PARÂMETROS HEMATOLÓGICOS, FUNÇÃO RENAL E HEPÁTICA DE CÃES DA RAÇA DOGUE ALEMÃO EM CRESCIMENTO SUPERALIMENTADOS

Abstract

An adequate diet is important and nutritional errors may lead to irrevocable consequences. Nowadays, obesity is the most common nutritional disease in dogs, with a prevalence of 16%. In dogs, the level of physical activity, diet composition, food taste, and lifestyle are the most important factors which contribute to obesity. This study was carried out in order to assess the effects of overfeeding on clinical biochemistry and hematology of healthy puppies. Fourteen male Great Dane dogs at 10 weeks of age were studied during 27 weeks. The experimental design was completely randomized, with two treatments, seven replications, and six months of duration. Treatments were made up of super premium diet given ad libitum (GI) (treatment 1) and restrictedly (GII) (treatment 2). The evaluation of blood and urinary biochemistry as well as the determination of hematological parameters were carried out. It was concluded that overfed puppies revealed seric elevations of alpha1 globulin, and lower values of beta globulin, gamma globulin, ALT, ALP, and creatinine. In blood evaluation, higher values of lymphocytes and lower values in the erythrogram were observed. The urinary protein:urinary creatinine value did not reveal any difference between treatments. KEYWORDS: Ad libitum feed; biochemical parameters; canine animal; hematological parameters.