In July of 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced an investigation of grain-free, dog food diets and a common type of canine heart disease – dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). While veterinary cardiologists (including the team at CVCA) and nutritionists around North America continue to investigate these cases, the FDA is no longer actively investigating this issue. This continues to be an evolving issue but still persists in our pet population. This highlights the importance of diet in your pet’s overall health and decisions on your pet nutrition are an important part of their overall well-being.

CVCA Guidance for Pet Owners

At this point in time, we are not certain of the exact causal relationship between grain-free and/or high legume diets in dogs with DCM. Taurine deficiency, while an important cause of DCM in the cat, does not appear to be the primary issue in recent subsets of nutritionally mediated canine DCM patients as we have found normal taurine levels in many of these dog with DCM. However, in some breeds such as the Cocker Spaniel and Golden Retriever, we have found low plasma taurine levels.

At this time, if there is not a clinical reason, (for example documented food allergies or gastrointestinal sensitivities,) for use of a limited ingredient, unique protein source (kangaroo, alligator, bison, etc.) diet, we would suggest using alternative diets. Consultation with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist should be considered. Another possible consideration is to use two/three pet foods from different manufacturers including a diet that does not contain a high concentration of legumes/pulses (lentils, chickpeas, peas, pea starch, pea fiber, etc.) in the first ten ingredients. Grains are rarely the cause of food sensitivities in dogs and can safely be included in pet foods in most dogs. As we continue to be informed regarding the link between DCM and nontraditional diets, we hope to ultimately determine the definitive issue but, for now, we currently do not have that answer.

Your Dog’s Diet

Evaluate your choices for your pet’s diet. There is not a single diet that is best for every dog. If you’re feeding a boutique, grain-free, high legume, or exotic ingredient diets, we would suggest a change to a diet with more typical ingredients made by a company with a long track record of producing high quality diets. While evaluating the food ingredient list can offer insight into the composition of the diet, this may not be the most effective way to choose a diet. Diets and ingredients that are advertised to be healthy in people are not always the best for our pets. In addition, be careful about currently available pet food rating websites that rank pet foods either based on opinion or based on myths and subjective information. It’s important to use more objective criteria, e.g., research, nutritional expertise, quality control, etc. in judging a pet food. The best way to select what is really the best food for your pet is to ensure the manufacturer has excellent nutritional expertise and rigorous quality control standards (Veterinarian Recommended Pet Foods: What You Need to Know – Petfoodology). We highly recommend consultation with your veterinarian about what is best to feed your pet.

Change your dog’s diet to one made by a well-known reputable company and containing standard ingredients, e.g., chicken, beef, rice, corn, wheat. Changing to a raw or homecooked diet will not protect your dog from this issue and may increase the risk for other nutritional deficiencies. If your dog requires a homecooked diet or has other medical conditions that require special considerations, be sure to talk to a veterinarian or a veterinary nutritionist (acvn.org) before making a dietary change. A group that has researched many of the topics related to cardiac nutrition in pets that the doctors of CVCA have worked closely with can be contacted through the Cummings Nutrition Service to schedule an appointment (vetnutrition@tufts.edu)