Grain Free Diets

Grain-free diets have been the trendy diet for dogs for the past several years. Marketing tactics have convinced owners that grain-free is somehow better. New research, however, is showing that the grain-free and very limited ingredients, or “boutique” brand foods may be leading to heart disease in dogs that have been fed this diet from months to years. How did this come about?
30 years ago, cats were being diagnosed with a heart disease called dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). DCM is a disease that affects the heart muscle resulting in decreased heart function and increased heart size. In severe cases it can also lead to congestive heart failure and death. These findings in cats led to research that showed that the feline diets on the market were lacking a critical amino acid called taurine. Cats cannot make their own taurine, so absolutely need it from their diet. Once the pet food companies started adding extra taurine to their diets, the taurine-associated DCM has all but disappeared.
While some dog breeds are genetically predisposed to DCM like Dobermans, Newfoundlands, and Irish Wolfhounds, in recent years there has been a higher incidence of other dog breeds being diagnosed with DCM that we normally would not expect. The one link that these dogs shared was their diet. The dogs were being fed a grain-free diet or diets rich in legumes, peas, lentils and potatoes. These diets have led to taurine deficiency, canine heart disease, and DCM. These dogs are not making or maintaining enough taurine.
The latest advice to pet owners is to look at the ingredients list on their pet’s food. Many pet owners wish to stay away from “by products” in their food, but in reality, these “by products” are organ meats like heart and kidneys that are high in taurine. Pet owners should go by the recommendations of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, which has a page of nutritional guidelines and a FAQ page designed to dispel myths about their pet’s food. Cinema Veterinary Centre is located at 23460 Cinema Drive, Suite L in Valencia. For more information, call 661-253-9300.