Assessment of behavior and feeding intake of dogs fed with soybean hulls

Abstract

The diet composition can promote satiety and interfere in animal behavior. The aim of this study was to evaluate the behavior of dogs after ingestion of diet without soybean hull (0%SH) and a diet with soybean hulls (16%SH), as well as the daily consumption of food (supplied-leftovers) and metabolizable energy (ME) intake of diets. Twelve Beagle dogs were distributed completely randomly between two treatments, being six dogs consuming the 0%SH diet and six dogs 16%SH diet. The behavioral test consisted of observing the animals during 24 uninterrupted hours at intervals of 10 minutes at the end of 28 days of consumption of the diets. General behaviors were observed such as alert, scratching, stereotypical behavior, sleep, hygiene, walking, idle lying, idle standing, idle sitting and socialization. There was a reduction in scratching behaviors (P<0.05) and stereotypical behaviors (P<0.10) in animals that ingested the diet with 16%SH, in comparison to the animals that consumed 0%SH diet. The consumption of the diets did not differ (P>0.05), but the ME intake was lower (P<0.001) in dogs that received a diet with 16%SH. The use of 16%SH in the diet reduces the ME intake and undesirable behavior in dogs.

Evaluation of Soybean Ingredients in Pet Foods Applications: Systematic Review

“…There were no differences in the dogs’ behavior with dietary soybean hull inclusion. Similarly, Scheraiber et al (2018) evaluated dog behavior after eating diets with or without soybean hulls (0 or 16%) [ 45 ]. They observed a reduction in scratching behavior and stereotypical behavior (repetitive regular movements) ( p < 0.10) in animals fed a diet containing soybean hulls [ 45 ].…”

“…Dietary soybean hulls decreased the deposition of subcutaneous lipids in dogs [ 38 ], providing further evidence that soybean ingredients could benefit animal health. Studies on dog behavior in response to dietary soybean hull inclusion showed either no difference or a reduction in scratching behavior with a lower metabolizable energy intake when soybean hulls were present in the diet [ 33 , 45 ]. Numerous studies in the literature have shown that dietary soybean ingredients increase fermentative products by the hindgut microbiome and can result in a healthy gut by acting as prebiotics in companion animals.…”