Taurine Deficiency

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Saw this in Doodle Family on FB and wanted the experts opinion.

Grain-Free Feeders - PLEASE READ:

We all know how difficult it is to make decisions regarding diet for our pets. I am sharing this information not to add additional worry or concern but to educate. I came across this yesterday when it was shared by a vet dermatologist in another group. I have been trying to get additional information since then and joined the Facebook page linked to the taurine deficiency research being conducted by Dr. Joshua Stern (vet cardiologist) at UC Davis. Here is what I know so far:

* DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy) is a serious medical condition that impacts the muscles of the heart and reduces its ability to pump blood.
* Symptoms include lethargy, weakness, weight loss, collapse, coughing, increased respiratory rate, abdominal distention, irregular heart rhythm.
* Some breeds seem to have a genetic predisposition including Cocker Spaniels and large breed dogs particularly Golden Retrievers, Labradors, St. Bernards and Newfoundlands.
* Current research (not yet published) has identified a link between grain-free dogs foods that include peas and legumes and taurine deficiency that can lead to DCM. On the Taurine Deficiency page, the most commonly reported foods from owners of dogs with DCM are: Nutrisource, Acana (particularly pork and butternut squash), 4Health, Zignature, Taste of the Wild, Earthborn Holistic.
* It is believed that the peas/legumes may inhibit some dogs ability to produce or absorb taurine.
* The current recommendation is that if a food heavy in peas and legumes is being fed, consider a whole blood taurine test before any dietary changes are made. If the blood results indicate taurine is low, echocardiography is recommended.

I know that many of us use these foods and some of us have limited options in what to feed our dogs. I just wanted to bring this information forward and encourage you to discuss with your vet/IMS to decide whether this could be a concern for your pup.

https://www.facebook.com/julie.carter.37266/posts/10215672525987711

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here is what we know for sure. THIS IS ALL THAT IS KNOWN FOR SURE, AND THIS IS THE ONLY TRUSTWORTHY ACCURATE INFORMATION WE HAVE. THIS IS THE STATEMENT OF THE HEAD OF THE RESEARCH STUDIES: 

Here is what the actual study found related to diet. NOTHING ABOUT GRAINS, PEAS, OR LEGUMES, NOTHING ABOUT SPECIFIC FORMULAS OR BRANDS

For many dogs with DCM, common dietary trends emerged that strongly correlated with the disease.

“Diet plays a huge role in this condition,” said Dr. Josh Stern, a Morris Animal Foundation-funded researcher, owner of a Golden Retriever Lifetime Study participant (Lira, Hero #203), and veterinary cardiologist studying this disease. “Home-cooked diets have been implicated in this problem, as well as small batch, boutique dog foods.”

Other studies have linked high fiber, lamb and rice meal, and very-low-protein diets to the condition.

Although diet plays a role in the golden retrievers, Dr. Stern suspects genetic factors might be involved in increasing the risk of this conditions within the golden retrievers breed.

“I suspect that golden retrievers might have something in their genetic make-up that makes them less efficient at making taurine,” said Dr. Stern. “Couple that with certain diets, and you’ve given them a double hit. If you feed them a diet that has fewer building blocks for taurine or a food component that inhibits this synthesis, they pop up with DCM.”

https://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/article/researchers-getting-...

THAT'S ALL, FOLKS. 

Anyone who is truly concerned about this needs to click the above link and read the article about the study. Not people's comments or ideas on Facebook, not captions, not pictures. The actual study. If you are concerned, get the right info. 

[Peri Kolakowski]

I thought they said to stay away from foods with Taurine, did I read it wrong?  This looks like they NEED Taurine, I'm so confused, I don't know what to feed anymore :(  My vet said not to worry about it HA like I don't worry about everything regarding my boyz

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

See, this is a perfect example of why I am so upset about all this misinformation going around the FB groups. People do not understand what they are seeing, everyone is confused and making poor choices out of confusion and incorrect information, and are that could be disastrous.

Yes, you read it wrong. Taurine is an amino acid. Amino acids are the basic building blocks of everything in the body. Proteins contain amino acids, and are broken down into amino acids during the digestive process. All of us, dogs and people alike, need taurine just as we need all of the amino acids. However, out of the 20 amino acids we need, only 9 of them are what are called essential amino acids, meaning our bodies cannot make them and we must get them from our diets. Taurine is not an essential amino acid; we make it ourselves out of other amino acids (namely Cysteine and Methionine) and so do dogs. The process is exactly the same in dogs as in humans. 

Animal proteins (meat, poultry, eggs, fish) contain all of the essential amino acids, so if a dog (or a person) is getting enough animal protein in their diet, they should be able to make plenty of taurine. But for some reason these very few dogs with taurine deficient cardiomyopathy are not making enough taurine. Nobody knows why. 

But I can guarantee you, it is not because they aren't eating grains. 
If you feed them a diet that is high in animal protein, you have nothing to worry about. 

[Peri Kolakowski]

Thank you Karen.  I thought I misunderstood.  That is why I posted on this page although I very rarely do (I'm a stalker not a poster LOL)  What is it that is in or not in grain free foods that is the problem

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Nothing that they know of yet; that's what they are trying to figure out. 

Kibble has to contain some kind of starchy carbohydrate; it can't just be meat. Grains (rice, wheat, corn, oats, etc) were commonly used as the starchy carb in most dog food. 

Then grain-free foods became more popular for a variety of reasons. So poatoes were used as the starchy carb in most cases. 

Then somebody started saying potatoes were not good for dogs for one reason or another (we talked about that here years ago, i forget exactly what the reasons were, glycemic index or something ridiculous) so they started using peas and beans (legumes) as the starchy carbs in a lot of foods.

And supposedly, a small number of Golden Retrievers who eat some foods that contain legumes are developing taurine deficiencies. 

Legumes contain more protein than potatoes and most grains, but it is not complete protein. Complete protein (which is protein that contains all of the essential amino acids) only comes from animal foods: meat, fish, etc. 

But the protein percentage marked on the packages of food is the total protein from all of the ingredients in that food. So if there is a LOT of pea or legume protein in a food, a lot of that protein percentage on the bag is not made up of complete proteih, and the food might not supply enough of the essential amino acids to make taurine synthesis possible. That's the theory anyway. It's not about the legumes "blocking" taurine synthesis. It's about them supplying too much of the protein in the food.

This is why you want a food with a lot of meat, fish, poultry, or eggs in the first few ingredients. 

But it's really important to keep in mind that the risk of any doodle, especially a younger or smaller one, getting this disease is really very very small. Worry about your neighbors using Round-up to kill weeds on the lawn, because that poses a 50 times greater health risk to your dog than any type of food. :)

[Peri Kolakowski]

Thank you so much Karen for the excellent info!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You're very welcome. :) 

[DonMarie and Picco]

Yes, thanks Karen. I haven't heard anything about Taurine deficiency but this is interesting info, especially all the mis-info floating around out there! 

[Mark Wilson]

Good on Karen for weighing-in to quell the hysteria, but the message for all should be do your own research and don't fall prey to the mass of misinformation.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Amen. 

[Stella]

I didn't watch it, but Karen Becker just did a Facebook live on this, so I'm sure this topic is going to rise to the forefront again. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Karen Becker is rabidly opposed to feeding any kind of kibble period, regardless of the ingredients, so I'm sure it was a pitch for feeding raw.