[clynnlaban]

Turkey is a good quality meat that is highly digestible and has good quality amino acid profile. It is not toxic to dogs (as already noted by Jean Fritz). Turkey is indeed considered a high tryptophan protein and, as noted, tryptophan is an essential amino acid.


Where the earlier rumor could have been started is that aromatic amino acids (like tryptophan) can build up in the blood during liver failure.


The higher concentration of aromatic amino acids to branched chain amino acids (i.e. valine, isoleucine, and lysine) in blood can result in high brain uptake of certain amino acids that contribute to unusual brain neurotransmitters. This is one of the proposed mechanisms of hepatoencephalopathy: the seizures, and neurologic signs that sometimes occurs with severe liver failure. In other words, feeding a very high tryptophan concentration is typically avoided in animals with liver failure and I suspect this is where the concern arose over Turkey and Yorkies. On a relative basis (compared to other proteins) - turkey is high in tryptophan, however, it is also pretty high in branched chain amino acids - so the overall effect is not significant for most dogs. I would be more concerned about controlling total protein intake and assuring good protein quality than completely avoiding turkey as a protein source for shunt dogs.


In severe cases, it may be necessary to feed low AA:BCA proteins (like cottage cheese) along with protein restriction - but this is unnecessary for most.


And, for corrected Yorkies or Yorkies without shunts - Enjoy the turkey!