SA Nutrition

Question 1

what are 2 concerns with rapid growth?

Answer 1

1. they can develop lifelong overconditioning (laying down too many adipocytes during growth)
2. risk of juvenile orthopedic disease

Question 2

what are 2 concerns with excess calcium during the growth phase?

Answer 2

1. hormonal control over calcium regulation begins to mature at approx 6 months old, so before that every bit of calcium given to a dog will be passively absorbed
2. risk of juvenile orthopedic disease due to excess dietary calcium

Question 3

if you see poor growth in a puppy, what are your two concerns?

Answer 3

1. concern for under-nutrition
2. concern for underlying medical conditions (worms, foreign bodies)

Question 4

what are the concerns from an unbalanced diet?

Answer 4

concern for nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism
-imbalance in calcium, phosphorous, and/or vitamins (esp low calcium:phosphorous ration on an all meat diet) can result in rickets

-rickets: defective bone mineralization in young animals due to hypovitaminosis D

Question 5

what are the challenges of gradual weight lost as OA management?

Answer 5

1. over-estimating calories burned during exercise
2. focusing on exercise instead of weight management

Question 6

what is the best supplement for osteoarthritis management?

Answer 6

omega-3 fatty acids, must provide cold water fish oil or algae?? some form that animal does not need to convert precursors