[NB: citation of article not identified in BMJ]

'Interesting experiments in human medicine to determine the effects of vitamine deficiencies in the diet on the teeth are of great importance to veterinarians. Mellenby [sic] [note: ‘Mellanby, E., British Medical Journal, March 21, 1931.’] reports deal with puppies fed a diet deficient in vitamine A leads to hyperplasia of the subgingal epithelium and to its invasion by pathogenic  bacteria. A diet lacking in vitamine D leads to a deficiency in alveolar bone and irregularities in dentine. This lack of vitamine A and D in a puppy’s diet leads to periodontal disease at a later stage, regardless of the subsequent diet: whereas a balanced diet during the developmental stages prevents or inhibits this disease at a later stage even if the subsequent diet is lacking in vitamines A and D. The normal development of the hard structures of the teeth is dependent on an adequate supply of vitamine D, whereas the normal development of the periodontal tissues is equally dependent on an adequate supply of vitamine A. The function of A, so far is known, is to maintain the functional integrity of the cells covering the body surface, thereby preventing the successful invasion of microbian organisms.’ (205)

'So many people are in the habit of giving puppies white bread as part of their food - often white bread with milk, I find, is the staple food given. What I have just written about oatmeal and wheatmeal bread amply confirms what the late [sic] Professor Mellanby - the leading authority of vitamins - wrote a long time ago about the evil of a diet of ordinary white bread in the feeding of puppies. He had been making experiments with regard to the action of fats in regard to rickets. This is what he found:-

In the earlier experiments on the action of fats in rickets I had not recognised that the amount of white bread eaten by the puppies was a crucial point. Up to this time all factors in the diet were controlled except the bread, which was varied according to the appetite of the animal... When all the elements of the diet were eaten quantitatively it was clearly established that not only had bread no anti-rachitic action, but that it was a most important substance in actually making the condition worse.

He described how a puppy allowed a large amount of bread grew rapidly in weight but speedily had rickets, began to refuse its food, dwindled rapidly and ultimately died. Its brother, allowed much less bread grew steadily and rapidly into a fine animal. Examination of the dead puppy showed almost complete lack of calcium in its bones - proving the evil effects of white bread.'

‘Some years ago, in the early stages of his investigations into the causes of rickets in children, Dr. Edward Mellanby, the famous scientist, published some very interesting reports of the effects of different foodstuffs upon dogs. In particular his reports upon the results of giving too much starchy material in in food are particularly interesting. Starchiness and cooked food are two of the principal causes of eczema and of rickets, in my opinion.

...

In one of his reports to the Medical Research Council upon the effect of different foods in producing or correcting rickets (rachitis) Dr. Mellanby described experiments which were carried out to see how this disease could be affected by diet. In the first experiment made a puppy was fed on boiled horseflesh without fat. After about ten weeks of this diet the animal developed a rickety appearance. It seemed certain, however, from the general condition of the animal, that scurvy was associated with rickets. It was found at this time that if puppies, in addition to the meat, received a substantial quantity of meat each day, they remained in good health. It was found that on a diet of oatmeal, rice, and milk, puppies ultimately developed rickets when the milk was limited. Then a large number of experiments were made in which a diet of milk, oatmeal, and rice was used as the standard, and in all cases under laboratory conditions the animals developed rickets. The treatment which prevented the disease was an increase in milk consumption. When the oatmeal and rice were replaced by ordinary white bread, other conditions being the same, rickets also developed. The scientist found the period during which the dogs so fed became quite rickety was from four to six months, and except in puppies of big, fast-growing breeds, the bony changes and other symptoms were not as strongly developed as was desirable from an experimental point of view. Further experiments showed that fat – milk-fat, cod-liver oil, suet, etc. – corrected the trouble, thus showing that too much starchy food of the bread and rice type was bad for dogs, and also that lean meat alone is not so good for dogs as lean and fat combined.'

[also discusses Mellanby’s experiments with feeding dogs bread – lack of success due to kind of bread (white not brown)]

‘The feeding of bitches in whelp or when rearing puppies calls for special consideration as regards the vitamins necessary. On this subject Professor Mellanby says that if bitches are fed during pregnancy on diets deficient in Vitamin D, then the pups have a greater tendency to develop rickets. This tendency in the young is not entirely removed by a period of good diet, but may become evident again at any later period of defective feeding. He also points out that the mother supplies from her own store essential substances not supplied in her diet (frequently resulting in frail offspring and ill-health of the mother) , a direct result of the deficiency at birth of these necessary constituents, which ought to be supplied in abundance to the embryos at birth. Under these dietetic conditions in fact, not only are the puppy teeth defective in structure, but the ill-health of the mother and the effort made by the maternal tissues to meet an abnormal situation. If a bitch’s food is deficient in Vitamin D and in Vitamins A and E, the puppies will suffer both before and after birth, because before birth the essential properties required for the building-up of strong, healthy offspring will be wanting, whilst after birth the milk produced will not be equal to the demands made upon it. On the other hand, again to quote Professor Mellanby, a diet strong in calcifying action given to the mother during pregnancy and lactation allows the storage in the offspring of those substances having this influence, and that this store may be drawn upon by the young animals when they have to fend for themselves. Rickets in winter-born puppies are said to be due to the absence of sunlight which both the expectant mother and the newly born puppies both experience at this time of year. Scientists tell us that the effect of direct sunlight upon the body is to increase the vitamins in the fats of the body automatically. This shows the importance of breeding puppies at the right time of year, and also of giving every in-whelp bitch plenty of open-air exercise, so that she may benefit as far as possible by direct sunlight.’

'It was pointed out some time ago - I think by Professor Mellanby - that if a bitch's food is deficient in Vitamin "D"and in Vitamin "A" and "E," the puppies will suffer both before and after birth, becaues before birth the essential properties required for the  building-up of strong healthy offspring will be wanting, whilst after birth the milk produced will not be equal to the demands placed upon it.' (773)