Taurine Deficiency In Dog Food

Best dog food for taurine deficiency and sensitive stomach.

Taurine deficiency in dog food.

One of the most interesting and alarming things some veterinarians have noticed is that some cases of dcm appear to be correlated with certain types of dog food. The recent spate of cases and media attention to taurine deficiency dcm in dogs suggests that this is a very new problem in dogs. To date however there are no stated requirements for supplementing dog food with taurine. If your dog suffers from food allergies or a sensitive stomach you may want to switch to a limited ingredient diet.

A connection between diet and dcm in dogs was first described in a paper published in the journal of the american veterinary medical association in 2001. Foods made with fillers like corn wheat soy or potatoes tend to have less meat and this means less taurine. However it is not new. Vollmar ac fox pr servet e biourge v.

In order for dog food to contain enough taurine it needs to contain meat. Initially vets started noticing dcm seemed to be more common in dogs that were fed grain free diets which used things like legumes and potatoes rather than wheat. Determination of the prevalence of whole blood taurine in irish wolfhound dogs with and without echocardiographic evidence of dilated cardiomyopathy. Taurine deficiency and dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs.

Lids reduce the risk of triggering food allergies because they contain a shorter list of ingredients and are usually made with novel sources of protein and carbohydrate. Journal of animal physiology and animal nutrition berl. Taurine in dog food diets. Bernards english setters irish wolfhounds and portuguese water dogs.

The extent to which dogs may require dietary taurine is still under investigation and may be breed dependent. After carrying out studies on the effect of taurine in dogs health veterinary cardiology service technicians at the university of sacramento concluded that a taurine deficiency can cause heart diseases. Taurine can usually be found in high quality dog food but you can look for other foods rich in taurine to strengthen your dog s heart. Taurine deficiency is one cause of a heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy dcm.

Since then additional studies have shown associations between dietary factors and taurine deficiency in dogs such as lamb rice bran high fiber diets and very low protein diets. At ollie we work hard to make sure all of our recipes contain adequate levels of taurine for your pup. Taurine status in normal dogs fed a commercial diet associated with taurine deficiency and dilated cardiomyopathy. And certain other breeds were found to be at increased risk for taurine deficiency and dcm including newfoundlands st.