Pet Digest

What the Research Really Says: Taurine, Diet, and DCM in Dogs Diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) has become a growing concern, particularly in relation to grain-free diets and taurine deficiency. While not all cases of DCM are related to taurine or diet, the following studies have shown a clear link in specific breeds and dietary patterns.  This post will be mostly links to the key studies on Taurine, DCM, and Breed specifics. The goal with this post is to showcase the limitations of the research provided by our top scientists world-wide. I believe I have discussed on multiple occasions throughout this blog my views on DCM and the effects it has on our pets and their diets. However, I truly want to showcase the facts here and, how the evidence is limited. I also want to note how the studies are slowly loosing their progression since the conversation restarted in 2018.  📚 Key Studies on Taurine and DCM Pion et al. (1987) : The landmark study that identified ...

Why Vegetables Should Come Before Salt in Your Dog’s Food – And What That Tells You If you're paying attention to your dog's food labels (and you should be!), there's a small but mighty clue that can tell you a lot about what's really in the bag: the position of vegetables compared to salt on the ingredient list. Why Ingredient Order Matters In pet food labeling, ingredients must be listed in descending order by weight before cooking. This means the first ingredients are the most plentiful in the recipe. And here’s the kicker — salt is regulated to be no more than 2% of the total recipe . So if you see veggies like peas, carrots, spinach, or sweet potato listed after salt, you're looking at food with less than 2% vegetables . That’s barely a sprinkle. For a food that advertises “with garden veggies” or shows a bounty of vegetables on the bag, this can be misleading. Real, beneficial amounts of vegetables should come before salt if they’re going to have any me...