Hip dysplasia and diet
Plasma Fatty Acid Profiles During the First Year in Dogs with and without Hip Dysplasia: Preliminary Results
Abstract
At the Military Veterinary Center of Grossetto, where operative dogs from the Italian Army are raised and trained, more than 70 % of the discharges for unfitness are due to articular pathologies like hip and elbow dysplasia. The aim of this study was to investigate fatty acid metabolism of dogs during the growth phase, and its modulation by a fish-based diet. Only 2 out of the 32 subjects were affected by articular pathologies during the study. Still, both subjects had lower levels of arachidonic acid and higher levels of docosahexaenoic acid. Moreover, we observed that the ratio of eicosapentaenoic to docosahexaenoic acids, an indicator of delta-6 desaturase activity, drops dramatically during the first year in the German shepherd.
