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  1. #1
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Nutritionally Mediated Dilated Cardiomyopathy

    I know this has been discussed previously but in case anyone is not aware of the issue of nutritionally mediated dilated cardiomyopathy, I thought I'd give the latest report from the FDA regarding this issue. Labrador Retrievers are included in the numbers of dogs diagnosed with DCM.

    FDA Investigation into Potential Link between Certain Diets and Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy

    And for those of you who are Facebook members and do not know of the FB group that has been discussing the issue in great detail, including stories from owners whose dogs have died or are being treated for NM-DCM, I'll attach a link to that group as well. There is a lot of discussion regarding the specific foods/brands that are currently being recommended as safer, at least until the mechanisms leading to this disease is better understood.

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/TaurineDCM/?fref=nf

    There hasn't been much discussion here since November but this is the original thread, started by Labradorks:

    Fromm and other 'boutique' foods vs. Purina, RC, etc. and low taurine
    Sue

    Chase 9/29/2006- 6/30/2017 Always in our hearts
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  3. #2
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    Thank you so much for posting this! Very good information.

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    smartrock (02-24-2019)

  5. #3
    Senior Dog labsnewfy's Avatar
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    I sent these links to my neighbor, she is feeding her cats grain free. I guess the rescue she adopted them from was feeding grain free. We pet sit for them and I told her after the first time that the kittens were so hungry even though they are free fed, plus their stool is really gross. She has been going back and forth about grain free and wanting to do what is best for her pets. I told her we feed purina cat food and are really happy with the results.
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  7. #4
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    For any of you who are not on Facebook but want an easier way to find information about taurine-deficiency (nutrition) mediated dilated cardiomyopathy here is a website set up by the administrators of the Facebook group with links to articles on the problem, allergy testing, food selection, faqs, etc.

    Taurine DCM Canine taurine-linked dilated cardiomyopathy resources and information

  8. #5
    Senior Dog Shelley's Avatar
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    Cats are obligate carnivores, they should not have grain in their diets, feeding cats 100% grain free is just fine and actually preferred. Dogs are omnivores, they evolved eating whatever we had left over, meat scraps, vegetable scraps, forage, etc...


    Quote Originally Posted by labsnewfy View Post
    I sent these links to my neighbor, she is feeding her cats grain free. I guess the rescue she adopted them from was feeding grain free. We pet sit for them and I told her after the first time that the kittens were so hungry even though they are free fed, plus their stool is really gross. She has been going back and forth about grain free and wanting to do what is best for her pets. I told her we feed purina cat food and are really happy with the results.

  9. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shelley View Post
    Cats are obligate carnivores, they should not have grain in their diets, feeding cats 100% grain free is just fine and actually preferred. Dogs are omnivores, they evolved eating whatever we had left over, meat scraps, vegetable scraps, forage, etc...
    Well, it would depend what is in there instead of grains. Legumes wouldn't be any better for cats ... 100% grain free is different than 100% meat.
    Annette

    Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
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    And remembering:

    Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

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  11. #7
    Senior Dog Berna's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Annette47 View Post
    Well, it would depend what is in there instead of grains. Legumes wouldn't be any better for cats ... 100% grain free is different than 100% meat.
    Exactly. Grain-free is usually overloaded with potato and legumes.
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    July 12th, 2006. - May 25th, 2023.

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  12. #8
    Senior Dog windycanyon's Avatar
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    I just had my first request by a pet owner to bring her 2 dogs to our upcoming cardiac clinic (meant for breeders). They are not suspecting a problem, but want to rule it out by echo. (Mind you, we have trouble getting a lot of breeders to spend the $ on echo!). I ran it by the cardiologist and he agreed to let them come, just said that he would not be able to spend as much time w/ nutritional counseling as he would if they made an office appt. They were fine w/ that I think because of having all the info so readily available now. I just wonder if this will become a trend.
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  14. #9
    Senior Dog Shelley's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shelley View Post
    Cats are obligate carnivores, they should not have grain in their diets, feeding cats 100% grain free is just fine and actually preferred. Dogs are omnivores, they evolved eating whatever we had left over, meat scraps, vegetable scraps, forage, etc...
    My apologies, I guess what I meant was not grain free but 100% meat diets. Cats do not need grains, nor do they need peas and potatoes, they need meat.

  15. #10
    Real Retriever Beth C's Avatar
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    Sadly, I found during my search for a grain inclusive kibble, that even many of them now include peas, some high up on the ingredient list. Other than Purina Pro Plan, Royal Canin, and Science Diet, the only grain inclusive kibbles I've found that do not include peas are Annamaet Encore 25% Protein and Simply Nourish Large Breed Puppy (Not sure about Simply Nourish's Adult version, as I was looking for a kibble for my puppy).

    While I wish Lido could eat a mainstream kibble, he does not do well on kibbles that include corn, wheat, and/or soy. They cause nasty poops, itchiness, and lots of head shaking/yucky ears. For others whose dogs have the same problems, Annamaet has been working well for Lido so far. A Bonus is that he can also eat it as an adult, and it has low ash content. The downside is that it can be hard to find in some areas. I have to order it from Chewy. Simply Nourish Large Breed Puppy can be bought at Petsmart.

 



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