WEST PALM BEACH, Fla— A newly released investigation by the FDAshows a potential link between grain-free diets and a heart condition in dogs called dilated cardiomyopathy, also known as DCM.
“It’s mostly a congenital condition that dogs like dobermans are born with, but we are starting to see it in dog breeds that don’t traditionally have it,” said Dr. Christoper Lapsley.
Dr. Lapsley is an associate veterinarian at Village Animal Clinic in North Palm Beach. He says he was first alerted about the potential link in a dog’s diet and DCM when the FDA first started the investigation in July of 2018. Ever since then, he makes sure to talk with owners about what they are feeding their pets.
““Yea so grain-free diets are really popular it seems on the human side with gluten free and that type of thing. We haven’t seen any need to start dogs on that in most situations”, said Dr. Lapsley.
Of course, every dog is different. Veterinarians say certain skin and GI issues may require a more specialized diet, but often times that’s determined by blood tests.
However, the FDA investigation looked into 500 canine deaths in 2018 with the most significant number being golden retrievers followed by mixed breeds, Labrador retrievers, Great Danes, pit bulls and and German shepherds.
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All of the dogs who died from DCM were fed grain-free diets from brands including Acana, Signature, Taste of the Wild, 4Health, Earthborn Holistic, Blue Buffalo, Nature’s Domain, Fromm, Merrick, California Natural and Natural Balance.
“A lot of these companies make diets that are not grain- free that I’ve seen success with and have dogs that are really thriving on their tradition diets,” said Dr. Lapsley.
Although the potential link between DCM and grain-free diets was investigated over a one-year period, the FDA says more testing needs to be done. Until a final conclusion is made, South Florida vets recommend talking with your pet’s doctor to see what type of diet best fits their needs.
“We were hoping to see a definite cause and reason, which has yet to be identified, but we are glad that stuff like this is coming out because we talk to our clients about this every day,” said Dr. Christoper Lapsley.
