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Puppy Checkups at the Animal Hospital

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Puppy Checkups at the Animal Hospital

Use checkup records to sort out what genes and the environment do to a growing dog.

Two breeds

Read the passage and Table 1. Then answer questions 1–3.

A Week at Brightwater Animal Hospital

1Tavita Moreno, a sixth grader, spent a school vacation week shadowing her aunt, a veterinary technician at Brightwater Animal Hospital. The hospital, the people and the numbers here are made up, but they are based on real growth records for dogs. Each morning the vet, Dr. Ama Ferreira, showed Tavita how puppies are weighed before breakfast at every checkup and how their records are kept.

2All dogs belong to one species, but different breeds inherit different genes from their parents. Some of those genes affect how large a dog grows. Dr. Ferreira pulled the records of healthy beagle and Labrador puppies that were all fed the same kind of puppy food, the amount printed on the bag for their size. Adult beagles usually stand about 36 cm tall at the shoulder, and adult Labradors about 57 cm.

3Next she showed Tavita the records of four Labrador puppies from one litter. They had the same mother and father and were born on the same day. At 8 weeks old, each puppy went to a different home. Puppy food contains the protein, fats, vitamins and minerals a growing dog needs. Most puppies are also given medicine against roundworms, which live in the intestines, where a puppy's food is digested.

4Puppies A and B ate puppy food and got their worm medicine at 8 weeks. Puppy C's family missed the 8-week visit. At 12 weeks, Dr. Ferreira found many roundworms in Puppy C and treated them, and after that it ate the same puppy food as A and B. Puppy D got its worm medicine at 8 weeks, but its family fed it mostly rice, bread and leftovers. At the 16-week checkup, Dr. Ferreira explained what puppies need, and from then on Puppy D ate puppy food.

5On Friday, an owner asked whether feeding her young beagle extra food would make him grow as big as a Labrador. Dr. Ferreira answered with records of adult beagles, ages 1 to 3, from the hospital's files. Some of their owners fed the amount the vet recommended, and some fed about 30% more.

Table 1. Average Weight of Healthy Puppies at Checkups
Age (weeks)Beagles (kg)Labradors (kg)
82.56
165.515
24823
521030
1.

How many kilograms did the average Labrador gain from 8 weeks to 52 weeks? kg

2.

At 52 weeks, the average Labrador weighed how many times as much as the average beagle? times

3.
Use paragraphs 1 and 2. What best explains why the Labradors in Table 1 grew so much larger than the beagles?
Question 3 options

Four puppies from one litter

Use paragraphs 3 and 4 and Table 2 to answer questions 4–8.

Table 2. Labrador Littermates' Weights (kg)
PuppyWhat happened8 weeks12 weeks16 weeks24 weeks
APuppy food; worm medicine at 8 wk610.51523
BPuppy food; worm medicine at 8 wk6.210.815.423.6
CRoundworms treated at 12 wk5.67.512.522
DLeftovers until 16 wk, then puppy food691121
4.

At 12 weeks, how many kilograms lighter was Puppy C than Puppy A? kg

5.
Why does comparing puppies from one litter help Dr. Ferreira see the effects of the environment on growth?
Question 5 options
6.
Puppy C grew slowly from 8 to 12 weeks. Which explanation fits paragraphs 3 and 4 best?
Question 6 options
7.

From 12 weeks to 16 weeks, Puppy C gained kg and Puppy A gained kg.

8.
Which result is the best evidence that Puppy D grew slowly because of its diet and not because of its genes?
Question 8 options

Extra food for a beagle?

Use paragraph 5 and Table 3 to answer questions 9–13.

Table 3. Adult Beagles in the Hospital's Records (averages)
Daily foodDogsShoulder height (cm)Weight (kg)Body shape
Amount the vet advised253610Ribs easy to feel
About 30% more153613Thick waist; ribs hard to feel
9.

On average, how many kilograms heavier were the beagles fed about 30% more? kg

10.
Which answer to the owner's question in paragraph 5 does Table 3 support best?
Question 10 options
11.
Sort each difference from the hospital records by what most likely caused it.
12.
Suppose a Labrador puppy and a beagle puppy both had roundworms from 8 to 12 weeks, were treated at 12 weeks and then ate puppy food. Which prediction for their weights at 52 weeks fits Tables 1 and 2 best?
Question 12 options
13.
At the 12-week checkup, Puppy C's owner said, "My puppy is the smallest of the litter, so he must have genes for being small." Do the records support this? Write a claim, give evidence from Table 2 and paragraph 4, and explain your reasoning about genetic and environmental factors.