Gastrointestinal transit of solid radiopaque markers in large and giant breed growing dogs

Abstract

Observations on food tolerance in dogs have shown that some breeds, especially the giant breeds, have a greater digestive sensitivity. One of the consequences common in these breeds is a higher faecal water content and a poor faecal quality. This could be explained, at least in part, by limited digestive capacity and function in giant breed dogs. In this report, the gastric emptying that represents one parameter of the digestive function was studied in large and giant breed dogs during their growth. Six Great Danes (GD) and six Giant Schnauzers (GS) were fed small radiopaque markers mixed with a test diet at 12, 22 and 36 weeks of age. Abdominal radiographs were made every 30 min for a period of 4 h and then hourly until 12 h. At 12 weeks of age, the gastric emptying pattern was similar in both breeds. However, from 22 weeks of age, the gastric emptying of the GD was significantly more rapid than that of GS. The gastric emptying of small markers tended to slow down in growing dogs, especially in GS. A significant positive correlation between the gastric emptying time of 50% of markers and the body weight was found. These results show that GD have a lower gastric retention time of foods, which could lead to a poor digestion and an altered absorption of nutrients. These could explained why digestive function and sensitivity could be different in dogs from different sizes and breeds.

Establishment of a Protocol for Determining Gastrointestinal Transit Time in Mice Using Barium and Radiopaque Markers

“…Since gastric pylorus provides little resistance to the passage of liquids, they tend to move quickly from the stomach. In a previous study, barium moved more rapidly in small and large intestines than solids (4, 5). …”

“…The mean ITT was defined as the amount of time taken for three of the six markers to pass from the pylorus to the cecum. The mean CTT was defined as the amount of time taken for the three markers in the cecum to be excreted from the anal canal (4, 5, 8, 9). …”

“…Barium sulphate suspensions are often used to determine gastric emptying times. However, this technique is not quantitative and determines times for liquids but not solids (4, 5). Radiopaque markers, such as barium impregnated polyethylene spheres (BIPS) in domestic animals (cats and dogs), are used to characterize the movement of food through different segments of the GI tract.…”

Assessment of the relationship between body weight and gastrointestinal transit times measured by use of a wireless motility capsule system in dogs

“…On the contrary, GETs may be shorter in giant-breed dogs than they are in dogs of smaller size and body weight. 16 In that study, 16 Inconsistent results have been detected for evaluation of gastric emptying in dogs of various sizes.…”

Validation of a fecal scoring scale in puppies during the weaning period

“…Such an effect of breed size has already been reported in adult dogs. In large breed dogs, such as German shepherds or Great Danes, the fecal moisture content is higher, soft stools are more frequent and the number of defecations is higher than in small breeds (Weber et al, 2001(Weber et al, , 2002(Weber et al, , 2003Hernot et al, 2006). This difference may be due to a lower mineral absorption and/or to higher fermentative activity reflecting higher intestinal colic permeability and a longer colic transit time, respectively (Herschel et al, 1981;Kirkwood, 1985;Meyer et al, 1993Meyer et al, , 1999Rolfe et al, 2002a;Weber et al, 2004).…”