72 THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com It makes perfect sense that with all the bounding love we have for our dogs, we only want the best for them. A possible con- nection between grain-free diets and heart disease has been making headlines, of late, and we’re all concerned. Let’s try and understand the facts, as they’ve been presented to us, so far. An article from The Clinical Nutrition Team at Tufts University Foster Hospital for Small Animals offered this case example. “Earlier this year, Peanut, a four-year-old male Beagle/Lab mix was diagnosed with a life- threatening heart disease at our hospital. Peanut had been lethargic, not eating well, and occasion- ally coughing. The veterinary cardiologist see- ing him asked what food he was eating and found that his owner, in a desire to do the best thing for Peanut, was feeding him a grain-free diet containing kangaroo and chickpeas. Peanut required several medications to treat his heart failure, but the owner also changed his diet. Five months later, Peanut’s heart is nearly normal.” Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) Let’s first give a quick overview of canine heart disease to get everyone on a level understanding. Heart disease is quite common and affects about 10-15% of all dogs and cats. However, some breeds are even more likely to develop heart disease such as Doberman Pinschers, Boxer dogs, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Irish Wolfhounds, and Great Danes. Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a serious disease of the heart muscle that causes the heart to have a weak beat, to become enlarged and irregular rhythm. I tell clients to think of it like a balloon.The more air you put into a balloon, the big- ger it gets, and the thinner it becomes. As the heart becomes bigger, the ability to contract and eject blood becomes less effective and less blood gets pushed to the body, where needed. Heart failure can then occur (lethargy, weakness, coughing, panting, and fluid in the lungs or abdomen, or sudden death). Recently,veterinarians have noticed an increase in DCM in both predisposed, typical breeds, but also in breeds not usually predisposed such as Golden Retrievers,Miniature Schnauzers or French Bulldogs. There is suspicion that the increase in DCM in all groups may be associated with dogs eating grain-free diets, with the disease or condition improving when the diet is changed. Grain-free diets and diets with exotic ingredients – kangaroo, lentils, duck, pea, fava bean, buffalo, tapioca, salmon, lamb, barley, bison, venison and chickpeas, were more likely to have been fed in these cases. So is diet the cause? The jury is still out and not yet clear. The Center for Veterinary Medicine of the FDA and veterinary cardiologists are investigating the issue. The first thought was a nutritional defi- ciency of the amino acid taurine. It was proven decades ago that taurine deficiency was the most common cause of heart disease in cats. Now, all rep- utable commercial cat diets are supple- mented with taurine. In dogs, the Golden Retriever, Newfoundlands, St. Bernards, English Irish Setters, Irish Wolfhounds, Portuguese Water Dogs and Cocker Spaniels were found to be at risk for DCM caused by taurine deficiency. It has been shown that associations between dietary factors and taurine deficiency in dogs include lamb, rice bran, high fiber diets and very low protein diets, some vegan diets and some raw/home-pre- pared diets. It is not completely clear whether a grain-free diet is to blame. Nor is it clear as to why certain breeds of dogs are more at risk of DCM caused by taurine deficiency. Other things we should be considering as well. 1. Decreased production of taurine due to a diet deficient in taurine. 2. Reduced bioavailability (meaning the taurine is in a form that the body cannot utilize). 3. Reduced building blocks to form taurine. 4. Increased taurine loss in the feces. 5.Abnormal taurine metabolism in the body. Some of the dogs that developed DCM had low taurine levels and improved with taurine supplementation. But even some of the dogs that had normal taurine levels improved with taurine supplementation. These dogs also had a diet change. We most likely have two separate problems occurring: 1.Taurine deficiency. 2. Yet Unknown Problem. It’s the non-taurine deficient dogs that make this determination more difficult. The one consistency is that DCM does appear to be more likely to occur in dogs eating grain-free diets or diets with more exotic ingredients. A board certified veterinary nutritionist’s input into this ris- ing problem has been best broken down by the following factors. Grain-Free Diets and Heart Disease? –by Dr.Timothy Hodge Let’s Study Some of the Facts Before Jumping to Conclusion.