Too Big of a Heart - my dog's battle with dilated cardiomyopathy and BEG diets

The purpose of this blog is to share the information that I have about dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), how to navigate this diagnosis with young dogs, and the connection between DCM and grain free diets.   Barley is a three year old golden retriever. She is a healthy dog. She is a 57 pound, allergy free, fit dog. She loves to fetch, hike, and swim. She loves the ocean.  She is stubborn, and knows what she wants. She is persistent and loving. She takes pride in how dirty she can get.   She needs baths.  She will destroy toys and steal her dog sister's treats if left unsupervised.  Barley is a lover. She loves people and loves to cuddle. She has a big heart. Up until early October 2018, Barley never had a bad day in her life.  In October, Barley was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy.  That was her first bad day.  The following days were also bad. Barley started panting excessively on Tuesday evening.  Leading up to that, she occasionally breathed heavily but we dismissed