DIETARY-INDUCED DISORDERS IN THE PUPPY

During the growing period, a dog is facing two main nutritional risks. For puppies belonging to large breeds, bone diseases are the most imp ortant problem (osteodystrophias, hip dyslasia,...), as a consequence of a delayed skeleton growth, of the search for the owner of a too fas t daily gain in body weight, and finaly of an increased minerals requi rements (particulary calcium). Concerning small breed puppies, the maj or risk comes from an over consumption of energy inducing obesity, esp ecially for those fed with canned food (too high palatability and too large legal tolerances regarding the level of fat in this special type of industrial petfoods).