Water is the most important single nutritional item. Proteins are the building blocks of the body. Fats give energy. Fat is also needed for utilization of fatsoluble vitamins. Fats and oils are important sources of unsaturated fats, the sources for good skin and shiny coats.
Minerals have important control functions.
The main actions are to control bodily functions. The recent studies have shown the importance of nutrition to the developement of puppies. Puppies fed with a lower protein diet during the greatest growth period, were found to have better and stronger hipjoints than the ones fed with very high or very low protein diets. Eventhough these studies proved to the scientists the importance of nutrition, no conclusions could be made as to why. One of the thesis was that the nutrition somehow affected the pH-value of the synovial fluid and this was believed to affect the thickness of the synovial fluid and its lubricating properties.