eine Studie über Einsatzgründe, Marktübersicht sowie Entwicklung einer App zur optimierten Supplementierung selbsthergestellter Rationen

Diplomarbeit - Veterinärmedizinische Universität Wien - 2023

Der Wunsch bzw. die Bereitschaft für den eigenen Hund selbst Rationen herzustellen, nimmt aus verschiedenen Gründen laufend zu. Mit dieser Bereitschaft steigt auch der Bedarf an Ergänzungsfuttermitteln oder Einzelfuttermitteln, die die unzureichende Ration mit weiteren Nährstoffen, besonders Vitaminen und/oder Mineralstoffen, vervollständigen soll. Da diesbezüglich noch wenig wissenschaftliche Informationen vorliegen, wurden in der vorliegenden Arbeit die Beweggründe, der Umgang und welche Ergänzungsfuttermittel im deutschsprachigen Raum eingesetzt werden, ermittelt. Um dieses Ziel zu erreichen, wurde eine online Umfrage unter HundebesitzerInnen, vor allem aus Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz durchgeführt. Von den 808 vollständig ausgefüllten Fragebögen gaben 68,8 % an, ihrem Hund Supplemente zur Ergänzung von Vitaminen und/oder Mineralstoffen zu verabreichen. Neben vitaminierten Mineralfutterpräparaten wurden häufig verschiedene Öle, Produkte aus Algen, Grünlippmuschel oder Knochenmehl genannt. Öle, Produkte aus Algen, Grünlippmuschel und Knochenmehl gelten laut Futtermittelrecht als Einzelfuttermittel, nicht als Ergänzungsfuttermittel. Weiters wurde im Rahmen der Umfrage versucht, den Zusammenhang zwischen gesundheitlichen Problemen und selbsthergestellten Rationen zu analysieren. Von den 323 HundehalterInnen, die gesundheitliche Probleme ihres Hundes angaben, fütterten 52,3 % täglich eine selbst hergestellte Ration in Form von Selbstgekochtem oder bestehend aus Rohfutterkomponenten. Ein weiteres Ziel der Arbeit waren die online verfügbaren Ergänzungsfuttermittel am deutschsprachigen Futtermittelmarkt zu evaluieren. Mit den gewonnenen Informationen der 336 erhobenen, als Ergänzungsfuttermittel deklarierten Produkte und deren Inhaltsstoffe, wurde eine App zur Erleichterung der Rationsergänzung entwickelt. Die App konzentrierte sich auf die Ergänzung von selbst hergestellten Rationen mit Vitaminen und/oder Mineralstoffen für den adulten Hund. Die Ergebnisse der Umfrage, der Marktübersicht und das Erstellen der App stellen einen Anfang für das bessere Verständnis im Umgang mit Ergänzungsfuttermitteln für den Hund dar.

The wish or rather the willingness to create a homemade diet for the own dog is getting more and more for various reasons. Along with this readiness the need of nutritional supplements, containing mineral nutrients and vitamins, to complete the daily ration, is increasing as well. Since there is still not much scientific research on this topic, the present study aimed to clarify the reasons and ways of handling nutritional supplements and which products were often used for dogs in the german-speaking area. To achieve this goal, an online survey among dog owners mainly from Germany, Austria and Switzerland was performed. Another target of the study was to evaluate the online available complementary feedingstuffs focusing on vitamins and mineral nutrients for dogs on the german-speaking pet food market. And finally a simple app was created. The purpose of the app was to help veterinarians and dog owners supplementing the home-prepared diet for the dog without deficiencies and excesses relating vitamins and mineral nutrients. Between February and March 2021, an anonymous online survey was spread in five different German and Austrian groups (focusing on dog nutrition) on the social media platform “Facebook”. Meanwhile the market analysis for complementary feedingstuffs for dogs on the german- speaking pet food market was performed. To gain information about as many online available products as possible the search engines “Google”, “Bing” and “Ecosia” were used. Last but not least the gained information about the products on the market and their declared ingredients were used to create an app to relieve the completion of a deficient homemade ration for an adult dog. The creation of the app was carried out in Microsoft Excel and took place from 12.07.2021 to 28.07.2021. In total, 808 questionnaires were completed and gave information, that 68,8 % out of the study population are using nutritional supplements for their dog, regarding mineral nutrients and vitamins. Complete supplements with vitamins, different oils, products containing algae, green lipped mussel and bone meal were mentioned especially often in the results of the survey. According to the food and feed law all kind of oils, products containing algae, green lipped mussel and bone meal are declared as straight feeding stuffs, not as complementary feedingstuffs. According to the study results the most popular place of acquisition for complementary feedingstuffs for dogs is the Internet (66,5 %). The main reasons why the dog owners of the study population use dietary supplements in their dogs nutrition were, that they want to offer their pet a balanced diet (68,9 %), prevent nutritional deficiencies (57 %) and protect or improve their dogs musculoskeletal system (49,5 %). Furthermore, as part of the survey, it has been tried to analyse the connection between homemade diets and health problems in dogs. 323 dog owners (out of 808) declared health issues in their dog and 52,3 % of them are feeding their dog a self cooked or raw food homemade diet on a daily basis. The majority of diseases were found to be concerning the musculoskeletal system (30,7 %), followed by allergies and intolerances (26,3 %), followed by diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (17 %). During the second part of the study 336 products, all declared as complementary feedingstuffs for dogs, were collected. 246 (82,8 %) of the products contained more than 10 % calcium. According to the official online declarations 218 (64,9 %) of the products contained water-soluble vitamins. 333 out of 336 products declared an online recommendation about the acceptable daily intake for the dog (depending on the weight of the dog). The most common dosage form of the collected products was pouder (54,5 %). The third and final part of the study, focusing on the development of a simple application, was a try to help dog owners or veterinarians in the future in completing a possible deficient homemade diet for the dog. The app concentrates on adding oral supplements containing vitamins and mineral nutrients to a daily ration of an adult dog until the ration is well balanced. In general, dog owners seem to be interested in meeting their dogs nutritional requirements. They choose to cook or prepare daily rations for their dog, even though home-prepared diets may be more time consuming. A well balanced diet and prevention of a deficient diet are the most important reasons for feeding complementary feedingstuffs for dogs. The results of the survey, the online product evaluation and the creation of the app are only the beginning to get a better understanding about nutritional supplements for dogs, specifically for complementary feedingstuffs. There is a great need of further research on this topic.

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