![]() ![]() If diet proves to be the cause, this truly is heart-breaking to me. It appears that diet may be increasing dogs’ risk for heart disease because owners have fallen victim to the many myths and misperceptions about pet food. However, a recent increase in heart disease in dogs eating certain types of diets may shed light on the role of diet in causing heart disease. Most nutritional recommendations focus on treating dogs and cats with heart disease and there is much less information on the role of diet in causing heart disease. Heart disease is common in our companion animals, affecting 10-15% of all dogs and cats, with even higher rates in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Doberman Pinschers, and Boxer dogs. And today, now 5 months later, Peanut’s heart is nearly normal! Peanut required several medications to treat his heart failure but the owner also changed his diet. The veterinary cardiologist seeing him asked what he was eating and found that his owner, in a desire to do the best thing for Peanut, was feeding a boutique, grainfree diet containing kangaroo and chickpeas. Peanut had been lethargic, not eating well, and occasionally coughing. If you want to read more about what makes a carnivore a carnivore, I’ve included a link below.A broken heart: Risk of heart disease in boutique or grainfree diets and exotic ingredientsĬlick here to view/download PDF version of this article.Įarlier this year, Peanut, a 4-year-old male Beagle/Lab mix was diagnosed with a lifethreatening heart disease at our hospital. We’d recommend choosing a species-appropriate diet balanced for your scavenger carnivore a diet that’s high in meat proteins (70-80% per recipe) and low in carbohydrates (25% max from fresh fruits, veggies, and seeds). And with higher carb content, there’s less room for the meat proteins that dogs need to thrive. ![]() Most exceed 40-50% total carb content, in fact. Dry dog foods are generally heavy on carbs (think starches or grains) because they’re needed to form the kibble. In the FDA’s findings, 87% of the reported cases were dry food which speaks to the quality of ingredients that kibble brands use as well as the processes used to make them. You could certainly add Taurine Boost to support their heart health but what you may also consider is changing their diet or even adding in fresh or freeze-dried foods. The theory that taurine absorption is being blocked by legumes is just one of many hypotheses in consideration at this point.īut, what’s worth noting is that with taurine supplementation, there was improved heart function in ALL cases, even without a change in diet. Most kibble relies heavily on plant-based proteins which means it’s not a good source of taurine by itself. Proteins come from plants and meat but plant-based proteins alone just don’t have the amount of taurine needed for your pet. The main takeaway is that taurine comes from a diet rich in high-quality meats and organs. Research out of UC-Davis found that dogs with DCM had grain-free diets and that those dogs’ taurine levels were low. While it’s certainly not bad to give your pets plants and grains, it’s important to understand that these food groups have minimum amounts of taurine. Starches such as potatoes, peas, and tapioca are now commonplace in pet food ingredients. This doesn’t mean that most kibbles are now high in meat content but rather, other fillers have taken grains place. So besides those amino acids, what is included in kibble? The Pet Food industry pivoted from high-grain diets to grain-free in recent years. (Some dogs can.) Fast forward to today and AAFCO still doesn’t require taurine in dog foods because sulphur-containing amino acids (cysteine and methionine, big words, even bigger job) are included in kibble formulas. ![]() For dogs, it was presumed that they could develop taurine in their bodies with the help of other sulfuric amino acids. Because of the trend, AAFCO, the Association of American Feed Control Officials, decided to make this a requirement in all cat foods, almost eradicating Acquired Cardiomyopathy in cats (wow!). Cats, being true carnivores, really need taurine (which again, is found in meat proteins). Dilated Cardiomyopathy was becoming prevalent in cats. During this time, a troublesome trend came about that worried a lot of pet parents. In order to explain why kibble just isn’t up to snuff, we have to travel back in time, to a decade where denim, big hair and pastels reigned supreme. ![]()
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