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