Revisited: Grain Free Diets for Dogs

Over the past six years evidence has emerged that many dogs on a “grain free” diet have developed a heart condition called Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM). In DCM the main pumping chambers of the heart become weakened, stretched out and no longer contract and push blood to the rest of the body, sometimes even allowing fluid to back up into the lungs. In many cases this was discovered only when the dog was in severe heart failure or even after sudden death.

Thanks to the internet, many Veterinary Cardiologists chatting on a message board began comparing cases and a trend emerged: Dogs on grain-free diets were coming down with this horrible and potentially fatal disease. Breeds such as Boxers, Dobermans and Rottweilers are known to have some predisposition to this disease, but Golden Retrievers and even some mixed breed dogs began showing up with these heart problems.

Currently the precise cause of the disease is not understood and research is ongoing, however legumes such as lentils and peas seem to be the biggest culprit. The FDA and dog food companies are tracking this as are Veterinary Cardiologists with the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine/Cardiology. You can learn more at this link: FDA Investigation into Potential Link between Certain Diets and Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

A recent meeting at Kansas State’s Vet school indicates that this trend of DCM in dogs eating grain-free diets continues. Between 2014 and July 2020 an FDA report showed 1,100 cases of dogs with DCM were submitted to them. In-depth studies on 121 cases showed 23 dogs had full recoveries, 84 had partial recoveries (requiring ongoing diet and heart failure therapy), while 14 died—an 11.5% death rate. All of the recovered dogs as well as the partially recovered dogs had a diet change to diets with grain and without problematic legumes. These partially recovered dogs will need lifelong treatment and will likely have shortened lifespans.

All seven of our Pikes Peak Vet veterinarians (DVMs) have come to the consensus of recommending balanced, non grain-free diets for all our dog patients until more research concludes other diets are safe. Each of our doctors has fed many different diets to their own pets as well as clients’ pets and will happily recommend one that fits your dog’s needs. Our top choices for a balanced diet include Royal Canin, Purina Pro Plan, Science Diet, Iams top food, and Eukanuba. These companies have done extensive research on dog foods for many, many years. Many boutique brand and common “grain free” companies do not conduct any research on their products and none of them have the research history of the big name brands such as Royal Canin and Purina. Additionally, companies still pushing grain-free diets continue to deny the research that has been done on heart problems and ignore the apparent link.

More research clearly needs to be done. For the time being we want our patients to not eat grain free diets in favor of the foods listed above. We will stick with the facts and the research. Why take the risk in your dog because of a marketing campaign on TV? We will tell you not only what we recommend and why, but what we feed our own dogs.

Disclosure: These days MDs as well as DVMs are required to list conflicts of interest. The fact is that all DVMs and staff are offered discounts on veterinary food brands. This includes the grain-free diets. So do top show dogs, top sled dog competitors and top field trial competitors as well as pet store employees (who can also make a higher commission on some food brands). Food companies use this as a marketing tool to get us to try their brands. However, we are not paid by the food companies. Our recommendations are made to keep your pets safe and healthy, not to sell any particular brand of food. Check out Pet Cardia, a group of Veterinary Cardiologists along the Front Range that reflects the recommendations of their specialty group.

Photo Credit: Chewy.com