Folic acid supplementation does not decrease stillbirths and congenital malformations in a guide dog colony.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate if maternal folic acid supplementation (5 mg) is associated with a reduction of cleft palates, umbilical hernias, stillbirths and caesarean sections in a guide dog breeding colony. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers and Labrador/golden Crosses from the breeding colony of a professional guide dog training organisation were eligible for inclusion. Dams in the treatment group (n = 137) received 5 mg oral folic acid supplementation daily from the start of pro-oestrous through day 40 of gestation. A historical control group (n = 134) was selected from the previous calendar year for comparison. A logistic regression model identified the relative risk of disease (cleft palates, umbilical hernias, stillbirths and caesarean sections) for puppies whose dams did or did not receive folic acid supplementation. RESULTS: A total of 1917 puppies (890 control, 1027 treatment; from 294 litters) were produced during the entire study period, with 994 puppies (494 control, 500 treatment; from 144 litters) born to the subset of dams (n = 72) who produced litters during both the control and treatment periods. All 95% highest posterior densities of relative risk included 1.0, failing to detect differences between the treatment and control groups on incidence rate of cleft palate (control: 2.25%; treatment: 2.34%), umbilical hernias (control: 1.91%; treatment: 3.12%), stillbirths (control: 3.26%; treatment: 2.92%) and caesarean sections (control: 1.45%; treatment: 1.28%). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: There was no observable reduction of cleft palate, umbilical hernia, stillbirth or caesarean section associated with folic acid supplementation during pregnancy in the study colony. For a domestic dog cohort with a low tendency of hereditary malformations, such as this study colony, 5 mg dietary folic acid supplementation should not be expected to drastically improve or eradicate these diseases.

Maternal omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation on offspring hip joint conformation.

Unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), when fed to dogs improves cognitive and neurological development. Supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) has also been associated with lipid peroxidation, which in turn has been implicated in reduced body weight and altered bone formation. To assess the impact of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on skeletal growth, diets containing three levels of DHA and EPA (0.01 and 0.01%, 0.14 and 0.12%, and 0.21 and 0.18%, respectively) were fed to bitches during gestation and lactation with puppies also supplemented through weaning. Thus, the subjects studied were the puppies supplemented with DHA and EPA through gestation and early postnatal life. The hip joint conformation of the puppies (n = 676) was recorded at adulthood using two radiographic, non-invasive evaluations. In this population, females had higher hip distraction indices (DI) than males. Males from the lower two levels of DHA and EPA supplementation had significantly smaller hip DI than all females and males from the highest DHA and EPA supplementation. In contrast, there were no diet effects on anatomical indicators of hip joint conformation and no visible arthritic changes. These data suggest that dietary supplementation of DHA and EPA during gestation and the perinatal period to weaning does not adversely influence hip joint formation of dogs.

Growth of Holstein calves from birth to 90 days: the influence of dietary zinc and BLAD status.

The main objective of this study was to describe Holstein neonatal growth and development as influenced by dietary zinc supplementation and the CD18 genotype, both of which may affect immune competence. Holstein calves (n = 421), after being fed colostrum, were brought to a calf facility, randomly assigned to one of four zinc supplementation groups (control at 40 mg Zn/kg DM or the control diet supplemented with an additional 60 mg Zn/kg DM provided as either zinc sulfate, zinc lysine, or zinc methionine), weighed, and measured for morphometric growth parameters. Measurements were repeated at 30, 60, and 90 d. Calves were also genotyped for the presence of the mutant D128G CD18 allele, which, if present in two copies, causes bovine leukocyte adhesion deficiency. Zinc supplementation above 40 mg Zn/kg DM, regardless of the chemical form, did not accelerate growth (P > 0.25). Further, overall calf growth performance was not suppressed or improved (P > 0.4) in calves heterozygous at the CD18 locus relative to calves homozygous for the normal CD18 allele, although genotype negatively affected some morphometric measurements (P < 0.05). Using these data, quadratic models of early growth were generated as a preliminary step to develop growth criteria that will allow producers, veterinarians, and animal scientists to identify poor growth performance early in neonatal life. Such criteria provide the basis for tools to improve economic performance.