Dog folks- Don't feed "grain free" (and you cat guys too)

Mr. Perfect

Don't know if any of you dog lovers here have become aware, but there appears to be a disturbing correlation surfacing between grain free dry dog food and a certain heart condition known as Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM), a very serious (read: deadly) condition.

It takes a little investigation, but the bottom line appears to be that the makers of grain-free pet food include potatoes, peas, and lentils (and other legumes) in their grain free foods at a high enough rate that it interferes with Taurine absorption in your beloved pet (they use these ingredients instead of traditional grains, thus the "grain-free" status). Even pets that consume foods that supplement with Taurine (such as Blue Wilderness) are at risk because of how these grain alternative ingredients interfere with Taurine absorption,and your typical grain free food does not supplement with enough Taurine to offset the effects (normally dogs are able to convert other aminos into Taurine, but that doesn't happen either). Taurine deficiency has long been known to lead to DCM (especially in cats).

From what I am reading, brands such as Eukanuba Premium Performance and Purina Pro Plan are much better alternatives (our dog was started on Euk at the breeder). One breeder I talked to recommends Victor (she breeds and shows Jack Russells) and notes that chicken and corn should also be avoided as they are common allergens.

Here is some relevant supporting information, which you will want to read through and come to your own conclusions. As for me, it is a simple decision to switch my lab from blue wilderness to Euk Prem Perf.

https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/news-events/fda-investigation-potential-link-between-certain-diets-and-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy
https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/food/dog_food/dcm-in-dogs-taurines-role-in-the-canine-diet/
https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/blog/please-don’t-panic-about-the-“grain-free-thing”/

He Dog

Dogs are omnivores, so feeding them veggies is good, but most cheap dog food has a bunch of corn, which Is not good. But cats are obligate carnivores and they don't need grains, though some veggies are good, and they like to throw up grass.

buddyb

Thanks.

sharpshooter039

with how they have screwed up wheat many dogs can no longer eat it. My Wifes 2 lap dogs,,Bichons,,will break out in hives and hair loss eating food with wheat or corn,,they can tolerate rice.. My Blue healer can eat rice and corn but any dry food with wheat causes hair loss,

yoshmyster

Taurine deficiency? Is Red Bull working on this?

As for eats go raw or B.A.R.F.

Brookwood

Seems that there is a dog food recall going on more often than not. Growing up, all of our family dogs lived on nothing but table scraps and not only were they happy to get them, most lived very long lives (for dogs).

Pet foods are very big business these days. Noted celebrity TV Chefs like Racheal Ray have joined in the profitable band wagon.
I have often wondered how much actual input lil Racheal had in the recipe for her K-9 concoction?

In a nutshell, I would say that most companies like to pull on our nations dog loving heart strings to get deeper into our wallets!

Mr. Perfect

He Dog wrote:

Dogs are omnivores, so feeding them veggies is good, but most cheap dog food has a bunch of corn, which Is not good. But cats are obligate carnivores and they don't need grains, though some veggies are good, and they like to throw up grass.

Some veggies yes, but apparently not peas, lentils other legumes or potatoes.

Started my dog on Pro Plan and he is off and running.

Also, since he was showing signs of taurine deficiency, we stated supplementing with some taurine tablets for a while.

jimdeere

I know a guy who fed his * hounds collard greens. I asked him if they liked collards. His reply:
? Yeah, after about a month.?

jwb267

I had a German Shepherd that lived to be 13 YOA . she may still be alive if it were not for hip problems.
she would help herself to onions in the garden. she would actually dig them and eat the whole thing (loved ramps). she would also help herself to tomatoes and cucumbers.
I have fed my dogs purina puppy chow then either kibbles and bits or come and get it
they all been healthy animals that lived their lives

mogley98

Interesting for sure. As noted growing up my parents never bought any dog food our Mutts ate table scraps and lived 12-18 years.

bambihunter

I worked at a pet food plant for 6 years (it is where I F-D up my back). I am convinced if made slightly more sanitary, it could be human food with little change. At that time (90-96) we made almost all the pet food for Wal-Mart.
There was this one ingredient. I think it was sodium metabisulfate, that we used ~2 pounds per 2 ton batch. If you missed it, the ingredients would not stick together and just turned back to powder, even though it was wet. I didn't ever look to see why, but we had to wear a respirator, gloves, chest gloves that goes over the other gloves and across the front, and a visor with helmet.

steve45

I feed my dogs simple Pedigree dog food in the Walmart BIG yellow sack. My first dog Bailey died at 10 years old of cancer but all the others lived to be 15 to 17 years old. All my dogs were large dogs weighing 65 to 95 pounds. They were all very healthy, no vet visits other than shots. (my county keeps track and wont license without shots).