Providing the correct amount of food to meet a puppy’s energy requirements is essential for ensuring a healthy growth rate and preventing under- or overweight conditions.
The food quantities recommended in puppy feeding guides are determined by calculating the energy (calorie) requirements of the puppy in relation to the calorie content of the food. This article summarises the findings of several studies that offer new insights into the energy needs of puppies – insights which GA has used to review and update its puppy feeding guides.
Energy requirements of puppies
Currently, the equation set out in the National Research Council (NRC, 2006) is widely used to estimate the energy requirements of puppies:
MER (kcal) = 130 × (actual BW0.75) × 3.2 × (e–0.87 × (actual BW/expected mature BW) – 0.1)
where BW denotes body weight (in kg) and e represents the base of the natural logarithm (approximately 2.718).
However, recent studies have demonstrated that the energy requirements calculated using this equation do not accurately reflect the actual energy intakes of puppies maintained at an ideal body condition during growth. These studies indicate that puppies of different breeds and sizes have varying energy needs – a factor not adequately accounted for by the aforementioned equation.
Dobenecker and colleagues first reported that beagle puppies (a medium-sized breed) had different energy intakes compared with Foxhound-Boxer-Ingelheim-Labrador cross-breed puppies (a large-sized breed) when grown in accordance with the recommended weight curves for their respective breeds. Moreover, the energy intakes of both breeds were substantially lower than those calculated by the NRC equation.
Additional studies have reported further differences in energy requirements among puppies of different sizes. For example, the energy intakes of both miniature schnauzer puppies (a medium-sized breed) and Yorkshire terrier puppies (a toy/small-sized breed) were significantly lower than those of Labrador puppies (a large-sized breed) during the period up to 29 weeks of age.
When compared with the energy requirements calculated using the NRC equation, the actual energy intake of Labrador puppies was found to be quite similar; in contrast, the NRC equation significantly overestimated the energy requirements of miniature schnauzer puppies between eight and fifteen weeks, Yorkshire terrier puppies between ten and twenty weeks, and Norfolk terrier puppies (a small-sized breed) between ten and fifty-two weeks.
In a study of privately owned puppies – as opposed to research colony dogs – covering a wide range of breeds and sizes, it was reported that the NRC equation tended to overestimate energy requirements by approximately 20 per cent in puppies below six months old. The study also found that energy intake increased significantly as the expected mature body weight increased and decreased significantly as the puppies aged.
Collectively, these studies indicate that the NRC equation is not ideal for calculating the energy requirements of puppies because, for many breeds and sizes, it would likely result in offering more food than is necessary. Overfeeding may lead to an accelerated growth rate that can compromise skeletal development, particularly in large breed puppies, and may also result in excessive weight gain or obesity – both of which are associated with adverse effects on a dog’s health and lifespan.
Energy requirements of puppies of different sizes/breeds
Many of the studies mentioned above have recommended that the NRC equation should be revised or that breed-specific equations for estimating the energy requirements of puppies should be developed. Although breed-specific equations may still be some way off, a team of veterinary nutritionists who analysed data from a wide variety of breeds and sizes of privately owned puppies during growth have provided recommendations for energy intakes based on different expected adult body weights and age categories.
They also identified a linear relationship between realised growth (the ratio of actual BW to expected mature BW) and metabolisable energy (ME) intake per kg BW0.75. From this relationship, they derived the following equation to calculate the energy intake for puppies grown in accordance with the recommendations:
ME intake (MJ) = (1.063 – 0.565 × [actual BW/expected mature BW]) × (actual BW0.75)
where BW is measured in kilograms.
Revised Feeding Guides For Puppies
As a responsible pet food manufacturer, we will continue to utilise such data on the differences in energy requirements among puppies with varying expected mature body weights to update our feeding guides. This should help ensure healthy growth rates while reducing the risk of puppies becoming underweight or overweight.
It is important to note that, even with these improved feeding guides based on the latest research findings, the suggested food quantities are not definitive. They should serve as a starting point and be adjusted as necessary – for example, increased slightly if the puppy is not gaining sufficient weight, or decreased slightly if the puppy gains weight too rapidly.
References
- National Research Council (2006) Nutrient requirements of dogs and cats. Washington, D.C., USA: National Academies Press.
- Dobenecker, B., Endres, V. and Kienzle, E. (2013) ‘Energy requirements of puppies of two different breeds for ideal growth from weaning to 28 weeks of age’, Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 97, pp. 190–196.
- Alexander, J., Colyer, A. and Morris, P. (2017) ‘Energy requirements for growth in the Yorkshire terrier’, Journal of Nutritional Science, 6, p. E26. doi:10.1017/jns.2017.26
- Brenten, T., Morris, P.J., Salt, C., Raila, J., Kohn, B., Brunnberg, L., Schweigert, F.J. and Zentek, J. (2014) ‘Energy intake, growth rate and body composition of young Labrador retrievers and miniature Schnauzers fed different dietary levels of vitamin A’, British Journal of Nutrition, 111, pp. 2104–2111.
- Bradley, S., Alexander, J., Haydock, R., Bakke, A.M. and Watson, P. (2021) ‘Energy requirements for growth in the Norfolk terrier’, Animals, 11(5), p. 1380. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051380
- Klein, C., Thes, M., Böswald, L.F. and Kienzle, E. (2019) ‘Metabolisable energy intake and growth of privately owned growing dogs in comparison with official recommendations on the growth curve and energy supply’, Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 103, pp. 1952–1958.
Dr Adrian Hewson-Hughes
Nutrition, Food Safety and Innovation Advisor
Adrian graduated from the University of Sunderland with a BSc (Hons) in pharmacology and went on to work in a Multiple Sclerosis laboratory at the Institute of Neurology, University College London where he obtained a PhD. After several more years as a ‘postdoc’ in academia at the Universities of Cambridge and Nottingham, he joined Mars Petcare and spent 14 years working in R&D at the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition. Adrian led various research projects on palatability, feeding behaviour, nutrition and metabolism in both cats and dogs resulting in scientific publications, presentations and product innovations. In October 2018, Adrian joined GA, excited by the opportunity to support the continued innovation and investment that GA commits to, bringing the highest quality products to our Partners and our pets.
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