Watch out for grain-free dog foods that use legumes.
A report from the FDA finding a correlation between grain-free dog food and Dilated Cardio Myopathy in dogs:
https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterina...-diets-and-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathyA report from the Tufts Veterinary School that reports a link between legumes and DCM. Most dog foods that are grain-free use legumes instead of grains as the filler:
https://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2021/09/diet-associated-dcm-research-update/I lost a great hunting dog, Gretel, at 7-years old due to this legume/DCM problem. It is not the presence or lack of grain that is the problem, it is the presence of legumes that interfere with the uptake of taurine, which is essential for canine heart health. No one knew about this problem when I choose the dog's food in 2015.
Gretel was an incredible athlete, and a rockstar in the uplands and in the water. I fed her "Orijen" from puppy-hood to the DCM diagnosis at 7-years old, as diagnosed by a canine cardiologist by echo cardiogram. Part of the danger of diet-based DCM, is that there are usually little-to-no symptoms until the DCM is well advanced.
I immediately switched to a non-grain-free food, but the damage was done and it was too late for Gretel to recover. The irony is, I chose the food because it had lots of high quality animal protein in it, I could care less about the grain-free aspect (which is just marketing BS, IMHO). Not all dogs are susceptible to this, but if it is, you'll be very sorry if you feed it a food with legumes in it, and you won't know it is a problem until it is too late.
The cardiologist recommended not relying on only one food for the dog, but, instead, rotating between two or three high quality brands. When one bag runs out, replace it with a second brand, and when that one runs out, replace it with a third brand. Repeat that cycle throughout the dog's life. Super easy to do, and any unknown problems with one formulation are mitigated by the other formulations.
Gretel at 4-years old:
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/2018/Dogs/i-8x8JXB3/0/8523970b/L/Gretel%20on%20point%20%287-7-18%29-L.jpg)
Gretel's first goose retrieve:
[img]https://photos.smugmug.com/201...retel%20%20%2811-15-19%29-1920.mp4[/img]No need to believe me, a company's marketing claims, or self-appointed internet gurus because there's plenty of research-based info available from respected vet schools on the subject.
