# New study on taurine deficiency



## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/a...I4-aNgIyte5nxBT26ZIo4FpIhTP9CeCnSMz87Lb0qrzKI


Very interesting study. One thing I learned that really surprised me is that the designer and boutique brands of food (Acana, Fromm, etc.) - at least, those fed to the dogs in the study - aren't tested in feeding trials.


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## Maggie'sVoice (Apr 4, 2018)

Most food companies don't do feed trials and the ones that do only need to feed 2 maybe 3 formulas not everyone. Conversely, if a company that does feed trials reformulates, they will have to change their AAFCO statement during the 6 month long new feed trail. It will make it seem they don't do the trials but they still do. So make sure if the AAFCO statement changed, they didn't just do a reformulation.

The 2 statements used start with "formulated to meet the requirements" and "Animal feed tests substantiate". If it says formulated, that means they cooked it up and stuck it in a bag and will wait and see if there are issues.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

ceegee said:


> https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0209112&fbclid=IwAR1S26D_WMmdBlI4-aNgIyte5nxBT26ZIo4FpIhTP9CeCnSMz87Lb0qrzKI
> 
> 
> Very interesting study. One thing I learned that really surprised me is that the designer and boutique brands of food (Acana, Fromm, etc.) - at least, those fed to the dogs in the study - aren't tested in feeding trials.



I was shocked when my vet told me that a few years ago. She said basically anyone can make a dog food, hang up a sign and sell it, with no trials or quality control or anything. She said only the big companies like Purina and Eukanuba (Iams, I guess?) and Hills do the trials and have scientists and nutritionists formulating the different... formulas. 



Thanks for posting the study!


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## Wellcraft (Oct 21, 2018)

Thanks for posting, so what would be a good food for a 9 weeks puppy. We were planning on getting formm or core tomorrow but we wont after other forum members advice not to feed our puppy with grain free food. But I definitely would like to give her something better than purina puppy show.

Thanks in advance.


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## Maggie'sVoice (Apr 4, 2018)

I fed my pup Precise Holistic Lg Brd Puppy and at 9 months old I moved her to the Adult version. Dogs do amazing on it and is more meat based then grain based (not a grain free)


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## wstam (Jan 2, 2018)

Hi, I am from Asia. Many of the recommended food is not available in my country so I am still hunting for the "ideal" food for my 2 GR. Some brands mentioned are available but limited choices.

Is peas the only ingredient we need to be concerned of? Read somewhere here that sweet potato is also a concern. Is it correct? Else I am keen on Fromm Four Star Chicken (not the grain free version):
https://frommfamily.com/products/dog/four-star/dry/#chicken-a-la-veg-recipe

Thanks.


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## debbie624 (Aug 10, 2018)

It is not as simple as say avoiding peas. The researchers are saying that legumes are a problem bc they block absorption of taurine. You also want to make sure you are feeding higher taurine protein sources. The researchers have a closed Facebook group but you can request to join and it is a wealth of information, Taurine-deficient dilated cardiomyopathy.


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## s.m.forester (Nov 4, 2018)

Currently feeding my puppy Purina Pro Plan Focus Large Breed Puppy & my older dog is on Fromm Gold Adult Large Breed. 

Neither is grain-free, neither has legumes in the first 5 or so ingredients, and Purina Pro Plan has, at least, gone through feeding trials. I'm not a huge fan of the corn in that food, but as long as my puppy does well on it, I at least feel a bit safer for the moment (until or unless a new study comes out contradicting the rest!). 

Pup can't eat lamb-based foods or foods with multiple meat protein sources (like Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy), so somewhat limited in choice by both her tolerance for foods & by the whole taurine-legume/grain-free/boutique/exotic foods issue.


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## s.m.forester (Nov 4, 2018)

debbie624 said:


> It is not as simple as say avoiding peas. The researchers are saying that legumes are a problem bc they block absorption of taurine. You also want to make sure you are feeding higher taurine protein sources. The researchers have a closed Facebook group but you can request to join and it is a wealth of information, Taurine-deficient dilated cardiomyopathy.


I'm in that group and it has been incredibly helpful.


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## daisy1234 (Jun 17, 2018)

Wellcraft said:


> Thanks for posting, so what would be a good food for a 9 weeks puppy. We were planning on getting formm or core tomorrow but we wont after other forum members advice not to feed our puppy with grain free food. But I definitely would like to give her something better than purina puppy show.
> 
> Thanks in advance.



https://frommfamily.com/about/food-safety/

I feed fromm, it's a very good food. Don't be fooled by the so called "big" food companies. Remember it's all about money. Do your own research on pet food and you will be surprised at what you find. This study in on Taurine deficiency. What does that mean in a nutshell? You need to research your food and make the best choice.

https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/news...nk-between-dog-diets-and-deadly-heart-disease

I wouldn't label foods as designer or boutique foods just because they aren't big companies. Nor would I rule any of them out. Pet food is a big money making business and there are many smaller companies that do research and put out a good product.


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## Maggie'sVoice (Apr 4, 2018)

daisy1234 said:


> https://frommfamily.com/about/food-safety/
> 
> I feed fromm, it's a very good food. Don't be fooled by the so called "big" food companies. Remember it's all about money. Do your own research on pet food and you will be surprised at what you find. This study in on Taurine deficiency. What does that mean in a nutshell? You need to research your food and make the best choice.
> 
> ...



I agree there are other good quality food companies out there that are just as good as the big companies if not in some cases better. I don't think it's the boutique foods as a hole but really the rain free foods with lots of peas and legumes. In other words, foods with legumes as a large part of the protein source instead of meats. 
I think what people mean by Boutique foods are newer companies that are putting out very unique foods with little history and trying to ride the wave of the current fad of food types. I would say a food company or a type os food (Grain Free) that's less then 10 years old has very little history behind it, can be a bit suspect. Look at Grain Free foods, they've been around for about 10 years or so and were just getting some concerning feed back on it now.


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

daisy1234 said:


> https://frommfamily.com/about/food-safety/
> 
> I feed fromm, it's a very good food. Don't be fooled by the so called "big" food companies. Remember it's all about money. Do your own research on pet food and you will be surprised at what you find. This study in on Taurine deficiency. What does that mean in a nutshell? You need to research your food and make the best choice.
> 
> ...



I agree that some of the smaller companies do a good job, but many larger companies also put out good products. Pretty much all the companies, regardless of size, test their ingredients and verify the sources. However, very few of the smaller ones appear to test the end product in feeding trials to see what effects it has on the dogs that eat it.

I mentioned Fromm in my original post only because two Fromm foods are on the list of foods fed to the sick dogs in the study I linked (see the table in the study).
I used to feed Acana and Fromm but switched to something tried-and-tested when the research started to identify problems with certain diets.


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

I have to admit I wasn't paying attention to this topic until it impacted me. Still learning and the Facebook group has been very informative. Received Charlie's taurine levels back yesterday and they are low (194 whole blood). Switching his food from Zignature lamb and adding a taurine supplement to his diet (per the Cardiologists recommendation). He has a confirmed heart murmur (Grade 1) and reduced heart function compared to echo done two years ago. I'm getting Duke and Rocky tested as well.


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## murphy1 (Jun 21, 2012)

Murphy ate Orijen and occasionally Acana for his six and one half years. His plasma taurine was 29, critically low. Cardiologist put him on taruine supplement for a short time.Thankfully his echo was normal. I switched him to Fromm Gold with Ziwi topper, eggs and a few cans of sardines. After three months his whole blood was 307.
I belong to the facebook site and as I recall Zignature did poorly.
I switched Murphy to Farmina Ancestral Grain Chicken and Pomegranate. Farmina looks to have done very well on the Facebook site. His coat has has improved since getting off the grain free.


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## debbie624 (Aug 10, 2018)

I know I have posted this already on other threads but wanted to share again in case the OP hasn't read the other threads. Sardines are an excellent source of taurine. Lamb is one of the lowest in taurine. Dr. Becker, holistic vet associated with Dr. Mercola, recommends feeding sardines once weekly regardless of what food you are feeding. I haven't read any posts thus far here about Dr. Becker. I think she is a great resource especially for those of us who have historically fed more of the holistic brands. I also am part of the FB group and see benefit in their recommendations of the big food companies. I am torn as my belief system is grounded in holistic nutrition. Farmina and Open Farm are both recommended by the owner of the health food/pet store I have always gone too. I will have a hard time choosing which food when the next golden comes into our life.


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## daisy1234 (Jun 17, 2018)

debbie624 said:


> I know I have posted this already on other threads but wanted to share again in case the OP hasn't read the other threads. Sardines are an excellent source of taurine. Lamb is one of the lowest in taurine. Dr. Becker, holistic vet associated with Dr. Mercola, recommends feeding sardines once weekly regardless of what food you are feeding. I haven't read any posts thus far here about Dr. Becker. I think she is a great resource especially for those of us who have historically fed more of the holistic brands. I also am part of the FB group and see benefit in their recommendations of the big food companies. I am torn as my belief system is grounded in holistic nutrition. Farmina and Open Farm are both recommended by the owner of the health food/pet store I have always gone too. I will have a hard time choosing which food when the next golden comes into our life.


Yes, food is VERY complicated and there are oh so many choices. I have had dogs with allergies so I have done quite a bit of research on it. My first Golden had skin allergies so we did end up with a grain free food which did help her. I think that is where the trouble started though with the grain free and companies trying to find protein sources in vegetables. My Beagle is on a grain free as well due to allergies. (I had her tested and she was allergic to many foods) Thankfully I found one and she is doing great on it. My current Golden is not eating grain free. I did ask the foster which food she ate and she did suggest a grain free also. I don't think she knew about the studies then. I decided to not put her on grain free though as I had heard about the research. Both of my dogs are doing great. It is enough to make your head spin though. Interesting about the sardines.


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## wstam (Jan 2, 2018)

debbie624 said:


> I know I have posted this already on other threads but wanted to share again in case the OP hasn't read the other threads. Sardines are an excellent source of taurine. Lamb is one of the lowest in taurine. Dr. Becker, holistic vet associated with Dr. Mercola, recommends feeding sardines once weekly regardless of what food you are feeding. I haven't read any posts thus far here about Dr. Becker. I think she is a great resource especially for those of us who have historically fed more of the holistic brands. I also am part of the FB group and see benefit in their recommendations of the big food companies. I am torn as my belief system is grounded in holistic nutrition. Farmina and Open Farm are both recommended by the owner of the health food/pet store I have always gone too. I will have a hard time choosing which food when the next golden comes into our life.


Good point about sardines. I don't remember seeing fresh sardines at my local supermarket. Are those canned sardines ok? How do you prepare the sardines?

Thanks for sharing...


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## debbie624 (Aug 10, 2018)

Dr. Becker recommends canned sardines once weekly. I hadn't given this to Callie so I am not sure how to prepare. I think when sardines are in cans, they are ready to eat. Unfortunately, the research on the DCM and grain free food studies were published the day after we lost Callie so I never had a chance to start this with her unfortunately. I have a printed article written by Dr. Becker. I will try to find it online so I can post a link here.


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## debbie624 (Aug 10, 2018)

Found it 

https://healthypets.mercola.com/sit...ween-dog-food-taurine-deficiency-and-dcm.aspx


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## Julie Timmons (Dec 16, 2016)

wstam said:


> Good point about sardines. I don't remember seeing fresh sardines at my local supermarket. Are those canned sardines ok? How do you prepare the sardines?
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for sharing...




Canned sardines come in different forms. I buy ones online that are whole cooked sardines without the heads, there is nothing to do other than open the can and feed a small piece to the waiting cat and then feed the rest to the dog. I just mix it in with his kibble. He loves it. They are stinky but both my animals love them. 


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