• Brand & product name
• Net quantity
• Manufacturer/distributor
• Calorie content
• Nutritional adequacy
• Guaranteed analysis
• Ingredients
• Species
• Feeding directions

Nutritional Adequacy

• Feeding trial (3 types)

– Maintenance, Gestation/Lactation, Growth

• Required elements

– 8 healthy animals – 26 weeks (maintenance) – Continuous feeding – Weight – Bloodwork – Complete physical pre and post – 25% removal (non-nutritional reasons)

• Failure

– Nutritional deficiency/toxicity – Individual loss > 15% BW – Group mean loss 10% BW

Safety standards?

• Feeding trial

– 2%

• Formulated

– 87%

• Highly significant

– P < 0.0001

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Formulated Other Feeding Trial

Nutritional Decisions

• Evaluating information
• Scientific research

– Peer reviewed – Press bulletins

• Social media experts

How to choose?

• Who makes it?
• Scientific research (and publish)
• PhD nutritionists
• Feeding trials (not formulations)
• No marketing magic

Dietary needs assessment

• Evidence based decision
• WSAVA

– BCS – MCS – Calorie needs

What about raw?

• NOT recommended
• BARF diet microbiota

– E. coli & C. perfringens – Schmidt et al., 2018

• Public health risk

Why is it different in the field?

• FEMA
• Handler
• Evaluator
• Instructor
• Deployment experience
• Tornado
• Hurricane
• Wide area flooding

K9 Zorro Hurricane Matthew

GI health during deployment

• Unknown areas
• High stress
• Canine and handler
• Unpredictable conditions
• Hurry up and wait
• RIT
• Exposure hazards

What causes GI distress?

• Medical

– Parasite – Viral – Bacterial

• Dietary

– Indiscretion – Intolerance/allergy

• Stress
• Other

– Exposure

Medical

• Intolerance/Allergies

– Comprehensive diagnostics

• Parasites

– Coccidia, Giardia, Hookworms, other

• Foreign body

– tennis ball, clothing, corn cob, rocks

• Bacterial

– Salmonella, e. coli, c. perfringens

• Viral

– Parvo, Distemper, other

Corn cob removed from duodenum of 3 yo Malinois

Dietary

• Dietary

– Ingredients – Indiscretion – Malabsorptive – Genetic

K9 George CA wildfires

Dietary

• Indiscretion

– Garbage gut

• Food allergy

– Diagnostic process

• Product contamination

– Adulterated – Contaminated – Recall

Stress

• Chronic
• Acute
• Microflora impacted
• Probiotic use

– Inconsistent results

Stress of car travel

Stress

• Stability for microbes
• Stress causes disruption

– Travel

• Helicopter
• Commercial air
• Vehicle?

– Environmental change – Exertion – Dietary indiscretion – Water

Stress

• Multiple small meals
• Monitor hydration

– Heat exposure – 24 hr loose stool

• Resolve?

– Conditioned exposure

Deployment Exposure

• Self-grooming behavior
• Decon procedures

– Decision matrix

• Sewage

– Biohazard

• Industrial chemicals

– Petroleum based

• Blue green algae

K9 Zorro self-grooming Hurricane Matthew

What does it look like?

• Regurgitation
• Vomiting
• Loose stool
• Diarrhea

Fecal Score

• Color
• Consistency
• Blood, mucus
• Foreign material
• Diarrhea

– Scoring system – www.akc.org

Fasting & Binding

• Overall safety
• Monitor hydration
• Fasting

– Withhold food – Foreign body – Dietary contamination/adulteration

• Binders

– Pumpkin – Green beans – Psyllium

Time for veterinary intervention?

• Know your dog
• Other symptoms
• Duration
• Dehydration
• Other medical factors

Proper diagnostics

• Fecal scoring (pictures)

– Blood – Mucus – Parasites – Foreign body?

• Fecal exam
• Comprehensive medical
• Metronidazole

– See Dr. Jenkins

GI Physiology

• 4-5 x total body length
• Mouth to colon 8-10 hrs

– Diet – Frequency of meals – Reproductive status – Age – Hydration – STRESS!!!

Just another day at the office…

• High levels of physicality
• High levels of stress
• Intense work

– Frequency may change

FLTF1 canines preparing to hot load

What do they need?

• Water
• Protein
• Energy

– CHO, CP, Fat

• Vitamins & Minerals
• Nutrients vs ingredients
• Digestion

K9 Pic Memphis

Water

• Intake affected by

– Diet form (dry vs wet) – Exercise – Palatability

• Requirements affected by

– Health – Environment

• Heat and humidity

– Exertion

Protein

• Amino acids
• CP% = N x 6.25
• Data from sled & greyhounds
• Endurance vs sprint
• Animal vs plant sources
• Digestibility
• NRC

– 60 - 90g/1000 kcal

K9 Pic Joplin MO Tornado

Energy

• Fat

– Fatty acid composition – Impact on olfaction

• CHO

– Benefit if glycogen depletion – Fiber (soluble and insoluble)

• Impact defacation?
• Prebiotics impact microflora
• Protein
• Monitor BCS

How is it provided?

• Meat

– muscle

• Meat by products

– Muscle, organs, intestines, bone

• Poultry

– Backs & necks (with bone)

• Poultry by-products

– Poultry, organs, head, feet

– Rendered

• Meal

Diet impacts behavior

• DHA (fish, eggs, organ meat)
• aggression
• greater “trainability”

– Beagle puppies

• Microbes change brain structure
• Probiotics impact stress levels

Final thoughts…

• “Leadership is not about being in charge, it is about

taking care of the people in your charge.”

– Simon Sinek