The Balanced Canine Sydney

04/09/2026

So many bulldogs in companion homes are overweight….actually scratch that….obese.

04/09/2026

New research! 🔥
Excited to see new research from Jade of Animal Behaviour Matters out this week! These two studies were undertaken with the Scent Detection Research Group at the The University of Waikato in New Zealand.

🦴 Dogs were given breakfast before or after completing a scent-detection task.

❌ When working prior to eating, dogs made significantly more false alarms.

🐺 Being hungry may cause a mild increase in frustration-related behaviour during scent work for some dogs.

🐕 Dog’s hunger state can influence both scent-detection performance and behaviour.

Yee et al. (2026) found that dogs working before breakfast produced more false alarms, suggesting hunger may increase dogs' tendency to respond to non-target odours.

Fountain et al. (2026) found that unfed dogs showed more whining and interaction with the equipment, indicating mild frustration associated with hunger. However, frustration behaviours were generally infrequent and varied between individual dogs.

Links to both of these open access articles will be in the comments or search them on google scholar/research gate.

Fountain, J., Yee, J., Hazel, S. J., McWhorter, T. J., McNutt, T., & Edwards, T. L. (2026). Effects of feeding on dogs’ frustration-related behaviours during a laboratory-based scent detection task. Behavioural Processes, 105430.

Yee, J., Downie, I., Fountain, J., & Edwards, T. L. (2026). The breakfast effect revisited: Dogs’ scent detection performance before and after a meal. Learning and Motivation, 95, 102328.

04/09/2026

According to the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) 2024 Guidelines, dogs do not need core vaccines every year.

Once a puppy has had its full course and the 12-month booster, revaccination is recommended no more often than every 3 years, and often even less, depending on antibody (titer) results.

✅ 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐬. 𝐍𝐨𝐧-𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬
Core Vaccines (essential for all dogs worldwide):
Canine Distemper Virus (CDV)
Canine Adenovirus (CAV-1/2)
Canine Parvovirus (CPV-2 variants)
Rabies (where legally required)

➡️ These protect against life-threatening diseases and provide long duration of immunity (DOI), often 7+ years, and in many cases, lifelong.

⭐ 𝐍𝐨𝐧-𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 (𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐟 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝):
Leptospirosis
Bordetella (kennel cough)
Canine Influenza
Lyme disease
Others, depending on geography, travel, or lifestyle

➡️ These are given only if your dog’s environment, lifestyle, or local disease prevalence puts them at risk.

🔬 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐀 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬

⭐ Use titer testing to check if your dog is still immune before giving a booster.

⭐ Avoid automatic annual revaccination for core vaccines.

⭐ Tailor non-core vaccines to your dog’s individual risk factors.

⚖️ The bottom line: If your vet still insists on yearly core shots without considering guidelines or titers, it’s worth asking questions. Modern veterinary science supports longer intervals and individualised care.

SYDNEY DOG OWNERS: Sires On Ice Richmond Vet charges $110 for a title test with a general health check.

03/09/2026

𝗞𝗜𝗕𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗗: 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧’𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘?

Today we are looking at the first five ingredients in Taste of the Wild PREY Turkey Formula:

🦃 Turkey
🫘 Lentils
🍅 Tomato pomace
🟡 Chicken fat
❓ Natural flavour

This is not a product review or a recommendation for or against this food. It is an educational look at what consumers can, and cannot, learn from an ingredient list.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀?
Pet-food ingredients are listed in descending order according to their weight as they enter the formulation. The first ingredient contributes the greatest weight, the second contributes the next greatest weight, and so on.

What the list does not provide is the percentage of each ingredient. We know turkey weighs more than lentils in the uncooked formulation, but we do not know whether that difference is substantial or very small.

𝟬𝟭. 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘆
Turkey is the first and only meat ingredient within the top five.

That sounds encouraging, but “turkey” is a moisture-rich raw ingredient. Its naturally occurring water contributes to its weight and therefore its position on the ingredient list. During kibble production, much of that moisture is removed.

This does not make turkey an undesirable ingredient. It simply means that “turkey is first” does not tell us what percentage of the finished kibble’s dry matter or protein comes from turkey.

Unlike the previous Six Fish formula we examined yesterday, this recipe contains no concentrated meat or fish meals. The manufacturer specifically promotes the absence of rendered meats and by-product meals. While that may appeal to consumers, meals are not automatically poor-quality ingredients. Because most of their water has already been removed, named meat meals can provide a concentrated source of animal protein.

𝟬𝟮. 𝗟𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹𝘀
Lentils are the second ingredient, making them a major component of this formulation.

𝗟𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲:
👉 Starch
👉 Fermentable and non-fermentable fibre
👉 Plant protein
👉 Vitamins and minerals

This is important because the food has a guaranteed minimum crude protein level of 30%, but crude protein does not tell us how much comes from turkey and how much comes from lentils.

Lentils can make a legitimate nutritional contribution. However, when a pulse ingredient appears this high in a grain-free food, I would want to understand its inclusion rate and how the manufacturer has assessed the finished diet’s amino-acid availability and long-term nutritional performance.

Research has identified an association between some non-traditional, grain-free, legume-rich diets and diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs. The mechanism remains unresolved, and the evidence does not establish that lentils alone cause DCM. Studies have produced differing results depending on the formulation, pulse type, inclusion rate and study duration.

The appropriate takeaway is not that all legumes are dangerous. It is that the complete formulation, digestibility, amino-acid availability, fibre characteristics and ingredient interactions matter.

𝟬𝟯. 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗲
Tomato pomace is what remains after tomatoes are processed for products such as juice, paste or sauce. It generally includes tomato skins, pulp and seeds.

In dog food, it is primarily used as a fibre ingredient. It may help support stool quality and also supplies plant compounds such as lycopene.

Because it appears third, tomato pomace is not simply a decorative inclusion added so tomatoes can appear in the marketing. It is one of the major ingredients in this food.

The guaranteed analysis allows up to 5% crude fibre. However, crude fibre does not measure all forms of dietary fibre, so it cannot tell us the recipe’s total fibre content or fermentability.

𝟬𝟰. 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝘁
Chicken fat is a concentrated source of energy and supplies omega-6 fatty acids, particularly linoleic acid. It improves palatability and helps kibble meet its required fat and energy levels.

Fat contains little to no meaningful protein when properly processed. Therefore, chicken fat should not be interpreted as a second substantial source of animal protein.

For dogs with confirmed chicken allergies, highly purified chicken fat may contain very little residual chicken protein. However, owners managing a genuine food allergy should still check with the manufacturer or their veterinarian rather than assuming every chicken-fat ingredient is completely free of protein.

Salmon oil appears later in the ingredient list and supplies DHA. The guaranteed analysis declares at least 0.05% DHA, 0.5% omega-3 fatty acids and 2.5% omega-6 fatty acids.

𝟬𝟱. 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿
“Natural flavour” is the least informative ingredient in the top five.

It is generally included to improve taste and encourage dogs to eat the food, but the ingredient list does not identify its precise source.

Natural flavour should not automatically be considered harmful. The issue is transparency. A consumer cannot determine from those words whether the flavour is derived from turkey, another animal, yeast or a combination of materials.

This may be particularly relevant when someone is purchasing a limited-ingredient food to avoid specific animal proteins.

𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲
Although this is marketed as a limited-ingredient diet, the complete food contains more than five ingredients. The manufacturer describes turkey, lentils, tomato pomace and chicken fat as its four “key ingredients”, with the remaining ingredients supplying flavour, fats, amino acids, vitamins, minerals and microorganisms.

𝗙𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱:
👉 Salmon oil
👉 DL-methionine
👉 Taurine
👉 L-carnitine
👉 Five named microbial fermentation products
added vitamins and minerals

The food guarantees a minimum taurine concentration of 0.12%. It also contains added methionine, an amino acid involved in the body’s production of taurine, and L-carnitine, which has important roles in energy metabolism.

Their inclusion is useful information, but added taurine does not automatically answer every question surrounding legume-rich diets. Diet-associated DCM is not always accompanied by low blood taurine, and researchers continue to investigate digestibility, sulphur amino-acid availability, fibre, bile-acid metabolism and other possible mechanisms.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆
The first five ingredients tell us that this is a relatively simple formulation built primarily around:

👉 One moisture-rich animal ingredient
👉 A prominent pulse ingredient
👉 A substantial fibre ingredient
👉 An animal fat
👉 An unidentified palatant

Turkey being first is meaningful, but it does not establish how much animal protein remains in the finished kibble. Lentils being second is also meaningful because they can contribute substantially to the food’s starch, fibre and measured crude protein.

The top five ingredients are an excellent starting point, but they should never be the finishing point.

A proper evaluation should also consider the complete ingredient list, guaranteed analysis, caloric density, nutritional adequacy statement, feeding trials, digestibility data, quality-control procedures and the manufacturer’s willingness to answer detailed formulation questions.

An ingredient list helps us identify the right questions. It does not provide all the answers.

03/09/2026

03/09/2026

𝗞𝗜𝗕𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗗: 𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥, 𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝗡𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬

When reading a dog-food label, the first five ingredients are a useful place to begin. Ingredients are generally listed in descending order by weight as they enter the formulation, so those near the beginning usually make up a substantial part of the recipe. However, the label does not disclose the percentage of each ingredient.

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝘀𝗵-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲:
🐟 Whole herring
🐟 Salmon
🐟 Monkfish
🐟 Acadian redfish
🐟 Flounder

At first glance, that looks straightforward. All five are specifically named fish rather than vague terms such as “fish”, “meat” or “animal protein”.

But there is an important detail consumers should understand.

𝗙𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿
These fish are described by the manufacturer as raw ingredients. Raw fish contains a considerable amount of moisture, and that water contributes to its weight when the ingredients are listed.

During kibble production, much of that moisture is removed. This means an ingredient can appear prominently on the list because of its original wet weight, while contributing less to the finished dry kibble than its position might suggest.

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆:
👓 The five largest ingredients after cooking
👓 The five largest sources of dry matter
👓 The five largest contributors of protein

That does not make the fish ingredients unimportant. It simply means their positions need to be interpreted in the context of how dry food is manufactured.

𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲
The sixth ingredient is whole hake, providing another named fish source.

𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆:
🐟 Sardine meal
🐟 Herring meal
🐟 Blue whiting meal
🐟 Po***ck meal

Fish meals have already had much of their water and fat removed, making them more concentrated sources of protein and minerals than raw fish by weight.

Although these meals sit outside the top five, they may make an important contribution to the finished food. This is a good example of why stopping at ingredient number five can create an incomplete picture.

Dehydrated salmon also appears later in the list, adding another concentrated fish ingredient.

𝗙𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱:
🐟 Whole red lentils
🐟 Whole pinto beans
🐟 Whole green lentils
🐟 Whole navy beans
🐟 Whole peas

Each appears separately, and none is included in the top five. However, when related ingredients occur multiple times, it is sensible to consider their possible collective contribution.

The label does not tell us how much of each is used, so we cannot calculate the total proportion of legumes and pulses from the ingredient list alone. Nor should we automatically assume that every ingredient appearing further down is nutritionally insignificant.

This does not prove that the ingredients have been deliberately divided to change their positions. It simply illustrates why consumers should read the entire list and mentally group similar ingredients, rather than examining every item in isolation.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝘁𝘀?
The recipe contains sunflower oil, herring oil and safflower oil.

Herring oil supplies marine fats, while sunflower and safflower oils are plant-derived fats. Their positions tell us that they are present, but not their quantities or the finished food’s overall fatty-acid balance.

For that, we would need more detailed nutrient information from the manufacturer.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴?
Some ingredients have functions that may not be immediately obvious:

📌 Natural fish flavour is generally used to improve palatability.
📌 Dried apple pomace contributes dietary fibre.
📌 Dried chicory root is commonly included as a source of prebiotic fibre.
📌 Bacillus coagulans fermentation product is included as a microbial ingredient.
📌 Mixed tocopherols, citric acid and rosemary extract assist with preservation.
📌 Added vitamins and chelated minerals help the finished food meet its intended nutritional profile.

Pumpkin, squash, greens, fruits, kelp and several botanicals also appear, but because they are listed quite far down, consumers should be careful not to let attractive front-of-pack imagery give them more nutritional significance than the ingredient list supports.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 “𝟴𝟱% 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀” 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻?
The packaging states that the recipe contains 85% animal ingredients. The manufacturer explains that this figure is approximate and is derived from the ingredients in their unprocessed state.

That claim should not automatically be interpreted as meaning that 85% of the finished kibble’s dry matter is fish, or that 85% of its protein comes from animal sources. Those are different measurements.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆
The top five ingredients matter because they provide a quick snapshot of how a food begins. In this example, they show five clearly identified fish ingredients.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴:
📌 Moisture-rich raw fish occupies the first several positions
concentrated fish meals follow
📌 Multiple legumes and beans appear separately
📌 Dehydrated salmon adds another concentrated animal ingredient
📌 Several different oils supply fat
📌 Fibres, palatants, vitamins, minerals and microbial ingredients complete the formulation

An ingredient list can help us ask better questions, but it cannot tell us everything about ingredient percentages, digestibility, protein quality, bioavailability or how well the final food performs for an individual dog.

This is not a review or a recommendation for or against the product. It is an educational example showing why the top five ingredients are important (and giving you a visual on what they are), but should always be considered alongside the entire formulation, the nutritional analysis, and the manufacturer’s supporting information.

03/09/2026

𝗞𝗜𝗕𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗗: 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗗𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗨𝗦?

The first five ingredients in this Australian grain-free dry dog food are:

1. Pea Meal
2. Dried Salmon
3. Dried Lamb
4. Chicken Fat
5. Tapioca

The sixth ingredient is soybean meal.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦.

An ingredient list cannot reveal the complete formulation, ingredient percentages, nutrient digestibility, or the quality-control procedures used by the manufacturer.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗹

👉 Ingredients are generally declared in descending order according to their weight when added to the formulation. Pea meal appearing first therefore indicates that it is the largest individual ingredient by ingoing weight.

This does not prove that pea meal constitutes more than half of the food, for example. It is also possible that the dried salmon and dried lamb combined outweigh the pea meal - the percentages have not been disclosed.

What we can reasonably conclude is that pea meal contributes at least as much weight as either dried animal ingredient individually.

This comparison is also less affected by the usual fresh-meat moisture issue. Pea meal, dried salmon and dried lamb are all relatively dry ingredients. We are not comparing a water-heavy fresh meat with a dry plant concentrate.

👉 Crude protein is not the same as meat protein

The food declares a minimum of 32% crude protein. That figure does not tell us what proportion comes from animals.

Pea meal contributes plant protein, while soybean meal provides another concentrated plant-protein source. An unknown portion of the declared crude protein may therefore come from legumes rather than salmon or lamb.

This does not automatically make the food nutritionally inadequate. Properly formulated diets can contain plant ingredients while meeting a dog’s nutrient requirements. However, the ingredient list alone cannot tell us:

👓 The respective percentages of pea meal, salmon, lamb and soybean meal

👓 How much protein is supplied by animal ingredients

👓The digestibility and bioavailability of that protein

👓 The finished food’s complete amino-acid profile

👓 Whether nutrient adequacy was established by formulation or feeding trials

For this reason, a high crude-protein percentage should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of a high-meat formulation.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?
Peas are not poisonous to dogs, and their presence does not establish that a food will cause a health problem.

The concern relates to certain grain-free formulations in which peas, lentils or other pulses are used prominently as sources of starch, fibre and plant protein. These dietary patterns have been investigated in connection with diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy, or DCM.

In reports examined by the US Food and Drug Administration, more than 90% of the implicated products were labelled grain-free and 93% contained peas and/or lentils. These reports identified a possible association, not proof that peas directly caused the disease. The FDA describes the issue as complex and potentially involving several dietary and physiological factors.

👉👉👉👉 More recent veterinary reviews suggest that prominent pulse ingredients may be more relevant than the absence of grain itself. This remains an active area of research, and not every dog eating a grain-free or pulse-containing diet develops heart disease - there is also a predisposition to heart disease to keep in mind.

👉 Taurine is only part of the picture

Taurine supports normal cardiac function. Dogs can generally manufacture taurine from methionine and cysteine, but their ability to maintain adequate taurine status varies.

𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲:
• Protein quantity and digestibility
• Methionine and cysteine availability
• Fermentable fibre
• Bile-acid metabolism and taurine losses
• Breed, age and body size
• Ingredient interactions and processing
• Individual metabolic differences

A controlled study in Labrador Retrievers examined a grain-free diet containing 20% split peas and 40% lentils. After 30 days, urinary measures of taurine decreased by approximately 77–78%, indicating altered taurine metabolism. The study did not establish that legumes cause DCM, but it showed that a heavily legume-based experimental diet could affect taurine handling.

A 2026 review also identified diet, genetics, life stage and body size as factors affecting taurine metabolism. This may be particularly relevant when evaluating long-term diets for large and giant dogs.

Importantly, many reported cases of diet-associated DCM have occurred in dogs with normal circulating taurine. Consequently, this issue cannot be reduced to a simple taurine deficiency or assumed to be resolved merely by adding taurine or one of its precursors.

This formula contains added DL-methionine, which dogs can use as a precursor for taurine synthesis. Its inclusion may be part of balancing the amino-acid profile. However, its position in the ingredient list does not disclose the amount provided, its availability, or the adequacy of the complete finished diet.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 “𝘀𝗺𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱” 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻?
This food is promoted using the term “smoked salmon,” but its ingredient declaration lists dried salmon.

That does not prove that the description is inaccurate. The salmon could have been smoked before drying, and every processing step is not necessarily included in the ingredient name. The declaration alone simply does not confirm:

• Whether the salmon was genuinely smoked
• Whether conventional smoke or smoke flavouring was used
• Whether it was cured or contained added sodium
• What safety and contaminant testing was performed

Smoking is principally a preservation and flavouring process, not an inherent nutritional advantage.

Depending on the process, smoking and direct drying can produce polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. Some PAHs are genotoxic and carcinogenic, although their formation varies greatly according to the smoking method and properly controlled commercial products may contain low levels. This does not establish that this particular ingredient contains unsafe PAH concentrations. No testing results are available to make that assessment.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝗸: 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱, 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄:
• What percentage of the formulation is pea meal?
• What percentages are dried salmon, dried lamb and soybean meal?
• What proportion of the protein comes from animal sources?
• What are the typical finished-food levels of taurine, methionine and cysteine?
• Has protein and amino-acid digestibility been measured?
• Has the formulation undergone controlled feeding trials?
• Which nutritional standard and life stage does it meet?
• What does “smoked salmon” mean in practical processing terms?

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲
👉 The ingredient list does not prove that this food is unsafe, causes taurine deficiency, or causes DCM.
👉 It also does not prove that the food is predominantly pea meal.

𝗜𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁:
• Pea meal is the largest individual ingredient
• Soybean meal supplies another concentrated legume protein
• The 32% crude-protein figure includes an undisclosed contribution from plants
• The respective quantities of animal and plant ingredients are not provided
• The meaning and nutritional relevance of “smoked” are not explained

My concern is not about a dog eating peas. It is about relying long-term on a grain-free dry food in which a concentrated pea ingredient appears before either animal protein.

Without percentages, digestibility results, amino-acid data and feeding-trial information, the ingredient panel raises questions that the guaranteed analysis alone cannot answer.

I did contact the manufacturer with questions relating to taurine, and they did not respond.

03/09/2026

You can learn more patience or you lean into frustration.

One thing the Xolo breed has made me better at is laughing when things don’t go to plan and showing more patience.

The reason I had to learn these things was because its what got results. This breed wants to work with you not for you so thinking outside the box is sometimes needed.

What have your dogs taught you?

As a side note, Nora was indeed meant to be inbetween my legs but facing the other way 😜

01/09/2026

The soul grows tired - I said to a friend that this last part of the journey seems as if you’re watching the soul fracture and float away, bit by bit everyday until just the earthly vessel remains.

Dementia is the toughest end of life phases I have been through with a dog because the dog you have known for all this time has mostly gone and you become a caregiver to a dog that’s almost like a stranger that you’re constantly worried about.

Since we made the decision that we would soon say goodbye, it’s actually relieved some of that anxiety because we’re no long battling with what to do and monitoring how he’s doing on a daily basis such as on walks and how bad his dementia has been that day or whether he’s lost somewhere in the house or not sleeping well - it’s turned into making this last chapter as stress free as we can, it also means the diet he’s been on for the last 15 years has been thrown out of the window and he will leave this world a big fat fatty.

And just as a side note, if you ask him what his secret is of his long life, making it to nearly 17 years of age, he would tell you…

A long life is attributed to eating cat poo on his walks, eating cooked chicken bones the ibis drop and really eating anything and everything he can get to.

He’d also tell you he’s found much joy in licking people’s eye balls which makes them laugh and that means he can then lick inside their mouths as they laugh and then gag when they remember he’s a poo eater.

His long life can also be attributed to pure joy from things like the joy he got from sitting on the chests of women who are well endowed and stealing food out of peoples treat bags and zooming after doing a poo.

If you’ve met Little Man at some point over the last 15 years we’ve had the privilege of being his people, we hope you remember his joyful sweet soul.

If Little Man could talk, I think in this last chapter, he’d give you a pep talk about making everyday count with your dogs, have fun with them, play with them, laugh and squeal, give them lots of opportunity to access the things they love - for Little, that is food and exercise ❤️.

And with that, it’s time for us to sign off from future updates about Little Man as we spend our final week with him before he goes home 🌈.

01/09/2026

Chill Out Dude is designed to help take the edge off your dog to assist during behavioural modification training; it will not change genetic traits or genetic temperament.

😍 Supports Calm Focus – Ideal for dogs during training, shows, travel, or other stimulating situations.

😍 Helps Maintain Composure – Provides natural plant compounds that assist in maintaining a relaxed demeanour.

😍 Flexible Use – Can be given on the day of an event or as part of a longer-term routine.

https://mydoggieboosters.com/shop/ols/products/chill-out-dude