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Food For Thought™ Technical Bulletin No. 46R
Innovative Research in Dog and Cat Nutrition™ |
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What is DHA?
DHA or docosahexaenoic acid is an omega-3 fatty acid important for neural development of young mammals.
DHA is a major structural component of the brain as well as the most abundant fatty acids in the brain. It plays a vital role in the development of the central nervous system and retinal function.
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Sources of DHA
Common dietary DHA sources include fish such as salmon, sardines, tuna and other seafood, eggs, and organ meat. In pet foods, sources of DHA include fish, fish meal and fish oil.
Prior to weaning, puppies get DHA from their mothers. Mothers, both human and canine, transfer DHA from their body tissues to their offspring during pregnancy and lactation.
After weaning, puppies can obtain DHA for continuing neural development through diet.
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Effects of DHA on Reproduction
Recent Iams research provides evidence that the nutritional requirement for omega-3 fatty acids in dogs depends on life stage. These studies further show that a puppy's fatty acid statis is highly dedpendent on the status of the mother.* The puppies dependence on DHA from the mother is especially high during late pregnancy and the nursing period.
- Iams studies have shown that bitches fed a diet with a 5:1 omega-6:omega-3 ratio (enriched in omega-3 fatty acids including DHA) produced larger litters with fewer stillbirths, when compared with bitches fed diets lower in omega-3 fatty acids (20:1 omega-6:omega-3 ratio).
- In addition, puppies from bitches fed the diet with a 5:1 omega-6:omega-3 fatty acid ratio weighed more at weaning, compared with pups from bitches fed diets lower in omega-3 fatty acids.
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Effects of DHA
One Iams study looked at Beagle puppies whose mothers had been fed enhanced or typical dietary DHA from breeding on through weaning.* After weaning, puppies were fed the same diets as their mothers' throughout the remainder of the study (up to 16 weeks of age). To evaluate the effect of diet on trainability, all puppies were taught to associate a symbol with a direction in a t-maze, with correct responses resulting in a food treat.
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Effects Of Diet On Trainability
Over 30 days of testing, puppies from the enhanced-DHAgroup consistently out-performed the puppies from the typical-DHA group on the maze test. Results of the study indicated that puppies nourished on high DHA levels were more trainable.
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Conclusion
Dietary DHA is critical for optimal neural development in puppies because DHA synthesis in the body is limited. Puppies nourished on diets with enhanced levels of DHA had improved trainability performance.
Our puppy foods are formulated with fishmeal and other high-quality fat sources to
- Provide high amounts of DHA to support neural development
- Achieve an optimal 5:1 omega-6:omega-3 fatty acid ratio
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* Data on file. The Iams Company.
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