Question about taurine

I found a strange statement on the following website:
http://www.californianaturalpet.com/products/default.asp?id=3

On that website, they say "Although Taurine, an amino acid, is already present in lamb meal, it has been supplemented to benefit certain breeds."

What do they mean by "certain breeds"? Are some dogs unable to utilize taurine found in animal meat?

I emailed Natura Pet with this question over a week ago, but they never replied to me.

Here ya go:

Taurine deficiency

Hey, nice find!

That really sheds new light on several of the discussions about taurine on these forums. Judging from that article, it's probably a good idea to supplement taurine for large/giant breed dogs.

I wonder if there are any more recent developments about taurine since that article was written 6 years ago.

Some good quotes from various relevant Google hits:

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=2496
"In some dogs, DCM is due to a nutritional deficiency. Taurine is an amino acid required for the development and function of the myocardium. Consequently, pets may develop DCM on taurine deficient diets, such as vegetarian diets, and may benefit from appropriate supplementation. Some breeds, such as Cocker Spaniels and Newfoundlands may have a predisposition to Taurine-deficiency, possibly through defects in metabolizing taurine. Not all cases that are supplemented with taurine will improve. If your pet is diagnosed with DCM, testing for a taurine deficiency may be warranted. Breeds such as Doberman Pinschers and Great Danes do not have taurine-deficient cardiomyopathy."

http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proceedings.plx?CID=WALTHAMOSU2002&PID=2981
"Some American Cocker Spaniels have been reported to develop DCM associated with low taurine levels.3 Taurine supplementation may result in reversal of the disease and a significantly better prognosis. Although taurine does not appear to be associated with the development of DCM in other commonly affected breeds, it is still occasionally reported in unique presentations of DCM and measurement of levels may be considered in atypical breeds."

http://www.ygrr.org/doginfo/health-heartcondition.html
"The prognosis in other breeds can be somewhat better, but in almost all cases, the disease is ultimately fatal. Exceptions to the rule are some Cocker Spaniels that are taurine-deficient and respond to the administration of taurine and carnitine (an amino acid required for energy production), some Boxers (and rarely other breeds) that may respond to carnitine and few dogs that are taurine-deficient and that may respond to taurine therapy."

http://www.vetgo.com/cardio/concepts/concsect.php?conceptkey=78
"Taurine deficiency in some cases of unusual breeds (non giant breeds, non Dobermans). We believe a taurine deficiency may be involved in some Golden Retrievers with DCM."

http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/CCAH/Update06-2/6-2_Taurine.html
"Dr. Backus found evidence in a study of Newfoundland dogs with taurine deficiency to support the idea that taurine metabolism may be influenced by 'metabolic' body size, which takes into account that the amount of energy needed by the body is correlated with total body surface area, not just body weight."



Some other revelant Google hits:

http://www.sniksnak.com/doghealth/heartfailure.html

http://www.cvah.com/article/DCM.html

http://www.westlakeanimalhospital.c...e__Canine/dilated_cardiomyopathy__canine.html

http://www.unipr.it/arpa/facvet/annali/1999/quintavalla/quintavalla.htm

http://www.vet.upenn.edu/departments/csp/cardiology/brochures/Dilated Cardiomyopathy.pdf

Here's a post on a message forum that may be of interest, but so far I've been unable to verify the source:

http://lab-retriever.net/board/archive/index.php/t-39487.html
"Some breeds are predisposed to DCM such as Golden Retrievers, King Charles Spaniels, Labradors, Dalmatians, Cockers and Doberman Pinschers. These breeds cannot synthesize taurine as well as most dogs in the general population."

Another post from the same message forum thread as above:

"Taurine Deficient Diets and Dilated Cardiomyopathy
A recent retrospective study has looked at clinical parameters of 12 Newfoundlands , including outcomes, with low blood or plasma taurine concentrations and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). All 12 dogs were fed commercial dry diets containing lamb meal, rice, or both as the main ingredients. Results suggest that consumption of these diets may be associated with low blood or plasma concentrations of taurine and DCM. Taurine supplementations mat result in prolonged survival times and better cardiac function in these dogs. This is not typical for other kinds of DCM. Samples should be submitted for measurement of taurine in dogs on lamb and rice diets and for any dog with DCM. Taurine supplementation is recommended for all dogs with low taurine levels( check your lab). Supplementation of 500 mg. BID for the average adult dog can be done even while results are pending.
Home prepared diets of low protein tofu-based diets had low taurine levels in two dogs. Three Golden Retrievers with taurine deficient diets lived in the same household and were consuming a vegetarian diet formulated by the owner. I am personally aware of one Irish Setter who died of DCM in my hospital on a lamb and rice diet, and had a taurine level of 6, severely low. Your veterinarian should analyze the dog’s diet if it seems suspect, but the focus should measurement of taurine levels by blood or plasma.
S. Gary Brown, DVM
1 Taurine deficiency in Newfoundlands fed commercially available complete and balanced diets.. Backus, R.C.,Cohen, Pion, Good, Rogers,, Fascetti--- JAVMA vol. 223, no. 8 Oct. 15,2003, pp 1130-1135 2. Taurine deficiency in dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy : 12 cases(1997-2003 Fascetti,Andrea J., Reed, Rogers, Backus. JAVMA vol. no. 223 , no. 8 Oct. 15, 2003 pp1137-1141"

UC Davis does a lot of research. IIRC, they discovered the link between the MDR1 gene mutation and ivermectin sensitivity in collies and other herding breeds.

There is a thread somewhere here when we discussed taurine. It is a necessary supplement for cats because they don't process taurine like dogs do and cats need it supplemented daily for heart health. There are some links I had found on the net because I did a search wondering why some dog food makers had started adding taurine to dog food, particularly in lamb and rice formulas. I was just curious because I always saw taurine as a cat issue. Anyways, there was some interesting information on the use of taurine with dogs that had cardiomyopathy and taurine seemed to work wonders on them. I remember one site discussing a case with several labs.

The one continuing mention was lamb and rice foods and how taurine needed to be supplemented in these foods. I will try to find the other thread as there was a vet student contributing who had some interesting things to say.

See Stealthdog's Post #9
http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?p=547558&highlight=taurine#post547558

Also
http://www.jaaha.org/cgi/content/abstract/41/5/284

Thanks for the reference!

I actually remember seeing that thread back in December, but didn't get far enough into it to see the part about taurine.

You're welcome