[Britster]

Originally Posted by pstinard

I've been waiting for SkeptVet to weight in on this. I've also read this elsewhere, but he seems to think that the issue is more with low taurine content or availability in the food rather than the fact that it is grain-free. Also, he says not to panic unless you have one of the dog breeds that is susceptible to the heart condition, but instead speak with your vet.

Haven't read the article yet, but...

Yup. Many dogs are not producing their own taurine anymore because the abundance of legumes in many of these grain free foods. But even if you give your dog a taurine supplement, it won't help - because it's being blocked from being produced by the dog.

Taurine is not an essential amino acid for dogs (it IS in cat food). It is synthesized from other amino acids. Grain or grain free isn't necessarily the issue here.. grain has virtually no taurine. Good quality protein is important. WHERE the protein is coming from. If the majority of the protein is coming from legumes, that is not bioavailable for dogs, and their bodies are struggling to synthesize taurine if they don't have enough of the ingredients to make it with.

That is how I understand it anyway.

So grain-free in itself is not evil.

It's the foods that are just loaded with peas, beans, lentils, pea protein, and listed multiple times high up on an ingredient list.