My Good Dog Blog

DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THE DOG FOOD BRAND WELLNESS or WELLNESS CORE contains amino acids Phenylalanine and Thyrosine? tyrosine?

Ar first I wasn’t sure why you were concerned about these two amino acids but now I suspect that you feel these amino acids should be added to the dog food. It is quite possible that the protein content of Wellness and Wellness Core provide sufficient protein to provide Phenylalanine and Tyrosine.

Although this first link is a people site, the first information is just as important for dogs as people.

http://1stholistic.com/nutrition/hol_nutr_protein.htm

The second link now makes more sense as it applies to dogs and -among other things – amino acids:

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=protein

Here is an excerpt on amino acids from The Dog Food Project:
"Amino acids are divided into two groups:
•Essential amino acids: cannot be synthesized by the body in sufficient quantities and must be supplied in the diet. For dogs, these include Arginine, Methionine, Histidine, Phenylalanine, Isoleucine, Threonine, Leucine, Tryptophan, Lysine and Valine. (For cats, Taurine is also essential, humans can synthesize both Arginine and Taurine.)
•Non-essential amino acids: are synthesized by the body if sufficient "building material" is available, which is usually the case if a balanced diet is fed."

If you take a look at the ingredients in these dog foods you will not see these amino acids listed but actually you can find Phenylalanine in the following foods:
Poultry
Fish
Pork
Beef
as well as Tofu, Eggs, Yogurt and Milk

Which means that it is naturally included. And that should supply a sufficient amount. Phenylalanine functions as a painkiller by preventing the breakdown of endorphins, the natural painkiller/feel good. And that might not be too bad since one also can find glucosamine condroitin present in these dog food ingredients, which means we are looking to prevent or fight arthritis…pain

Link to WELLNESS(R) pet food:

http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/

From the dry dog food
"Wellness® uses real, USDA grade, "Fit for Human Consumption," naturally preserved meats including Deboned Chicken, New Zealand Lamb and Ocean White Fish."
From the chicken and sweet potato canned dog food:
"Deboned Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Ocean Whitefish, Ground Whole Barley, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Flaxseed, Canola Oil, Guar Gum, Carrageenan, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Iron Proteinate (Source Of Chelated Iron), Zinc Proteinate (Source Of Chelated Zinc), Choline Chloride, Vitamins A, E And D3 Supplements, Cobalt Proteinate (source of Chelated Cobalt), Copper Proteinate (Source Of Chelated Copper), Manganese Proteinate (Source Of Chelated Manganese), Riboflavin Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, D-Biotin"

And lastly a link to their no wheat gluten, no meat by-products, no soy, corn, dairy, artificial preservatives, colors or flavors Core formula:

http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/dog_wellness_grain_index.html

About Tyrosine…L-phenylalanine is a precursor of L-tyrosine which in turn is a precursor of L-dopa which can be converted into dopamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine. So it’s in there too…in a way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylalanine

The thing is there are some reasons to be concerned about additives but you are seeing the additives on the label. The rest is essentially nutrition.

I think on such a diet your dog will have a better nutritional balance than many children I have met.

If you are worried from a different perspective – i.e. that phenylalanine is in there and you are worried that it is a problem for your dog. be aware that PKU is a human issue.

The cautionary about Phenylalanine is excessive use of certain artificial sweeteners for example. In certain people PKU (phenyketonuria) is a possible risk. But that does not appear to be the case in dogs except when induced..

Helpful reading about canine nutritional requirements:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1661&aid=702

Odd reading:
Requirements for phenylalanine and tyrosine in immature beagles, an abstract:

http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/114/12/2212

PKU:

http://gregladen.com/wordpress/?p=395

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 25th, 2009 at 6:12 pm and is filed under wellness dog food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.