8 - Breed Nutrition

Dilated
cardiomyopathy
in Cockers
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a heart disease
characterised by a major dilatation of the heart cavities,
associated with a thinning of the muscle wall.
Eventually, the myocardium is unable to contract sufficiently
to fulfil its role as a pump to circulate the
blood throughout the body.
This disease is particularly known among large dogs,
but it is also found in Cocker Spaniels, where it often
develops more slowly and may be complicated by
mitral endocardiosis, a disease connected to the
ageing of the heart valves (Tidholm et al, 2001;
Pereira et al, 2004).
The association between DCM and a taurine* deficiency
has been very well established in American Cockers (Kittleson et al,
1997) and it is also found in English Cockers. Taurine is an amino acid normally
synthesised by the dog, but some breeds or lines appear to produce insufficient
quantities. Taurine regulates the heartbeat and it protects the heart muscle’s cells
(Satoh and Sperakis, 1998).
This deficiency is not inevitably due to an inadequate content in the diet. A
retrospective study shows that the average dietary consumption of taurine is not
significantly different between dogs with or without a taurine deficiency
(Freeman et al, 2001).
Measurement of the taurine content in the plasma and in the whole blood is recommended
in Cocker Spaniels suffering from DCM.
15
An echocardiogram helps in the disease’s
diagnosis before clinical signs of heart
failure appear.
English Cocker Spaniel - © C. Renner/Royal Canin
© Bussadori