What is the controversy with Hill s dog food

How Important is Taurine for Dogs?

When doing research on pet food, youll inevitably come across the word taurine at some point or other and quite naturally, youll wonder just what exactly it is. Put simply, its an amino acid.

Depending on how much attention you paid in your biology lessons, you may or may not already know that amino acids are known as the building blocks of life.

Essentially, theyre molecules used by the body to form the proteins necessary for good physical health taurine is just one of them and its present in most mammals bodies.

What does taurine do?

So what does taurine do exactly? Basically, when theres enough taurine circulating around the body, it performs a vital behind-the-stage role, quietly aiding in the healthy function of the nervous, digestive and immune systems.

As such, there can be some nasty side effects when theres a deficiency often, a shortage can lead to eye problems, cardiovascular issues and even kidney dysfunction.

Taurine isnt something humans need to worry about its naturally found in many common foodstuffs, such as meat, fish and dairy, as well as on the ingredient list of many energy drinks.

Our livers can even produce their own supply from other amino acids, which means that vegetarians and vegans neednt fret too much if theyre bypassing the traditional sources.

Do dogs need taurine?

Similar to humans, dogs are generally better at producing a sufficient amount of taurine themselves, along with the assistance of a meat-heavy diet. Thats why taurine isnt usually added to dog food.

For cats, its a completely different state of affairs. Their bodies need a substantial amount of taurine, but they lack the same ability to create their own supply.

To meet this requirement, cat food is not only packed full of meat or fish, but its also supplemented with taurine levels set by regulatory bodies. You should be able to see this fact on the front of most packaging.

Can dogs have a taurine deficiency?

Pet nutrition is a constantly moving field of research and new findings about taurine levels in dogs are being made all the time. For example, recent research has established a link between taurine deficiency and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in certain dog breeds¹.

These breeds include Golden Retrievers, American Cocker Spaniels, Doberman Pinschers, Great Danes and Irish Wolfhounds (its also believed some dogs among these and other giant breeds can have a genetic disposition to taurine deficiency). DCM in dogs is a hot topic it causes the hearts muscles to weaken and if left untreated, it can lead to heart failure.

It was an over-occurrence of this nasty medical condition in cats that led to the decision being made to enrich all cat food with taurine, so nutritionists and scientists are open to the possibility that a similar precaution might need to be taken in the future when it comes to dog food.

Another genetic disease, cystinuria, can also cause health issues. It prevents the proper absorption of amino acids, which may lead to kidney and bladder stones.

How can I give my dog enough taurine?

If youre the parent of one of the aforementioned dog breeds, there are several ways you can be proactive in ensuring your dog doesnt suffer from a worrying dip in taurine levels.

Much like cats, a strong diet is always the first line of defense. It can be difficult to find out the exact amount of taurine in dog foods, but you cant go wrong by ensuring that recipes contain as much high-quality meat as possible.

You can also look into supplements to boost your pets taurine intake. These usually take the form of powders or pills, and are easy to give to your dog.

Reassuringly, your dogs body has a very high upper limit when it comes to taurine, meaning that its extremely unlikely that theyll suffer an overdose instead, their bodies should process the excess and get rid.

I think my dog might have a taurine deficiency

Its crucial you speak with your vet before making any big changes to your pets diet. The symptoms of taurine deficiency which may include excessive panting, collapse, blood in the urine, pain during urination, and pelvic and abdominal pain arent unique to the condition.

Your vet will be able to run blood tests and physical examinations to see whether your dog is suffering from a taurine deficiency or if there are other reasons behind any symptoms. Your observations will also be key to diagnosis, so keep note of the symptoms.

Theyll also be up to date with the latest scientific thinking when it comes to dogs and taurine, and advise accordingly. If a taurine deficiency is detected, dont freak out this can usually be monitored and managed over your dogs lifetime to lessen the risk of certain health conditions developing.

So how important is taurine for dogs? The answer is quite, but in most cases, your dogs body will be able to take care of producing healthy levels of the amino acid by itself, provided the food you put in front of them is heavy on meats and other proteins.

You can give your dog the best chance of getting enough taurine by putting only the very best recipes in their bowl and doing this will only have a beneficial impact on many other aspects of their health as well its a win-win, really.

Is Grain-Free Dog Food Bad?

It was a routine vet visit for Oliver, Julie Carters 3-year-old Golden Retriever. At least, it was until the vet listened to Olivers heart and uttered the sentence that would change her life: He has a heart murmur.

It was February 2018, and Carter had also brought in an interesting article from the Morris Animal Foundation website noting a disturbing upswing in the number of Goldens diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). These dogs had in common two things: They had a deficiency of taurine, an amino acid, in their blood, and they were fed boutique dog foods from small companies often with unusual, grain-free, or legume-rich ingredient lists. Oliver was eating such a diet. He had a low taurine level. And he had DCM.

Oliver, now under the care of a veterinary cardiologist, was immediately placed on a mainstream diet containing grain and was given taurine supplements as well as heart medications. He remained symptom-free until one day, without warning, he suffered a fatal arrhythmia while walking across the kitchen floor. It was August 2018, six months after his diagnosis, and just five days after celebrating his 4th birthday.

DCM is a serious disease of the heart muscle that can ultimately lead to death. It occurs more often in large breeds, and in some breeds, its thought to have a genetic component. It also typically occurs in middle-aged to older dogs. Goldens are not considered an at-risk breed for DCM in general, but they are at risk for taurine deficiency.

Taurine and Heart Disease

Taurine, an amino acid thats abundant in meat, was implicated in cases of cat DCM 30 years ago. It turned out commercial cat foods didnt contain sufficient taurine. When taurine was added to the food, DCM in cats basically disappeared.

Taurine immediately became suspect in dog DCM, but relatively few instances of taurine-deficient DCM have been identified in dogs. Certain diets, however, notably those high in lamb, rice bran, or fiber (especially beet pulp) and very lowprotein diets have been associated with canine taurine deficiency.

Fast-forward to 2018. Veterinary cardiologists started noticing higher than usual numbers of dogs with DCM. At Tufts University, Lisa Freeman, DVM, Ph.D., DACVIM, a board-certified veterinary nutritionist with a research emphasis on nutritional effects of heart disease, reported an alarming number of these dogs were eating what she called BEG (boutique, exotic-ingredient, or grain-free) diets.

Boutique diets are produced by small companies without nutritional testing facilities. Exotic-ingredient diets use unusual sources, such as kangaroo or duck, which have not received extensive testing more common sources such as chicken or beef have. Grain-free diets replace grains such as rice and corn with potatoes or legumes (beans, peas, and lentils) as a carbohydrate source. No study has ever shown grain-free to be superior to grain-inclusive diets.

The FDA Gets Involved

Freeman collaborated with several veterinary cardiologists and alerted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In July 2018, the FDA announced it had found sufficient evidence to investigate. In November 2018, Freeman and her collaborators issued a commentary published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. It would become one of the most downloaded articles in the history of that publication.

The FDA has since issued several updates. From January 2018 through April 2019, the FDA received reports of 553 dogs with DCM compared with previous years that ranged from zero to three dogs. These included 95 Goldens, 62 mixed-breeds, 47 Labrador Retrievers, 25 Great Danes, and more than 50 additional breeds with more than one report.

The FDA report lists 16 dog-food companies that had 10 or more cases of DCM associated with their food, but many more foods are involved. The brands themselves are probably not the important part of the report, but rather what these foods have in common.

When the diets were examined, no protein source stood out as being over-represented. In fact, the most common proteins were chicken, lamb, and fish, although some contained unusual proteins such as kangaroo, bison, or duck. More than 90 percent of the diets were grain-free, and 93 percent of the diets contained peas or lentils. A far smaller proportion included potatoes. When these foods were tested, they contained the same average percentage of protein, fat, taurine, and taurine precursors as grain-containing products.

Joshua Stern, DVM, Ph.D., DACVIM, was one of the original veterinary cardiologists who noticed the increase in DCM cases in Golden Retrievers. Since then, Stern, of the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, has been studying Goldens with DCM and taurine deficiency. In an unpublished study of 24 Goldens with confirmed DCM and low taurine, all but one dog had substantial cardiac improvement after a diet change and the addition of supplemental taurine. All of the dogs had been eating BEG diets at the time DCM was diagnosed.

What Now?

While many dogs eating BEG diets do not appear to be developing DCM, veterinary cardiologists are recommending feeding foods made by well-established manufacturers. These conduct feeding trials and use standard ingredients such as chicken, beef, rice, corn, and wheat. They point to five American manufacturers: Purina, Hills, Royal Canin, Iams, and Eukanuba.

Critics contend that the number of reported dogs compared to the number eating these diets hardly constitutes an epidemic and that no controlled feeding trials exist that compare DCM rates in BEG versus non-BEG diets. However, most cases of DCM still go unreported, and the smaller BEG companies dont conduct feeding trials.

At least one study is now underway. Researchers at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine have begun an AKC Canine Health Foundation-funded study to determine if diet type has an effect on the echocardiographic, taurine values, or blood biomarker values of outwardly healthy dogs. Dogs with abnormalities will be offered a diet change and then re-checked for a year afterward. Two at-risk breeds (Goldens and Doberman Pinschers) and two not-at-risk breeds (Whippets and Miniature Schnauzers) will participate.

We are working hard to help answer this question as soon as possible, says lead researcher Darcy Adin, DVM, DACVIM. This study will not answer every question but hopefully will address the issue of whether nutritionally associated DCM is real, if so what types of foods are associated with it, whether taurine deficiency plays a role, whether blood cardiac biomarkers may be useful for detection, and whether improvement can be seen after nutritional intervention.

Meanwhile, dog owners remain concerned. Thanks to dedicated veterinarians and devoted dog owners, there are excellent resources are available. Several Facebook pages are devoted to the topic; the most popular, Taurine Deficient (Nutritional) Dilated Cardiomyopathy, has more than 100,000 members. Other groups include Taurine Deficiency in Golden Retrievers and the Canine Nutritional DCM Support Group, a support group dedicated to owners who have an affected dog or have lost their dog to DCM. There is also a website.

More than a year after Olivers death, Carter copes with her loss by helping others cope with theirs, and by spreading awareness of the problem. This has prompted many owners to have their dogs hearts checked by a veterinary cardiologist.

But Oliver isnt her only concern. Riley, Carters 9-year-old Golden, has been diagnosed with the same disease. While their cases share several similarities, the most glaring one is the fact that both Oliver and Riley ate the exact same food for several years. a grain-free, limited-ingredient diet loaded with legumes, Carter says. Carter also has a loveable 1-year-old Golden named Finn who has never eaten a BEG diet, nor will he ever be fed one.

Oliver is undoubtedly the best-known DCM victim. Deciding to be proactive and educate others about this life-threatening disease was a quick and easy decision to make, Carter recalls. When Oliver was diagnosed in February 2018, there was very little information accessible to the public about canine nutritional DCM. Shortly after Olivers diagnosis, I dubbed him the Face of Dilated Cardiomyopathy, hoping that putting a face to this horrible disease would get the attention of dog owners and make it easier to educate them.

While Oliver is often recognized as the Face of DCM, he is not alone, says Carter. There are hundreds of other dogs suffering and dying from this preventable disease. I have seen firsthand how many of these heartbroken families are crumbling under the emotional, physical, and financial weight that comes along with this diagnosis.