My dog has heart issues. Is grain-free food linked to DCM or taurine?

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!

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!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Copper. I do not recommend feeding a grain free diet. You are correct that some of these diets have been linked to heart disease. Furthermore, most of these diets are higher in carbohydrates and calories. This can lead to unnecessary weight gain. I recommend a well balanced puppy food from a reputable company. Depending on his projected adult size, you may consider a large breed formula. I personally recommend Purina Purina ProPlan or Royal Canin as they put an extensive amount of research into their diets. They have veterinarians on staff and perform feeding trials on dogs as opposed to laboratory analysis. These are benefits small boutique pet food company just cannot provide. I hope this information helps!

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.

I would recommend feeding your pet a regular adult food, especially if she isn't having any skin allergies to speak of. Yes there are certain boutique grain-free dog foods that are linked to underlining heart disease in dogs. Therefore, don't restrict any grains unless your vet specifically says so. I hope that your pet Charlotte does well. Take care.

Unfortunately no one knows for certain right now. The concern seems to be with diets containing potatoes or legumes as a main ingredient, and this diet does have potatoes early in the list. It also seems that dogs that develop heart disease and that are being fed these diets have low levels of taurine in their blood, but at this point it isn't entirely clear if the diets are deficient or if there is something else going on that is interfering with the dogs' ability to absorb the taurine. I would recommend talking to your vet about options - if Brody has a medical condition you could discuss an appropriate alternative or potentially even check a blood taurine level and echocardiogram to look for signs of heart disease. If Brody does not have a medical problem it would be safest to go ahead and switch foods. This link has more detail: https://www.fda.gov/animalveterinary/newsevents/cvmupdates/ucm613305.htm

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Baxter. Because it's a supplement and you aren't feeding to him as his regular diet, this won't cause DCM. Plus he's on a grain diet, which will prevent it. I hope this helps!