Nutritionally Responsive Conditions Part 3

Lecture Notes

This graph shows the growth curves for 12 breeds of dogs. The whole graph is impressive, but if we compare the growth of smaller breeds and large breeds from four months to eight months of age, we can see that large breed puppies doubled their body weight in this period, whereas smaller breeds had a more modest increase in theirs. If you wonder why it makes a difference, think about driving at 30 miles per hour and driving at 80 miles per hour. Are the risks of getting involved in a car accident the same? Obviously not; that's why large breed dogs with their fast growth rate are more prone to skeletal development disorders. The ideal situation is to have our large breed puppies to gain weight as slow as possible, so they aren't putting too much weight on a skeletal structure that is not completely mature.