Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Labrador retrievers on grain-free high legume diets show early signs
By Bakke, Anne Marie et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2022·Waltham Petcare Science Institute, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Responses in randomised groups of healthy, adult Labrador retrievers fed grain-free diets with high legume inclusion for 30 days display commonalities with dogs with suspected dilated cardiomyopathy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of healthy adult Labrador retrievers was fed a grain-free diet high in legumes, specifically split peas and lentils, for 30 days to see how it affected their health. After this period, the dogs showed significant decreases in red blood cell counts and hemoglobin levels, along with an increase in phosphate levels, which are similar to changes seen in dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a serious heart condition. The study also noted changes in taurine levels, an important nutrient for heart health. These findings suggest that grain-free diets with high legume content may not be safe for all dogs, especially in relation to heart health.
People also search for: Labrador retriever grain-free diet heart problems · dog diet-induced dilated cardiomyopathy · taurine levels in dogs
Abstract
Early responses in healthy adult dogs fed grain-free diets with high inclusion of split peas (20%) and lentils (40%) that may lead to canine diet-induced dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) were investigated. To help understand the clinical relevance of the findings, a survey of electronic health records (EHR) was conducted of dogs with and without suspected DCM for comparison. Control and Test diets were fed to Labrador retriever dogs for 30 days (n = 5 and 6, respectively). Blood and urine samples collected at baseline and days 3, 14 and 28/30 were analyzed for hematology, clinical biochemistry and taurine concentrations. The EHRs of dogs at Banfield® Pet Hospitals in the 2-year period 2018-2019 were surveyed, revealing 420 dogs diagnosed with DCM, which were compared with 420 breed, gender and age-matched healthy control dogs. Compared to baseline values, feeding the Test diet for 28 days caused progressive, significant (p < 0.001) decreases in red blood cell counts (RBC), hematocrit and total hemoglobin by 7.7, 8.3 and 6.3%, respectively, and a 41.8% increase in plasma inorganic phosphate. Commonalities in these parameters were observed in clinical DCM cases. Regarding taurine status, Test dogs transiently increased whole-blood (23.4%) and plasma (47.7%) concentrations on day 14, while taurine:creatinine ratio in fresh urine and taurine in pooled urine were reduced by 77 and 78%, respectively, on day 28/30. Thus grain-free, legume-rich Test diets caused reduced RBC and hyperphosphatemia, findings also indicated in dogs with suspected DCM. Changes in taurine metabolism were indicated. The data will aid in generating hypotheses for future studies.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35484585/