Effect of Dietary Fish Oil on Puppy Trainability
Source: R.L. Kelley, A.J. Lepine, J.R. Burr, M. Shyan-Norwalt, and G.A. Reinhart
To determine the effect of maternal and post-weaning dietary fish oil on trainability and DHA status in Beagle puppies. Methods: Twenty-eight (28) Beagle bitches (parity 2-3) were randomly assigned to 3 treatment (TRT) diets at breeding and maintained on those diets through weaning. Puppies selected from these litters (58 total puppies) were maintained on the respective dam diets from weaning through 16 weeks of age for trainability assessment by Discrimination Task Testing using a Two-Arm Maze. In preparation for trainability testing, each puppy received daily socialization and exposure to the testing environment which concluded with 5 days of pre-test maze training at 9 weeks of age. Trainability testing was conducted from 10-14 weeks of age with puppies participating in 2 sessions/ day of 7-10 trials/session, 5 days/week for 5 weeks. A success criterion was achieved when a puppy achieved a correct score in at least 80% of trials for 2 consecutive sessions. In addition, all puppies were assessed for fatty acid (FA) status at 7, 11 and 15 weeks of age based on RBC membrane FA profiles. TRT diets were poultry and grain based and formulated using the same base-matrix to contain 31.5% protein and 20.75% fat with 0% (TRT A), 0.58% (TRT B) or 1.10% (TRT C) of the diet from fish oil. Results: Fatty acid profiles (maternal and puppy) were significantly altered by diet, particularly regarding omega-3 fatty acids. RBC membranes from TRT C-reared puppies (1.10% fish oil) contained approximately 4X and 2X the DHA content compared with puppies from TRT A (0% fish oil) and TRT B (0.58% Fish Oil), respectively. Trainability scores in the puppies were also found to be sensitive to TRT, with a greater percentage (+56%: P<0.05) of puppies from TRT C (n=19) achieving at least 1 success criteria compared with puppies from TRT A (n=20). Puppies (n=19) from TRT B did not differ in success criterion from puppies from either TRT A or C. Conclusions: These data demonstrate the importance of dietary lipid sources (fatty acids) on neurological function (trainability) and nutrient status in the canine during critical developmental periods.
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