Lorgair Puppy Protein Step-Down Diet^© 

Note:  This is a GRAIN-BASED diet no longer recommended

by Lorgair Golden Retrievers

This diet was used by Lorgair Golden Retrievers to reduce the risk of elbow and hip dysplasia using commercial dry grain-based kibble diets from 2003 - 2008 with mixed results

This is the diet featured in the NZ Dog World Article Dec/Jan 2009 by Sy Guth
along with the follow up article on dog digestion  NZ Dog World, March 2009

The foods used in the diet include:

Puppies:
Adult Dog Food with 24% protein (Such as Canidae All Life Stages)
Senior Dog Food with 18% protein (such as Canidae Platinum)
Butch Black Label dog roll
Dr Kruger Puppy & Pregnancy formula
Dr Kruger Healthy Joint formula
Neo-Life Neo-C Vitamin C or
Neo-Life Threshold Vitamin C

Adults:
Canidae Life Stages + Butch Black Label + Dr Kruger Healthy Joint formula + Neo-Life Vitamin C

Important Note:  The puppy protein step-down diet should only be used with traditional grain based kibble diets.  For those feeding raw or grain-free kibble, this diet does not apply.  For those looking to feed raw and/or grain-free refer to the article Choosing a Diet for Your Dog, NZ Dog World, October 2009, by Sy Guth

Recommended dosage specific to only Neo-Life molecularly natural Vitamin C products:
Medium size puppies - approx. 230 mg Neo-Life molecularly natural Vitamin C daily
Large Breed puppies with normal HD concerns - approx. 900 mg Neo-Life Vitamin C daily
Giant Breed puppies or Large Breed with HD in their linage - approx. 1200 mg Neo-Life Vitamin C daily

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Some Basic Facts

• The critical growth period for large breed puppies in terms of growth spurts is generally between 5 and 7 months of age.  If using a typical dry dog food with carbohydrates, it is necessary to lower the protein levels before the growth spurts start in order to be most effective.  Different dry food diets  cause the growth spurts to start at different times.  It takes two weeks for any dietary change to take effect.

• Reducing the protein levels in growing large breed puppies at the appropriate time to between 18% to 20% protein will reduce the risk of the puppy growing front and back legs at different spurts and aid the puppy to grow in proportion to 9 months of age.  It is important that the balance of the puppy remain in proportion so that weight is not out of proportion on either front or back joints causing stress to these joints as this can lead to hairline fractures on the elbow joints and hip dysphasia on the rear joints.

• Early spay / neuter of puppies prior to a year old will prevent the growth plates from closing down properly and the rear legs will grow longer than normal.  This is a contributor to hip dysphasia.

• The dog's diet was changed dramatically by humans in the 1950s with the introduction of baked dry kibble dog food.  Convenient for dog owners, it omits the natural vitamins and minerals found in raw  / home-cooked diets.  The 1950s was the same time that hip dysphasia was being diagnosed on a regular basis.  Correlation is obvious.  Bones and tissue require the synthesis of Vitamin C into collagen to provide healthy growth and maintenance.  Vitamin C is very important in keeping body cells in good condition.  It also is known to prevent heart attacks.  Collagen builds the tissues that hold bones together.  The lack of it in the body leads to scurvy.  Vitamin C helps to build strong teeth and bones.  Raw meant dies contain vitamin C and the dog's digestive system is designed to digest protein and fat.  It is not designed to digest carbohydrates.  Further, the heat process in producing dry dog foods with grain causes the proteins and carbohydrates to find in such a way that the dog's digestive system cannot digest the protein as well as it would with a raw meat or lightly cooked meat diet.

• Heat destroys Vitamin C and reduces the affect of some other vitamins and minerals.  The process used to make dry dog food compromises the nutrients from what a dog would get eating a raw food / lightly home-cooked diet.  The general level of Vitamin C / ascorbic acid in most dry dog foods is only 50 mg. 

• Dogs are supposed to have the ability to produce Vitamin C.  No studies have been done to prove how much Vitamin C individual dogs produce and this may vary between dogs.  No study has been done to determine what the optimum level of Vitamin C is for growing puppies to produce sound bones and ligaments or for maintenance in the adult dog.  See the note under "Theory" as to what levels were necessary in Sy Guth's 2007 study.

• It is important that supplemented Vitamin C be molecularly natural and processed without chemicals.  Molecularly natural Vitamin C includes not only the Vitamin C or ascorbic acid from real fruits, but also the other parts of fruit that make Vitamin C synthesis readily to convert to collagen by the human body, or in this case, the animal body.  These include citrus sinensis; bioflavonoids; rutin; hesperidin, and others.  Neo-Life is the only known product to contain the full molecularly natural equivalent of an orange.  Each Neo-C tablet containing 230 mg of ascorbic acid (plus related ingredients) is the equivalent of 4 small oranges.  It took 2 tablets, or the equivalent of 8 small oranges, to produce the desired effects with the Lorgair diet.  Caution needs to be taken when using other synthetic type vitamin C products as some contain harmful ingredients that can lead to serious side affects.  There are no short cuts here.  Neo-Life fully natural vitamin C is expensive because of the ingredients and manufacturing process, but it is believed that it only requires 1/3 the amount of other synthetic vitamin C to achieve the desired affect and has not been shown to cause any side affects.

• Nutrience Junior Large Breed Puppy contains nearly the same ingredients as the Senior Large Breed except that the Senior has reduced protein levels making it ideal to add to the Junior formula to achieve a reduced over all level of protein.  This is NOT to be confused with "diet" formulas which do not add condition to puppies.  It is important to not fall below 15% protein on any puppy or adult dog diet.

Theory

• The diet is based on a two-fold theory.  Firstly, that dogs 60 years ago were fed mainly on raw / home-cooked diets and their intake of Vitamin C was better than today and provided the natural Vitamin C to form good bones and tissue along with the dog's naturally produced Vitamin C.  Secondly, that the genes in the dog may have mutated over the last 60 years due to the dog's poor intake of Vitamin C from commercial dry foods and they may not produce as much Vitamin C naturally as they once did.   Some dogs may inherit the genes needed for producing enough Vitamin C to form good bone joints and other do not. 

• The amount of Neo-Life Vitamin C needed to affect a positive difference in Sy Guth's 2007 trail for Golden Retriever puppies was a minimum of 460 mg daily from 5 weeks of age to when they had their hips / elbows x-rayed between 1 year and 14 months of age.  Different breeds and different dogs may require different levels of Neo-Life Vitamin C to affect a positive outcome.

For further information see the article "Reducing the Risk of Hip and Elbow Dysplasia in Large Breed Dogs" by Sy Guth, NZ Dog World, December 2008 / January 2009.   The article presents the case in full and the results of 7 Golden Retrievers from a 2007 study.  Some of the study dogs were Penn Hip tested at 16 weeks and scored using a traditional radiographic scheme at 1 year of age.   The dogs kept on the LPPSDD, with 460 mg doses of Neo-Life Vitamin C to a year old, scored 11 points better at a year old than then they did at 16 weeks of age.

A follow-up article was written to address some of the questions asked after the first article was written.  It address how the dog's digestive system works and why some foods are better for producing good bone and tissue in the dog.  It also provides information on the types of vitamin C and some of the dangers from the synthetic vitamin C found in health food and grocery stores due to chemical additives.

Puppy & Breeder Packages

Puppy packages include
supplements for the LPPSSD from 8 weeks to 18 months

prices shown in the cart are exclusive of GST
these are added on at the end of the shopping trip

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Product Ingredients

Neo-Life and Dr Kruger products are sold through Lapdog Limited

Analysis of 1 teaspoon of Neo-Life Powdered Vitamin C
(contains approximately 90 teaspoons molecularly natural Vitamin C)

Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) - 507.5 mg
Neo-Plex Concentrate
   Citrus sinensis (orange) fruit meso, juice dry - 141 mg
   Citrus sinensis (orange) fruit peel dry - 1 mg
   Citrus Bioflavonoids - .5 mg
Rosa canina (Rose hips) fruit flesh powder - 60 mg
Malpighia punicifolia (Acerola Cherry) extract equiv to fruit fresh - 120 mg
Rutin - 12.5 mg
Hesperidin - 12.5 mg
Bioflavonoids - 12.5 mg
Fructose, antioxidant, natural flavours, silicon dioxide

Analysis of 1 tablet of Neo-Life Threshold Vitamin C / 200 tablets
(needs to be swallowed without chewing - 6 hour slow release formula molecularly natural Vitamin C)

Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) - 455 mg
Neo-Plex Concentrate
   Citrus sinensis (orange) fruit juice dry - 89 mg
   Citrus sinensis (orange) fruit peri dry - 600 mcg
   Citrus Bioflavonoids extract-orange - 400 mcg
Rutin - 10 mg
Hesperidin - 10 mg
Citrus bioflavonoids extract - lemon - 10 mg

Analysis of 1 tablet of Neo-Life Neo-C / 250 tablets
(chewable Vitamin C - 2 tablets are approximately the equivalent to 1 Neo-Life Threshold or 1 teaspoon Neo-Life Powdered Vitamin C molecularly natural Vitamin C)

Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) - 230 mg
Neo-Plex Concentrate
   Citrus sinensis (orange) fruit juice dry - 90 mg
   Citrus sinensis (orange) fruit peri dry - 620 mcg
   Citrus Bioflavonoids extract (orange) - 410 mcg
Malpighia punicifolia (Acerola Cherry) extract equiv to fruit fresh - 8 mg
Rosa canina (Rose hips) fruit powder - 2 mg
Rutin - 5 mg
Hesperidin - 5 mg
Citrus bioflavonoids extract (lemon) - 5 mg
Flavours, colours, sweeteners and tabletting aids.
Contains sucrose, glucose and fructose.

Analysis of 1 teaspoon of Dr Kruger Puppy & Pregnancy formula

Note on Dr Kruger formulas -- the live enzymes in the products are not activated until they come in contact with the dogs stomach.  The contents do need to be kept in a dry cool storage place.  The product contains no green mussels and are safe for puppies and pregnant bitches as formulated.

Proprietary Blend of Vitamins and Minerals (Dehydrated Yeast Culture, Corn Germ Meal, Dicalcium Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Potassium Sulphate, Magnesium Sulphate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese, Copper, Cobalt Carbonate, Sulfur, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Cholecalciferol, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin Supplement, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, p-Aminobenzoic Acid, Inositol), Aspergillus oryzae*, Maltodextrin, Calcium Carbonate, Aspergillus niger*, Sodium Silico Aluminate, Bromelain, Enterococcus faecium*, Lactobacillus acidophilus*, Lactobacillus casei* and Lactobacillus plantarum*.
(*Dried Fermentation Products), Desiccated Liver (460mg) (sourced from Argentina).

Analysis of 1 teaspoon of Dr Kruger Healthy Joint formula

Note on Dr Kruger formulas -- the live enzymes in the products are not activated until they come in contact with the dogs stomach.  The contents do need to be kept in a dry cool storage place.  The product contains no green mussels and are safe for puppies and pregnant bitches as formulated.

Proprietary Blend of Vitamins and Minerals (Dehydrated Yeast Culture, Corn Germ Meal, Dicalcium Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate, Potassium Sulphate, Magnesium Sulphate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese, Copper, Cobalt Carbonate, Sulfur, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Cholecalciferol, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin Supplement, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, p-Aminobenzoic Acid, Inositol), Aspergillus oryzae*, Maltodextrin, Calcium Carbonate, Aspergillus niger*, Sodium Silico Aluminate, Bromelain, Enterococcus faecium*, Lactobacillus acidophilus*, Lactobacillus casei* and Lactobacillus plantarum* (*Dried Fermentation Products), Glucosamine Sulphate (170mg), Chondroitin Sulphate (125mg), Dandelion Root Powder (125mg), Kelp Powder (125mg), Devil's Claw Powder (125mg), Yucca Schidigera Extract (125mg).

Analysis of Butch Black Label dog roll
(sold through most grocery stores in New Zealand.  Check on their website www.butch.co.nz for other locations in the world.)
An important note on the Butch product.  It is produced by lightly cooking for 15 minutes at low temperatures between 80 and 95 centigrade which help to preserve the Vitamins and minerals in the product whilst providing safe shelf life.

 Butch

Phone: +64 9 839 0095

Fax: +64 9 837 4014

PO Box 69020, Glendene, Auckland, New Zealand

http://www.butch.co.nz

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein                            not less than          10.5%

Crude Fat                                 not less than            7.0%

Crude Fibre                               not more than          0.9%

Salt                                         not more than          0.3%

Ingredients

Fresh beef                                         33.0%

Fresh lamb                                        25.0%

Fresh chicken                                     18.5%

Vegetables                                          7.7%

Selected cereals                                   2.5%

Rice                                                    2.3%

Omega 3 & 6                                       1.0%

Gel blend                                            1.0%

Added Vitamins & minerals                    0.1%

Kelp                                                   0.1%

Minerals

Calcium

Phosphorus

Sodium

Magnesium

Choline chloride

Iron

Zinc

Copper

Manganese

Iodine

Selenium

Vitamins

Vitamin A, B1 (Thiamine), B2, B3, B6, B12, D, E, K,

Folic Acid, Calcium Pantothenate

Analysis of Canidae Life Stages
(note that the ingredients of this product have recently changed.  The ingredients listed here are the old formula.  It is the only known human grade dog food offered in New Zealand which means that the meats in the product are of the same standard used in human foods in the USA.)

CANIDAE Corporation

San Luis Obispo, California 93403-3610

Phones:  800.398.1600    or 090.599.5190

http://www.canidae.com/dogs/all_life_stages/dry. html  

Canidae® Pet Foods

In New Zealand - www.paws-n-all.co.nz or 0800 101 729

Note the Canidae Life Stages product has changed ingredients

in the US and new shipments to NZ will be different.  The product

will no longer have rice, but instead, potatoes.

 Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein                            min            24.0%

Crude Fat                                 min            14.5%

Crude Fibre                               max             4.0%

Moisture                                   max           10.0%

Linoleic Acid (Omega 6)             min            3.70%

Vitamin E                                  min       200 IU/kg

Calcium                                    min            1.20%

Phosphorus                               min              .90%

Alpha Linolenic Acid (Omega 3)  min              .60%

Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)           min    50.0 mg/kg

 All Natural Ingredients

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