Grain-free diets: exploring the risks to your dog's health

Dogs and cats in bedPhoto byAbby Carbone

During the pandemic we lost three dogs. This wasn’t due to COVID-19, obviously. One dog passed at 16 from complications of dementia (Anna in the middle) and an enlarged heart. The other two on the ends though should not have died that early. Lily was an eight-year-old Yorkie and Mabel a ten-year-old Cattle Dog mix. So what happened?

We suspect their grain-free diet, the one we instituted because the dog food companies and media hyped the benefits of improved allergy symptoms, better digestion, and improved heath. Most of the “good” dog food brands were grain free. So we spent the extra money and got high quality food with high quality ingredients, per the label and the marketing.

kibblePhoto byMathew CoultononUnsplash

We can’t prove it was the food, but both dogs came down with heart failure within months of each other. Though they both survived another year, with the help of several pills a day (at one point 20 pills a day between them). We could explain away our Schnauzer’s enlarged heart because she was about 14 at the time, but not the other two. We got the x-rays and ultrasounds, ER visits to lessen the fluid around their hearts, until it got to the point that nothing could be done. Our vet told us their particular heart issue was not attributed to grain-free food but the cardiologist told us to stop the food immediately.

MabelPhoto byTracy Carbone

So what’s the truth about grain-free food? Is it bad or isn’t it? Like many things, there are a lot of articles on both sides, but the reality is, so much of the dog food out there is grain-free. If it were this bad for dogs, wouldn’t the companies stop making it, stores stop selling it, and the government ban it?

Dogsnturallymagazine.com explains that kibble needs starch to hold it together. Most use grains to achieve this but grain-free food instead “contains alternative carbohydrate sources instead of grains…usually in the form of legumes like lentils, beans, or peas. They’ll also use potatoes, sweet potatoes, or quinoa.”

Further, “it’s a misconception that grain is replaced with more meat…Or that you might be getting a higher quality of ingredients or fewer calories.”

In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration began investigating a link “link between grain-free foods and hundreds of cases of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is an enlarged heart muscle, and it can lead to life-threatening, leading to congestive heart failure. The heart is less able to circulate blood and fluid builds up in the lungs.”

The FDA is still investigating cases. Though it hasn’t published conclusive updates, a post from June 2019 seemed inconclusive. The end of their post states, “The FDA is continuing to investigate and gather more information in an effort to identify whether there is a specific dietary link to development of DCM and will provide updates to the public as information develops.” From 12/2018 through 11/2022 the FDA reviewed over 1000 reported cases of DCM for relevance to pet food.

The most recent post on their site from 12/22/22 states the “FDA does not intend to release further public updates until there is meaningful new scientific information to share. A count of reports of DCM in dogs submitted to FDA as of November 1, 2022, has been added to Questions & Answers: FDA’s Work on Potential Causes of Non-Hereditary DCM in Dogs.”

From 12/2018-11/2022 the FDA reviewed over 1000 reported cases of DCM for potential relevance to pet food. 5/2019-7/2020 had the highest number of cases, 608, but during 8/2020-11/2022 cases dropped to 258. One could speculate the FDA’s 2019 statement that “several pet food companies have adjusted diet formulations since our initial announcements about DCM” correlates to the drop in cases.

The jury is out on if grain-free foods in general, or ones with dangerous added ingredients, causes DCM or other heart issues in dogs. But my two canine companions will be off grain-free food permanently, just in case.