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Preference for sugars and nonnutritive sweeteners in young beagles
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|January 1, 1984
Summary
Puppies show distinct preferences for sweet tastes, favoring certain sugars like lactose and fructose over others. Their acceptance of sweeteners in food varies by type and concentration, influencing palatability.
Area of Science:
- Animal Behavior
- Comparative Nutrition
- Sensory Science
Background:
- Understanding canine taste preferences is crucial for developing palatable and effective canine diets.
- Puppy-specific nutritional needs and sensory development influence food acceptance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the taste preferences of young puppies (2-4 months) for various sweet compounds.
- To determine puppy sensitivity to different sugars and non-nutritive sweeteners in semi-moist food.
Main Methods:
- Two-bowl choice tests were employed to assess puppy preferences.
- Puppies were presented with different sweet compounds and semi-moist food recipes with varying sweeteners.
Main Results:
- Puppies demonstrated significant palatability for lactose, fructose, and sucrose, but not maltose.
- Sodium cyclamate was preferred over sucrose at certain concentrations, while sodium saccharin was not.
- Sweetened solutions were preferred over plain tap water.
Conclusions:
- Puppies possess specific sweet taste preferences that can be modulated by the type and concentration of sweeteners.
- These findings have implications for formulating palatable dog food, especially for young animals.