Is it safe to continue old dog food while switching due to DCM?

With this rising problem in DCM and dogs who have been on grain free diets, at the very least I would have Roscoe seen by a vet. They can listen to his heart and do x-rays to see if there is an issue. This would be the first steps before an echo, and if there isn’t an issue, you’ve saved money. Switching to Hill’s is the best choice you could make, good job! I hope this helps.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If the study you are talking about is referring to DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy) in large breed dogs, I believe the correlation they are making is between grain-free diets and the development of DCM. Grain-free diets are very trendy right now, and there is NO benefit to feeding your dog a grain-free diet. Many small pet food companies are not well regulated for quality control, and oftentimes the nutritional information they provide on the bag is nowhere near what is actually in the food. Legumes and potatoes can be substitutes for grains, but they lack many of the essential nutrients that grains provide to dogs. This lack of specific nutrients can make dogs, especially large breeds, more prone to developing heart disease. I recommend feeding your dog a food formulated for adult large breed maintenance. Excellent brands are those like Hills, Royal Canin, Purina, and Blue Buffalo. These larger pet food companies are very well-regulated and nutritionally balanced for dogs. I hope this is helpful!

Great question and good on you for being aware of the dangers of grain free food! You need to do the switch slowly. Start by mixing together 75% old food/25% new food. Feed that for a couple of days, then do a 50/50 mixture. Again feed for a few days, then go to a 25/75 mixture. Finally after a few days of feeding that, you can give Callie 100% new food. Enjoy your new Golden, they are my favorite breed of dog!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Cooper. You have several options regarding the risk of DCM from feeding the grain-free diet. In these cases, DCM results from the diet being deficient in taurine. There is a blood test that your veterinarian can submit to measure Cooper's taurine levels. He could also have an echocardiogram (an ultrasound of the heart) to ensure he does not have any structural changes. Lastly, you can change his diet. You can consider Purina Proplan Sensitive Skin and Stomach as it is a trust worthy brand and will help any underlying skin disease. I hope this information helps!

Ideally anytime there is a diet change you want to do it over a week. You gradual mix the two foods and add kore and note if the new food each day until at 7 days you are 100% in the new food. Grain free is not really a problem for dogs... good for you!

Grain free diets are not recommended. They are marketing hype to cater to owners that think grains are bad for dogs. They are not. These grain free diets have been linked to causing heart disease in dogs. Please do not feed these diets. ( https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/health/grain-free-dog-food-heart-disease.html ) If you need a nutritional consult you should speak to your vet. That is what they are there for. There is no "best " diet. Diets are subjective. Each vet has their favorites. It doesn't mean one is better than another.

In general, it is not recommended to feed dogs a grain free diet unless they are known to have a grain allergy (which is very uncommon). There are many misconceptions about pet nutrition circulating. While the link is not yet understood and has multiple factors, something about the grain free diets may be allowing heart disease to develop in certain dogs. I recommend to feed a high quality brand with a good reputation and minimal problems with food recalls. The brand I like the most is Royal Canin. They conduct feeding trials to measure the digestibility of their diets. Most pets who eat this brand have excellent coat and stool quality. They also tend to produce minimal stool which is a sign the diet does not contain fillers and is highly digestible. I also recommend Nutro and Purina Pro Plan. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.