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 our experience navigating the sudden diagnosis of dilated cardiomyopathy in our three year old golden retriever and exploring the connection between boutique, exotic ingredients and grain-free diets and heart disease in dogs.