Table 2.
Nutrient profiles of an unbalanced homemade diet, fed to a 6-month-old intact female giant schnauzer, and of the commercial puppy dry food given to this puppy following admission. The homemade diet was assessed by both computer software and laboratory analysis. The nutrient profiles of both diets are compared to the National Research Council (2) recommended allowance for growth and American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) (3) minimum requirements for growth.
| Homemade diet | Puppy dry foodc | NRC (2) | AAFCO (3) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
| Softwarea | Laboratoryb | ||||
| Moisture (%) | 58.99 | 54.07 | 8.5 | ||
| Protein (% DM) | 13.18 | 18.48 | 30.60 | 17.50 | 22.00 |
| Ca (% DM) | 0.54 | 0.09 | 1.11 | 1.20 | 1.00 |
| P (% DM) | 0.59 | 0.37 | 0.84 | 1.00 | 0.80 |
| Ca:P ratio | 1:1.09 | 1:4 | 1.32:1 | 1.2:1e | 1 to 2:1 |
| Na (% DM) | 0.15 | 0.11 | 0.56 | 0.22 | 0.30 |
| K (% DM) | 0.37 | 0.76 | 0.84 | 0.44 | 0.60 |
| Mg (% DM) | 0.08 | 0.09 | 0.09 | 0.04 | 0.04 |
| VitD (IU/100 g DM) | 58 | < LODd | 100 | 55.20 | 50.00 |
| ME (kcal/100 g DM) | 431.3 | NA | 398.5 | ||
DM — dry matter; Ca — calcium; P — phosphorus; Na — sodium; K — potassium; Mg — magnesium; VitD — vitamin D; ME — metabolizable energy; NA — not available; LOD — limit of detection.
BalanceIT, West Sacramento, California.
SGS Agri-Food Laboratories, Guelph, Ontario.
Royal Canin Maxi Puppy dry food; formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by AAFCO (3) dog food nutrient profiles for growth.
Upon laboratory analysis, the VitD content of the homemade diet was below the LOD of 100 IU/kg DM.
The ratio was calculated using the recommended allowance according to the NRC (2).