> I have heard of two cavalier males lately that had fair preliminary OFA
> hips, and then had mild dysplasia after 2 years old. One veterinary
> orthopedist told one of the owners that it might be due to feeding "puppy"
> food (too much calcium or protein?), and recommended that he raise all of
> the rest of his cavalier puppies on a high quality "adult" food. I had,
of
> course, heard this before about large breed puppies, but had never given
it
> much thought for the small breed pups.
According to Pat Hastings and a few others, puppy food is formulated in a
way that slightly accelerates the rate of bone growth but does not
accelerate the rate of muscle/tissue development resulting in uneven
development which may contribute to developing skeletal disease. They
strongly suggest not using puppy food.
Others have said it doesn't matter in small breeds because they don't grow
as *fast*. I, personally, don't get it. Small breeds grow just as fast as
large breeds--comparitively. Small breeds should be affected by uneven
bone vs. muscle/tissue development just as large breeds are. If there any
truth to this *theory*, it is my opinion it probably affects small breeds
too--maybe not as strongly, but still there may be some effect. So why take
a chance. If you feed kibble, I think it would be safer to not feed puppy
food--unless you are determined to feed Ol Roy or some other
generic/supermarket food.
Laura Trunk
Roycroft Cavaliers
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