Role Of Dog Foods in Causing Canine Heart Disease

A team of the University of California has found an association between some famous dog diets which are grain-free and rich in legume, deficiency of nutrition, and canine heart disease which is also known as taurine-deficient dilated cardiomyopathy.

Researchers reported that dogs are not maintaining taurine in enough amounts to eat a boutiques diet. Taurine is an amino acid that is necessary for the health of the heart.

Deficiency of taurine causes dilated cardiomyopathy or you can call it DCM. It is a disorder of muscles that causes the failure of the heart and even death. People who are dog lovers want to keep their dogs protected from congestive heart failure.

Joshua Stern is working as an author. Joshua said that he was shocked by the similar diets that are being fed to the dogs who are already affected by heart disease. He also reported that she was amazed to see a large number of cases in a short period of time. 

Ster said that this condition was rarely seen in their clinic. He also said that they are trying to spread awareness about this problem. They have seen a large number of animals who were infected with heart disease.

He added that canine heart disease is a reversible condition or form of a devastating disease. They are ensuring that veterinarians should identify the vulnerabilities and treat it immediately when needed.

Stern said that dog food composed of healthy nutrients and prepared by the experts is much important to decrease the risk of canine heart diseases.

Culprit ‘Boutique’ Foods for Pets

Pet foods that contain potatoes as basic ingredients, lentils, peas, and legume seeds are associated with DCM. Using these foods continuously reduces the pumping of the heart and enhances its size.

As a result, the structure and function of the heart may result in chronic consequences such as failure of the heart or death of the animal from cardiac issues. If we see the history then the most common triggers of DCM are genes.

Other factors also contribute to inducing DCM in animals but they are very rare. DCM is uncommon in the breeds that are not much affected by this disease earlier. Stern says that disease is also found in other breeds which is surprising.

An example of the breed in which canine DCM was diagnosed is the Golden retriever. The animals are getting a disease from their diets. Stern has treated many dogs and he noticed the trend of the disease that appeared in animals two years ago.

He has realized while treating the dogs who were suffering from DCM that all animals consume similar diets. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an alert to the veterinarians and owners of the pets last year.

This administration has also reported an association between the diets of animals and DCM. The FDA is doing research on this problem already. The FDA also reports that researchers are identifying the dietary factors that are causing the problems in dogs.

Study Examined Golden Retrievers

Stern did research on the 24 golden retrievers. He examined a dilated cardiomyopathy and deficiency of taurine in the animals. Stern reported that he diagnosed 23 animals from 24 with DCM. All have taken similar diet patterns that were rich in legume and grain-free.

Stern added that the study was clinical and conducted to examine the response of dogs that were affected towards therapy. Stern prescribed a diet change to dogs. He prescribed a taurine supplement in the diet of dogs.

Only one dog has shown improvement. Some dogs were having advanced stages of the disease that leads to congestive heart failure. Some dogs have shown improvements dramatically.

Recommendations

Stern suggested that the veterinarian should guide the clients about how they can pay attention to the diet of their dogs. He also said that dogs can also suffer DCM due to nutritional issues instead of a taurine deficiency.

Supplements of taurine can also help to overcome the issue. The diet that does not have the essential availability of taurine should be avoided. The World Small Animal Association of Veterinary has given a set of recommendations.

Stern suggested that clients should follow these recommendations before selecting food for their dogs. UC Davis clinic is continuously treating dogs with DCM. They are diagnosing more cases day by day. Take care of your pet and choose the diet for your dog wisely.