Dietary Problems With Lamb & Rice Dog Foods

History

• Dogs with food allergies were put on plain rice and lamb as an isolation diet to help find the allergens. Other ingredients were slowly added while watching for allergic responses.

Function

• The lamb and rice were used because most dogs did not commonly eat them at that time, so it made them unlikely allergy suspects. This helped give the dog something to eat while finding which foods were problems.

Misconceptions

• Lamb and rice food helped dogs with allergies have better skin because it removed the allergies, not because lamb and rice are generally healthier or better for the skin than other foods.

Problem

• A study in the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association in October 2003 found a link between lamb and rice kibble and dogs with heart disease related to taurine deficiency.

Considerations

• Most lamb and rice dog food contains many other ingredients but if rice and lamb are the main ones they can cause taurine deficiency if it is not added.

Allergies

• Since dogs now commonly eat lamb and rice, if your dog has allergies your vet may recommend an isolation diet using fish, rabbit or venison as the basic protein. Do not use restrictive diets unless veterinarian recommended.