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

Barley in May, 2018 when she suddenly stopped dock-diving My biggest recommendation is to pay attention to behavior changes in your dog! Had we done that, we would have caught Barley's condition five months ago!  About two weeks before the diagnosis , we started to noticed episodes of quick panting/breathing.  We dismissed this behaviors as Barley being excited. You see, Barley is a very excited dog.  She watches TV and loves certain commercials, she is obsessed with our treat-dealing mailman and she is obsessed with people.  She's always been an intense little creature. I actually think Barley started exhibiting signs of heart failure in May of 2018, about five months before her diagnosis. Unfortunately we dismissed her symptoms as Barley being a better behaved dog.   Barley suddenly started walking without pulling on a leash .  She was calmer .  While she didn't stop activity all together, it was reduced. In hindsight one of the b...

Did you know that 63% of veterinarians say grain free diets are unhealthy for dogs?  Barley one month after her DCM diagnosis  In July 2018 the FDA began investigating the link between heart disease and grain-free diets.    The crux of the argument is that grain-free diets are substituting grains with legumes which may be potentially harmful to a dog's health and heart.  The FDA report caught a lot of attention in July and raised concerns because they are seeing dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dog breeds who are not prone to genetic heart disease.  Of these cases, dogs shared one common theme - their d iets.  In the cases reported to the FDA, the dogs were being fed diets that commonly listed potatoes or multiple legumes as well as their protein, starch, and fiber sources early in the ingredient list, indicating that those were the main ingredients. High levels of legumes or potatoes are found often in products labeled as “grain-fre...

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, ...