Comparative Studies on Growth Performance of Mongrel Pups Fed Meat and Vegetable Based Diet

Twelve male Mongrel pups of approximately 2 months of age were divided into two groups of six each. To study growth performance of dogs fed on meat and vegetable based diets. The CP and energy content in the diet of both the groups was kept almost similar as per AAFCO recommendation. The CP content of meat based (T₁) and vegetable protein based diet (T₂) was 20 and 19.77%, respectively. The average body weight of experimental pups at the two months of age was 2.71 ±0.08 and 2.84 ± 0.05 kg, for T₁ and T₂, respectively. After eight weeks, the body weight of pups increased to 4.54±0.03 and 4.58±0.02 kg for T₁ and T₂, respectively. The average weekly body weight gain in T₁ and T₂ was 228.7 and 217.5 g, respectively. No significant difference was found in weekly body weight gain of the pups in two groups. The body weight gain ranged from 31–33 g/day. The average total serum protein was 6.76 and 6.69 g/dl in T₁ and T₂, respectively. The statistical analysis revealed no significant difference in total serum protein levels between the two groups. Vegetable protein based diet (T₂) was more economical in terms of cost of feeding as compared to meat based diet (T₁).