Timing of the Intestinal Barrier Closure in Puppies

Contents As puppies are born with very low immunoglobulin concentrations, they rely on passive immune transfer from ingested colostrum to acquire a protective immunity during the first few weeks of life. The purpose of this study was to describe the timing of gut closure in canine neonates. Twenty-two Beagle puppies received 3ml of standardized canine colostrum at 0, 4, 8, 12, 16 or 24h after birth using a feeding tube. Blood immunoglobulins G (IgG, M and A) were assayed 0, 4 and 48h after colostrum ingestion. IgG absorption rate was significantly affected by the time of colostrum administration, and the IgG concentrations in puppies serum 48h after administration were significantly higher when colostrum was ingested at 04h of age than at 812h or 1624h (1.68 +/- 0.4, 0.79 +/- 0.07 and 0.35 +/- 0.08g/l, respectively; p<0.001). In the canine species, gut closure seems thus to begin as early as 48h after birth and to be complete at 1624h. Consequently, this phenomenon appears to occur earlier in puppies than in most other species.