WALTHAM Puppy Growth Charts
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Using data from over 200,000 pets, standardised growth charts for puppies have been developed which can help veterinarians spot abnormal patterns early on and recommend interventions. Early obesity often leads to overweight in adult dogs so the charts can potentially make a contribution to pet obesity reduction.
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WALTHAM Puppy Growth Charts
- 1. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Practical tools providing every puppy with the opportunity for healthy growth Richard Butterwick BSc PhD Global Nutrition Advisor WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition
- 2. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Collaboration Carina Salt Richard Butterwick Penelope Morris Derek Wilson Sophie Bradley Matt Harrison Abigail Stevenson Jo Gale Prof. Tim Cole Alexander German Georgia Woods Elizabeth Lund Emma Tipton Nicola Martin Vicki Betton
- 3. Addressing the problem of pet obesity This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) Report 2014 22-40% in developed countries are overweight 1 1German AJ. J Nutr 2006; 136(7 Suppl):1940S- 1946S All-cause mortality at ages 35–79 years versus BMI . Lancet. 2009 Mar 28; 373(9669): 1083–1096
- 4. Change our mindset FROM • Obesity • Treatment TO • Healthy bodyweight • Prevention This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016
- 5. Opportunity: promote healthy bodyweight • Rapid growth in children (and pets) increases the risk of obesity in later life • Tool for veterinary professionals to engage owners in a conversation about ‘healthy’ bodyweight and good nutrition during growth Not too cheesy image of a vet owner consult
- 7. • Age and bodyweight data • ~20 million data points • ~4 million dogs This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Growth chart creation Large population of young dogs Healthy Growing normally Generation of centile curves • No illnesses in first 3 years • Ideal body condition • Data cleaning • Mathematical modelling (GAMLSS) • Smoothing & curve fitting
- 8. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Curve smoothing
- 10. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Size categories Size category I Size category II Size category III Size category IV Size category V
- 11. Creation Validation Production WALTHAM™ Puppy Growth Charts Individual Population
- 12. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Individual validation Healthy Growing too fast Growing too slowly
- 13. Population validation ─ Obese ─ Overweight ─ Underweight This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016
- 15. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 How to use WALTHAM™ Puppy Growth Charts
- 16. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 What’s in a WALTHAM™ Puppy Growth Chart kit?
- 17. Four easy steps • Calculate the puppy’s age • Weigh the puppy • Choose the right chart • Plot a weight on the chart Step five… • Keep weighing and plotting! This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016
- 18. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Calculate the puppy’s age
- 19. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Weigh the puppy
- 20. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Choose the right chart
- 21. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Plot the weight on the chart
- 22. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Keep plotting • Weigh and plot monthly until 6 months old • Then at least every 3 months
- 23. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Driving owner engagement • Free owner facing app • Only accessible through the vet practice • Can share their pet’s chart on social media
- 24. • A tool for monitoring growth • A guide for healthy growth What they are What they aren’t not What they can do What they can’t do • A diagnostic test • Flag need for action • Facilitate conversations with owners • Identify every issue • Guarantee health • Cure obesity! Summary of WALTHAM™ Puppy Growth Charts
- 25. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Training tools on www.waltham.com
- 26. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 In January issue of Vet Times
- 27. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 How to sign up for a FREE kit Email WALTHAMgrowthcharts@vbd.co.uk or get your delegate badge scanned as you leave the workshop Kits will be sent out from January 2017
- 28. This document and the information it contains are confidential and the property of Mars Incorporated. They may not in any way be disclosed, copied or used by anyone except when expressly authorised by Mars Inc. ©Mars 2016 Join the conversation on Twitter Follow us @waltham_science #puppygrow We can’t wait to hear what you think!
Editor's Notes
- On that note, I’d like to share with you the culmination of a 4-year project. I can honestly say that this is the most rewarding research project I have ever been involved with. So, this has been a 4-way collaboration – between WALTHAM, Banfield, University of Liverpool and UCL. The latter deserves a special mention because UCL is an acknowledged worldwide centre of excellence in the field. You’re only as good as the people you work with. Good to have them on board. So, the overall goal of the project was to create evidence-based growth charts for dogs.
- … and what I’m going to do is talk you through the work that has been undertaken. Broadly speaking, there are three main parts – firstly creating charts, next validating them, and finally producing a useable ‘clinical tool’ for use by veterinary professionals. I’ll talk you through these different stages in turn.
- Illustration of curve smoothing. Initial models are created – lines are successfully smoothed etc. Now, for graph creation and validation in humans, there are two considerations –Taking account of sex and also of genetic variations . Added complexity here in dogs… We technically have 4 sexes and NOT 2 (M, F, NM, NF). Not only that, but dogs are often neutered during growth AND AT A VARYING TIME. We also have greater diversity in terms of breed and therefore size/shape.
- When it came to breed, there were various considerations. You could argue that having breed-specific charts would be best, because it would allow better tailoring to the individual. HOWEVER, there are downsides… The work needed to create charts The fact that, even with the Banfield records, there may not be enough data to model growth in rarer breeds The increased complexity to the vet professional – they’d have to juggle loads of charts …and finally, what do you do with mixed breed dogs. For this reason, we looked at the feasibility of creating charts based on size – with the hope that breeds of similar adult size will grow similarly. In the interests of time, I won’t go into full details here – but basically we used hierarchical cluster analysis to compare patterns of growth across a range of breeds where data were available. This enabled us to group dogs into 6 categories based on adult weight. For the majority, we found that the breed curves generally mapped well onto the respective size curves – WITH ONE EXCEPTION – GROUP 6 – SO THE LARGEST DOGS. This is perhaps not unexpected since giant dogs are arguably the most variable group – Great Danes grow differently from Mastiffs from Rottweilers etc.. For the future, separate growth charts will be needed for individual breeds.
- The upshot of the creation phase was that we created 10 charts in total – comprising male and female charts for 5 sizes (I smallest, V largest). This figure is for illustration and shows the different patterns of growth in size category I vs size category V.
- So, we’ve now discussed creation of the charts, the next critical stage is their validation. In short, you need to ensure that the charts reflect growth in different groups and populations of HEALTHY dogs, as well as determining the influence of illness or disease. In short, unless, patterns of growth are known to differ in dogs with health problems, the charts will have little value. So, what we did here is study growth patterns both on an INDIVIDUAL BASIS (i.e. comparing growth in a single dog vs the charts) and on a POPULATION BASIS (like with the neutering effects – checking the average deviation of the population versus the charts). In the interests of time, I’m only going to show a few examples. …
- For illustration, these graphs show validation using measurements from individual dogs. The first 4 are healthy dogs where multiple measurements were available. Two key points… Some dogs follow the centile curves lines closely Others can bounce around - either a little (see C) or a lot (B and D). However, generally they still return to their original centile line. The second set here shows dogs with different growth deviations. For example a – showing a dog that has been marginally underfed and growing more slowly then expected. In contrast, B and D show dogs that have been marginally overfed during growth and cross centiles upwards.
- This is an example of population modelling. Here, we are looking at dogs that became obese by 3 years age (in green), overweight by 3 years (in red) or were reported to be underweight (in blue). Remember – age on the x-axis and centiles on the y – again we have effectively ‘straightened’ the centile curves. So, what can we see? Both obese and overweight dogs start HEAVY FOR AGE at 12 weeks and there are upwards shifts in average growth trajectory. This is most notable for obese dogs. In contrast, underweight dogs start LIGHT FOR AGE, and there is a typically a slight (but less marked) downwards shift in trajectory. Remember, these are the average changes. If you assess on an individual basis about 70% of obese dogs and 60% of overweight dogs cross 2 or more centiles upwards, whilst about 50% of underweight dogs cross 2 or more centiles downwards. So it means that centile crossing can give a guide to abnormal patterns of growth – clearly not perfect, but not a bad extra tool to have!
- So that’s creation of curves and then validation – and is the science – we have 1 manuscript under review and one in preparation. On it’s own though, you could argue that it is of limited value – you need a useable clinical tool – for the vet professional – and for that you need instruction.
- To encourage owners to stay engaged with the lengthy process of growth monitoring, we have also developed a FREE app for owners. They’ll only be able to access it through a code from their vet practice, ensuring that both veterinary team and owner still partner with one another and veterinary guidance is still key. Owners can input their pets details and even add a photo to personalise the app. They can then put in the weights from their paper chart and share their progress with friends and family on social media
- So firstly, let’s reflect on 4 things relating to growth charts… What they are What they’re not What they can do And What they can’t do. In terms of what they are, they are a tool for monitoring and give a ‘guide’ as to what is considered healthy. They are not a diagnostic test – they are more nuanced than that. What they can do is to alert a vet professional about an unusual growth pattern, flagging the need for action – even just looking closer. They can facilitate conversations with owner. Or example, vets struggle to talk about obesity and overweight - by discussing growth patterns in a vidual way, it can get conversations started in a non-confrontational manner. However, remember we are looking at risk and odds – so relative risk and relative odds. That means they CANNOT guarantee you will pick up every issue and nor can they GUARANTEE a health. They will also not cure obesity. However, they may alert you to spot an at risk individual and take proactive action. Above all else, my feeling is that they have the potential to change how we as a vet profession tackle early life care. What do I mean by that?
- There are lots of tools available to help you use the charts, and to train your practice team. In each vet practice kit you’ll receive instructions leaflets to go into each puppy’s folder. You’ve already received a copy of the “complete guide” as you came into the workshop (click), but further copies can be downloaded from our website waltham.com. You can also watch the video again or refer to a quick infographic (click)
- In January, you’ll find a pull out poster, designed to be displayed to clients in the waiting room. If you get more than one copy of the Vet Times at your practice, you’ll be able use the reverse side of the poster out in the staff area to let your practice team know about the charts and how to use them