I have a post on this topic as well
but for anyone who has not read the June 27th update from the FDA
on the dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) issue potentially related to dog food,
click the link above. Also click the following link to read the Vet-LIRN update from FDA.
There is currently ongoing research
relating to the possibility of a link between dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in
dogs and the foods that they eat. The research is looking at the possibility of
legume-heavy foods (peas, lentils, chickpeas etc.) as a potential
cause but the exact cause has not been established at this time and other
possibilities are there as well. If you are concerned that your dog may be
affected, have taurine levels checked, with a send-out blood test, BEFORE
changing food and talk with your veterinarian about an echo-cardiogram
(ultrasound of the heart) to determine if your dog is affected. At the present
time, I am feeding my dog foods that do not contain peas or other legumes. I have never been a "fan" of feeding only dry food to any animal so I mix in wet foods, broth, etc. on a daily basis as I believe that it makes a diet better.
I read the entire report from FDA
and read all the case reports that were submitted to FDA. I am honestly not
completely sure what to make of the whole situation. There are reports of
somewhere around 560 dogs (probably higher now but we don't know how much
higher since there has not been an update recently) that have DCM apparently
linked to diet. However, as FDA says, there are over 77 million pet dogs in the
U.S. so that is not a high percentage with DCM overall. There is the
possibility, though, that there are many more affected that are not diagnosed
because of the expense of diagnostic tests and/or owner lack-of-knowledge about
the condition.
I am still of the opinion that this
is a nutrient deficiency or a toxicity related to something in the food. I am
not of the opinion that dogs NEED grains, because that simply doesn't make any
sense from a biology perspective (also, taurine is not present in grains), but I also do not think grains are any worse
than other carbohydrate sources if your dog is not allergic and there is no
need to avoid grains in most cases. I do think that we, as pet owners,
should probably avoid foods that have legumes/a lot of legumes until we know
more about the cause (which FDA still hasn't found). Based on the information
that FDA provided, I do not believe potatoes are an issue at all and that this was simply noted initially because foods with legumes were also likely to have potatoes.
I still find it very odd and
interesting/telling that cats are not really affected by this (there have been
a VERY few cases but not significant numbers at all). I believe that this fact suggests
that it is a nutrient deficiency related to an amino acid that is either not in
sufficient quantities in the food or not being absorbed for some reason. The
reason I think it may be an amino acid deficiency is that cat foods are nearly
all supplemented with more amino acids than dog food is because cats have a
very high requirement since they are obligate carnivores.
If you read the necropsy reports
from FDA, the researchers found fat accumulation around the heart of many of
the affected dogs. This makes me wonder/speculate if it might be related to
carnitine, an amino acid. Carnitine is required for fatty acid metabolism and
there are scientific articles that state that without carnitine in sufficient
quantity fat will build up in the body in various places. Cat foods are more
likely to be supplemented with carnitine (and other amino acids) than dog food.
In addition, the amino acid lysine is the precursor to carnitine (it must be present
in the diet in sufficient quantity for the body to make carnitine). Lysine is
easily broken down in the production of dry food. A reaction known as the
Maillard reaction occurs, which causes the irreversible binding of lysine with
sugars/starches in kibble and, therefore, renders the lysine unavailable to the
pet.
If you have any concerns about your
pet(s), PLEASE see a veterinarian.
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