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Managing Gastrointestinal Health of 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 CalvaryHurricane 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

0

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, otherCorn 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-groomingHurricane 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

• DigestionK9 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 kcalK9 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