Bodyweight at Birth and Growth Rate during the Neonatal Period in Three Canine Breeds

Abstract

Weight at birth (bBW) and early weight gain have been linked to the risk of neonatal mortality. Pups are described to be of low bBW if weighing less than one standard deviation (SD) below the mean. Most studies classified breeds according to their expected adult bodyweight. Our aim was to evaluate the breed specificity of these parameters. We assessed the bBW of 213 puppies of Bernese Mountain Dog (BMD), Tibetan Terrier (TT), and Lhasa Apso (LA) breeds, as well as the neonatal growth rate of 133 puppies of BMD and TT. BMD puppies were born relatively smaller than puppies of TT and LA (p ≤ 0.0001) and gained less weight than TT puppies during the first 14 days (p ≤ 0.05). Litter size had a significant impact on bBW and daily gain until the onset of the third week for BMD (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0005, respectively) and TT (p = 0.0003 and p = 0.0064, respectively). When using bBW means and SD specifically assessed according to breed, 29 out of the 213 neonates of our study were judged as being of low bBW, whereas, when using the classical criteria (based on breed groups), the number of low bBW pups was 160 of 213. These results suggest that evaluations of bBW and neonatal growth should be performed in a breed-specific manner.

Puppy growth rate during early periods of labrador retriever development: role of litter size and photoperiod of birth

“…Evaluation of weight requires a simple and low-cost instrument and results that are immediately available. Many studies have recently investigated the birth weight of puppies of different pure-bred dogs (Salt et al 2017;Groppetti et al 2017;Schrank et al 2019). They show that in general, birth weight decreases with larger litter size, which agrees with the finding that total litter weight is about 10-15% of the bitch weight, therefore a bigger litter is related to smaller puppies (Meyer et al 1985).…”

“…The standards of the physiological growth parameters of puppies in relation to the breed, such as weight at birth and average daily gain, can be used as a tool to monitor the daily development and to ensure neonatal survival in dogs. However, little is known about breed differences in birth weight and normal growth patterns within the early periods of puppy development (Bigliardi et al CONTACT Prof. Luigi Liotta lliotta@unime.it Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, University of Messina, Via Palatucci, 13, 98168 Messina, Italy 2013; Liotta et al 2019;Schrank et al 2019), a very delicate phase of life during which puppies are highly susceptible to health problems. Puppy development has traditionally been divided into four natural stages or periods: the neonatal period (from birth to 13 days), transition period (from day 14 to days 20-22), socialisation period (from 21 days to week 12) and juvenile period (week 12 to sexual maturity) (Scott and Fuller 1965).…”

Behavior test for seven-week old puppies (Canis familiaris): Inter-rater reliability and factors associated with test performance

“…Litter size also influences the weight and growth of puppies during the first month of age [ 16 ]. Weight has an impact on health and on certain behavioral aspects [ 17 ], with larger female puppies being more active and explorative than their smaller counterparts when subjected to a behaviour test at 8 weeks of age [ 16 ]. Litter size also influences behavioral responses in other altricial species [ 18 , 19 ].…”

Neonatal infrared thermography images in the hypothermic ruminant model: Anatomical-morphological-physiological aspects and mechanisms for thermoregulation

“…In lambs, low weight at birth is also accompanied by hypoglycemia ( 3 ), restricting their energy resources to produce and maintain corporal heat. In addition to this, low birth weight can impact the health and vitality of newborns ( 81 ). Another relevant issue is the immaturity of the skeletal muscle in newborns, so shivering thermoregulation is not an effective mechanism in these cases to produce the required heat ( 82 ).…”