Nutritional Analysis of Dog Foodstuffs - Term Paper Example

I. Introduction Good dog nutrition is like good human nutrition. A complete daily diet should consist of protein, carbohydrates, fats (essential fatty acids), fiber, vitamins and minerals. Protein for Dogs is an essential part. It is important for good health, growth, and strong muscles, and above all for the building of a health coat nails, skin and tissues. Whole meats, fish, eggs, dairy, lean meat and eggs have all of the essential amino acids dogs require for good health. Fats in Dogs are a very important part. It is required to transport and metabolize certain vitamins in a dogs system, and is the primary source of energy and energy storage. Animal fats and vegetable oils are the good sources of fats. Omega fatty acids like fish oil can be given for arthritis symptoms. Carbohydrates for Dogs are for energy and digestion and supply the body cells with glucose. Simple carbohydrates come from starches and sugars, whereas complex carbohydrates are stored as glycogen and come from whole grains, fruits and vegetables that contain fiber and take longer to break down. Vitamins and minerals are good dog nutrition. They provide the metabolism with mechanisms to process the carbohydrates, fats and proteins. They also necessary for good vision and bone growth, and help to deliver the nutrition from food to the necessary organs and tissues, regulate growth and affect much nervous system process. Dry food is recommended based on the idea that the dogs break apart dry food with their teeth, which causes the food to scrape off dental plaque1. Raw feeding is the practice of feeding domestic dogs which is a diet primarily of uncooked meat and bones. The risk of food borne illnesses posed by the handling and feeding of raw meats would outweigh the purported benefits. II. Determination of Nutritional Value The determination of nutritional value follows the methods of ranking or rating food products or food categories through Nutritional rating systems of food in a simplified manner to a target audience. The systems of rating are determined by specific governments, nonprofit organizations, or private institutions and companies. There can be the process using point systems to rank or rate foods for general nutritional value or they may rate specific food attributes. a) Crude Protein - Kjeldahl nitrogen analysis is applicable for the reference tests of crude protein.  By this means nitrogen is multiplied by 6.38 to express the results on a protein equivalent basis.  All these are calibrated using results from Kjeldahl reference testing by the detection of a signal generated from the protein molecules NPN2 also gets accounted for about 0.19% of the "protein" in a crude protein value, however it may with all possibility range at the extremes between 0.12-0.25%. In the process nitrogen is multiplied by 6.38 to express the results on a protein equivalent basis.  b) Ether Extract - The Ether Extract content ranged from 1.50 to 31.40%, and the highest amount are available in R. phoenicis (31.4%), Macrotermes bellicosus (28.2%) and Macrotermes notalensis (22.5%). R. phoenicis is supposed to have the highest value of ether extract (31.40%). c) Crude Fibre Crude fibre is determined on the basis of its insolubility in strong acids and alkalis. It is the residue basically derived from vegetation. Crude fibre is mainly a measurement of the lignin and cellulose component in a particular food item. The determination of fibre by a regulatory standard method chooses the measurement procedure involving the general steps outlined in the figure below. Fibre content in percentage of the sample by weight, Cfibre, is given by: Here ‘a’ is the mass (g) of the sample. (Approximately 1 g)b is the loss of mass (g) after ashing during the determination; c is the loss of mass (g) after ashing during the blank test. d) Neutral Detergent Fibre NDF is determined on ground samples in duplicate using an Ankom 220 Fiber Analyzer (Ankom Technology, Fairport, NY). It is done by the use of a 75 minute digestion protocol with heat stable α-amylase treatment. The filter bag technique (FBT) makes each sample to be digested and filtered simultaneously during reflux in a batch process with significant time savings over conventional techniques. The content of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) in the dry matter increased from 356 to 420 g/kg (P < 0.01). Thus varies with specific matter contents.  e) Energy value by Near Infared Relectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) is the process used to make an assessment of the chemical composition, apparent digestibility and digestible nutrients and energy content of commercial extruded compound foods for dogs. The NIRS prediction of digestible nutrient in g/kg DM and DE in MJ/kg DM gave satisfactory results. It showed that with high R (0.93, 0.97, 0.93, 0.83 and 0.93 for DOM, DCP, DEE, DNFE and DE respectively) and relatively low SECV (11.55, 6.85, 12.14 and 22.98 g/kg DM and 0.47 MJ/kg DM) iII. Energy requirements needed for standard adult German shepherd dog female weighing 25kg as a family pet German Shepherd Dogs are one of the most popular breeds in the UK, with 12,857 registrations. Nobody can actually control how the genes will match up. Someone can just study and put in an educated guess when trying to produce good dogs. Most of the female German shepherds are more "pack" protective. It is very important to eliminate the possibility of unwanted puppies for the maintenance of a proper health. It is also important to reduce some undesirable behaviour. Considerably most of the well maintained females are healthier. A standard adult German shepherd dog female, weighing 25kg [much depends on the genetics and bloodlines] as a family pet needs foods that contain a sufficient amount of vitamins and minerals. Both fat soluble (vitamins A, D, E, K) and water soluble (vitamins B and C) are important for them. An amount of deficiency in any of these vitamins can lead to poor growth, digestive and elimination problems and poor eating. It may also lead to a weakened immune system and smelly fur. Without proper food there are also the chances of Addison's disease, thyroid malfunction or sterility. There is a severe need of proper breeding or they get susceptible to elbow and hip dysplasia. This can result in serious mobility problems due to its degenerative nature. With irregularity in diet they can also be at increased risk from digestive and hematological problems as well as eczema and epilepsy. Energy requirements The average energy intakes per kg metabolic BW is9% lower (P Read More