Taurine in dog foods...lady spoke of it being harmful...

Auch!  I find that hard to believe.  I think this gal sounds like a bit of an extremist.

I actually wouldn't doubt the issue honestly, per what the owner of the store has told me, she's actually worked with a lot of different studies and research companies, and has documented over 25yrs of seeing the pet food industries from the inside.

Her studies cover all horse and chicken feed as well as canine/feline foods/companies.

This lady doesn't appear to be in it for anything other then the wellbeing of the animals she raises and breeds, she doesn't sale or market anything.

Who knows...but it sounds pretty freaky to me, after all, look at all the secrecy of using outsourced China ingredients.

Nature's Variety is supposed to be one of the really good quality food sources, yet, right on their website it states they use rabbit from China.

Pretty scary.  

I'm still thinking she's gone a bit over the deep end.  There are some very real concerns we have to have about commercial foods, but, I'm not sure that taurine is one of them.  Maybe having seen the inside she is over reacting and perhaps generalizing?  Or maybe she's dead on, but, gosh, who knows these days?

I know....even our own food sources are getting scarier everyday.

Wish I had a way to raise our own food like my parents were raised, have the property, just don't have the zoning.

 I've heard some people have raised issues with taurine in people products, but it's a problem of how much and how the product is being used, ie, the heart is being exposed to high levels while being pushed by amphetamines like caffeine.

Dogs manufacture taurine from methionine and cysteine, both of which are found plentifully in muscle meats.  However, there's some question about how stable the latter is after cooking.  Cats cannot manufacture taurine, so after it became obvious that the pet food industry had made a grave error in leaving this amino acid out of foods, they started adding it.  Since there's a question mark about the availability of the amino acids needed to build taurine, in dog food, the good dog food companies have long been adding this supplement (I remember Nutro bragging about it probably fourteen years ago).

It's my opinion that unless the taurine supply is tainted (which is possible, I suppose, but then anything could be tainted, even the supplements I use to balance my homecooked meals), it's safe.  Humans are currently allowed to guzzle thousands of times the RDA of the stuff via "energy drinks" so I doubt a little extra is harming dogs, if one is purchasing quality food.

In short, I'm with Glenda.  I would have nodded and smiled and filed the info under the "Probable extremist" category. 

Why in the heck would it be a bad thing...is what I don't understand.

I agree, there are a lot of extremist issues, and I do believe this is one of them, along with the lady at the locker plant telling me I'm not doing my dogs any good by cooking their meats, rather then giving them raw.

Never thought the taurine in muscle meats would be deemed useless after cooking, perhaps I'll give their beef heart just a blanching rather then cooking. I tend to leave it somewhat raw anyhow.

But, I DO cook the ground beef thoroughly.

Good news, I think the big guy's ok with chicken, I think it was the treats that we were giving him that were making him itch.

 The lady started to talk about how the Taurine supplement that's added to cat foods is actually very harmful to cats

 ??? She should tell that to each and every cat that died or had severe chronic heart problems for the many years that food companies did not add it.  wow. Talk about mumbo jumbo over science. She needs to read some real books on metabolism. Cats *require* taurine. Definitely a little loopy.

It's my opinion that unless the taurine supply is tainted (which is possible, I suppose, but then anything could be tainted, even the supplements I use to balance my homecooked meals), it's safe.  Humans are currently allowed to guzzle thousands of times the RDA of the stuff via "energy drinks" so I doubt a little extra is harming dogs, if one is purchasing quality food

You are a stronger person than me for being able to cook that beef heart.  Blech.  I don't what it is about the stuff - kidney actually makes me a little hungry but heart gives me the willies.  

I think the big guy's ok with chicken, I think it was the treats that we were giving him that were making him itch.

*Whew*  You SO don't want a chicken-sensitive dog.  Well, I'd give the world to get mine BACK , but I'll freely admit it was a pain.  Crossing my fingers for you!

Check his thyroid too if you haven't already.  Sometimes there's a connection between oversensitivity to foods and underactive thyroid. 

Could thyroid be an issue at only 18mnths of age?

I guess it could strike at any age huh?

He's at an excellent weight, hair is magnificent, but I do attest that he sometimes *seems* to tire out easily, or perhaps lose interest, I've heard that's a common trait of the Nova Scotia's.

I was and still am terrified of the thought of him being allergic to chicken, as I can get chicken at .52/pound, versus ground beef at the cheapest of $1.75/pound...we're not talking a little dog here. He's not huge, by any means, but he does consume quite a load of meat

Yeah, the beef heart can be a little trying on the aroma factor when it's nearly cooked. In the beginning it's not so bad, but after only a few minutes of simmering it can clear a house full of people, I always have to hurry and wash the pan afterwards, cause it does tend to get to me and then spray febreeze

I'm pretty sure that I recall reading that heat does destroy taurine and the very best source of taurine is a raw beef heart.  When I can get them, which is rare, the dogs enjoy them RAW.

I just found a terrific description of the properties of taurine - and it's importance to cats - at the place where I get my premix for my kitties:  Feline Future web page on taurine. 

But dogs don't have a need for supplemental taurine, so cooking the heart meat is fine.  Note that cooking doesn't completely destroy the taurine, it just denatures it by half, approximately, when sauted.  It appears to depend on how long the meat is cooked rather than temps (boiling takes longer than dry heat methods).