Grain-free dog food & taurine: What should I feed my Cocker Spaniel?

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 generally recommend feeding high quality brands, such as Hill’s Science Diet, Royal Canin, or Purina ProPlan. For most adult dogs, dry foods are preferable over canned foods. If possible, try to gradually transition Dastan to his new food by mixing it with his old food over 5-7 days. Dogs with sudden diet changes can develop vomiting and diarrhea.

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!

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!

The truth is that any of these are fine as long as the food is formulated for puppies. After that, the ingredients are normally not that important and are usually more for advertising purposes. The best thing to check on the bag is the AAFCO statement, which is just below the guaranteed analysis. This will tell if the food has actually demonstrated what it claims. I've included a link to an article below that explains all of this. Make sure you feed the food according to the bag's instructions and you should have a healthy pup. https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food/ Sorry to be vague, but there really is no benefit of feeding one these foods over the other; unless you know that she has an intolerance to one of them. I hope that helps and all is well with Lilo.

I did read many articles on the subject but i have yet to find a serious study regarding this that is supporting those claims. generally most dogs (unlike cats) do not require taurine in their diets as the dog's body can produce it on it's own when it is lacking, but some breeds seem to have a predisposition for taurine deficiency and this is indeed a reasonable cause of concern in your case. i would recommend consulting your vet regarding the possibility to give Chloe a taurine supplement with her food on a regular basis in order to prevent a scenario of DCM in the future, even if we don't know for sure that all the factors are linked.

Yes, you are correct that there is concern that no grain foods may potentially linked to heart disease, and the FDA is now investigating that. Personally, I recommend feeding Gypsy Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, or Iams. I feed my own dogs Iams and they love it. I hope this helps!