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Post by Patter on Nov 30, 2018 11:50:26 GMT
Have any of you heard about this? Our dog trainer/daycamp owner told us about it this summer because we bought our dog food from her also. Our boys were on Acana for 3 years--a great 5 star food. She pulled it from her shelves because of the dangers she was starting to see. Now the FDA is investigating. I have been switching my boys over the past month back to Fromm food. One of my boys has sensitivity to grains so I am mixing the grain-free Fromm with the regular Fromm. He seems to be doing okay with this. Anyway, this seems very scary, and I pray the 3 years my boys were on a grain-free food that it has not effected them negatively. Here is the story my local news station is running now: www.wbtv.com/2018/11/29/fda-dog-heart-disease-linked-grain-free-food/ |
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Post by Lovebug2867 on Nov 30, 2018 13:06:11 GMT
I have both my girls on grain free food and they are staying on it. One as grain allergies and is doing so much better on grain free the other is diabetic and keeping her blood sugar under control on normal food would be a nightmare.
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Nink
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,947 
Location: North Idaho
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Post by Nink on Nov 30, 2018 13:12:28 GMT
I’ve had all my dogs on grain free for years. They’ve all lived to be quite elderly and were very healthy. I’m not changing.
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Post by gryroagain on Nov 30, 2018 13:27:20 GMT
Ive got 2 with allergies, they are doing well on Origen so...not changing. They do get “real” food mixed in- canned salmon, mackerel, sardines, wahoo, turkey, lamb, duck, bison. But grain and my little white fluffy equals terrible pink feet and face, itching and diarrhea.
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Post by busy on Nov 30, 2018 13:31:57 GMT
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Post by brina on Nov 30, 2018 13:34:16 GMT
My friend who is a vet has been talking about this for years. Her golden died of heart disease a few years ago, but had been sick for a while before. The culprit seems to be a taurine deficiency, and it is common in certain breeds - Golden Retrievers and Newfoundland dogs for sure, I don't know what others. If your dog is on a grain free food for allergy reasons, talk to your vet about testing their taurine levels and explore supplementing.
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Post by Patter on Nov 30, 2018 14:00:06 GMT
My friend who is a vet has been talking about this for years. Her golden died of heart disease a few years ago, but had been sick for a while before. The culprit seems to be a taurine deficiency, and it is common in certain breeds - Golden Retrievers and Newfoundland dogs for sure, I don't know what others. If your dog is on a grain free food for allergy reasons, talk to your vet about testing their taurine levels and explore supplementing. Yes, exactly. That's what the owner of our store mentioned. She did have her GSD tested and switched him off of grain free. |
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Post by giatocj on Nov 30, 2018 14:03:19 GMT
Tucker was on grain free his whole life and he had zero heart disease...or any other organ issues. Had he not developed degenerative myelopathy when he was 9 1/2, his vet said he was in amazing physical shape for a dog his size and age.
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carhoch
Pearl Clutcher
Be yourself everybody else is already taken
Posts: 2,992
Location: We’re RV’s so It change all the time .
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Post by carhoch on Nov 30, 2018 14:06:59 GMT
I switch mine off grain free diet after I talked to my breeder and my vet because of this study.
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Post by Patter on Nov 30, 2018 14:13:03 GMT
I switch mine off grain free diet after I talked to my breeder and my vet because of this study. Yes, my boys were on Fromm for a bit when they were young but then Sammie started having issues so they were put on grain-free. I haven't talked to our vet yet but I will at their next checkup. I always like Fromm, and I know how to switch dogs and watch for issues so I am okay with my decision. Better safe than sorry I guess especially since I too have large breeds, and it seems issues are more prevalent with large breed dogs. |
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Post by blondiec47 on Nov 30, 2018 14:41:59 GMT
I logged in after months to respond to this. Our Jax's dad died from heart disease that they believe was attached to a grain free diet. Our vet told us unless your dog has a confirmed allergy to grain then they should NOT be fed grain free food. The grain has a purpose
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muggins
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,861
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Post by muggins on Nov 30, 2018 14:51:27 GMT
Yikes, I hadn’t heard of this. My two are both on grain free kibble and wet food. I thought I was giving them the best diet I could (apart from raw). I’ll talk to my vet next time I take them.
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Post by gmcwife1 on Nov 30, 2018 15:53:45 GMT
I logged in after months to respond to this. Our Jax's dad died from heart disease that they believe was attached to a grain free diet. Our vet told us unless your dog has a confirmed allergy to grain then they should NOT be fed grain free food. The grain has a purpose I don’t feed kibble any more, started raw this year. I’m curious if your vet said what the purpose of grain is. I don’t feed any grain so I’m curious what we are feeding that does what grain does or what we might be missing  |
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Post by Basket1lady on Nov 30, 2018 16:12:49 GMT
I logged in after months to respond to this. Our Jax's dad died from heart disease that they believe was attached to a grain free diet. Our vet told us unless your dog has a confirmed allergy to grain then they should NOT be fed grain free food. The grain has a purpose Our vet made the same recommendation years ago when I was deciding what to feed our new puppy. She said when a wolf (or similar animal) in the wild brings down its prey, the first thing they eat is the stomach. An many of this animal will have been eating grass or similar. If your our dog has sensitivities, by all means feed grain free. But if the recommendation is a grained food, I’ll go with the experts. |
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scrapngranny
Pearl Clutcher
Only slightly senile
Posts: 4,765
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Post by scrapngranny on Nov 30, 2018 16:31:43 GMT
I’ve been following this the last couple of months and have decided to switch my dog to a food that is not grain free. There isn’t a reason for my dog to be on grain free, except I thought it was better for her.
No matter whether this is all hype or not, by switching I have nothing to lose, and it might prevent a problem. My dog is also part golden retriever, which makes me a little more concerned.
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Post by Patter on Nov 30, 2018 16:45:13 GMT
I logged in after months to respond to this. Our Jax's dad died from heart disease that they believe was attached to a grain free diet. Our vet told us unless your dog has a confirmed allergy to grain then they should NOT be fed grain free food. The grain has a purpose I am SO sorry for you loss and that it was possibly caused by a grain free diet. Hugs to you! |
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Post by Patter on Nov 30, 2018 16:46:23 GMT
I’ve been following this the last couple of months and have decided to switch my dog to a food that is not grain free. There isn’t a reason for my dog to be on grain free, except I thought it was better for her. No matter whether this is all hype or not, by switching I have nothing to lose, and it might prevent a problem. My dog is also part golden retriever, which makes me a little more concerned.
Exactly how I feel! |
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Post by blondiec47 on Nov 30, 2018 17:00:26 GMT
I logged in after months to respond to this. Our Jax's dad died from heart disease that they believe was attached to a grain free diet. Our vet told us unless your dog has a confirmed allergy to grain then they should NOT be fed grain free food. The grain has a purpose I am SO sorry for you loss and that it was possibly caused by a grain free diet. Hugs to you! Thanks. Jax went to the vet yesterday and had heart tests and for now he is ok, but they are keeping an eye on him. I love our vet, she is also not one to vaccinate every few years. She runs titres and if they are good--no shot. The tests are more expensive than the shots but our Ozzy had a terrible reaction to the kennel cough vaccine so now neither dogs is getting re-vaccinated. I did just find out that our state will allow for a rabies titre instead of the shot--I wish I knew that last year because Ozzy had a slight reaction to that one as well. He is an 11 year old Bulldog so any minor thing now is upsetting. For the other question above--grain food has a couple of amminoacids that dogs need that are not always found in other foods. It sucks that we want to feed our dogs the best we can afford only to find out later that it was not the best choice. Best bet is be aware of even minor changes in you dog and get those yearly health checks. |
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Post by Patter on Nov 30, 2018 17:13:57 GMT
blondiec47, sorry, I missed that it was Jax's dad. So glad Jax if doing well! And yes, I wish our doc would run titres instead. I KNOW my Papillon died last year from his injections. He had his annual physical that morning and shots, and died at 3 am from congestive heart failure (which he never had been diagnosed). It was the injections! A loss I will never forget it was SO horrific.
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Post by Really Red on Nov 30, 2018 18:28:12 GMT
I logged in after months to respond to this. Our Jax's dad died from heart disease that they believe was attached to a grain free diet. Our vet told us unless your dog has a confirmed allergy to grain then they should NOT be fed grain free food. The grain has a purpose I am so sorry. I am also sick. I have a large breed dog and after one solid year of ear infections that no medicine would fix, I finally went grain-free and until 3 weeks ago, he hadn't had an ear infection in nearly 18 mos. CRAP! I do not know what to do. |
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Post by Jen in NCal on Nov 30, 2018 19:06:52 GMT
It's not just grains. Peas and legumes can also cause problems. One of the SDP Service Dogs almost died because of CDCM and she now educates strongly on it.
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Post by Patter on Nov 30, 2018 19:59:47 GMT
I logged in after months to respond to this. Our Jax's dad died from heart disease that they believe was attached to a grain free diet. Our vet told us unless your dog has a confirmed allergy to grain then they should NOT be fed grain free food. The grain has a purpose I am so sorry. I am also sick. I have a large breed dog and after one solid year of ear infections that no medicine would fix, I finally went grain-free and until 3 weeks ago, he hadn't had an ear infection in nearly 18 mos. CRAP! I do not know what to do. Can you try what I am doing--part grain free, part regular kibble? I think ALL regular kibble would upset Sammie's tummy but the 1/2 and 1/2 is working well. Maybe try that. Wouldn't some grain free and some grains still protect against possible heart damage but help your baby's ears? I don't know. Just thinking out loud here. |
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Post by gale w on Nov 30, 2018 20:15:58 GMT
Well crap. We've been grain free for a few years. Our dog has a sensitive stomach and we thought grain free might help with that. I might ask the vet about going back to the old diet (earthborn holistic) but keeping the same protein type.
Everything good for you will be found to be bad for you and everything bad for you will suddenly be okay. I can't keep up.
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Post by gmcwife1 on Nov 30, 2018 20:36:42 GMT
blondiec47 , sorry, I missed that it was Jax's dad. So glad Jax if doing well! And yes, I wish our doc would run titres instead. I KNOW my Papillon died last year from his injections. He had his annual physical that morning and shots, and died at 3 am from congestive heart failure (which he never had been diagnosed). It was the injections! A loss I will never forget it was SO horrific. I'm so sorry Patter  |
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Post by busy on Nov 30, 2018 20:42:55 GMT
This is not settled science, everyone. If you want to change, go for it, but there are still many questions about this and it's not as simple as "grain-free causes heart disease."
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Post by Patter on Nov 30, 2018 21:58:29 GMT
This is not settled science, everyone. If you want to change, go for it, but there are still many questions about this and it's not as simple as "grain-free causes heart disease." I certainly understand that but I would rather not risk it. |
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Post by Patter on Nov 30, 2018 22:00:43 GMT
blondiec47 , sorry, I missed that it was Jax's dad. So glad Jax if doing well! And yes, I wish our doc would run titres instead. I KNOW my Papillon died last year from his injections. He had his annual physical that morning and shots, and died at 3 am from congestive heart failure (which he never had been diagnosed). It was the injections! A loss I will never forget it was SO horrific. I'm so sorry Patter Thank you. I had lost four dogs prior to this little precious, and it truly was horrific for him and us. I don’t ever want to see a dog suffer like that again ever. 😭😭😭 |
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sharlag
Drama Llama
I like my artsy with a little bit of fartsy.
Posts: 6,574
Location: Kansas
Jun 26, 2014 12:57:48 GMT
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Post by sharlag on Nov 30, 2018 22:41:40 GMT
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Post by Patter on Nov 30, 2018 23:19:09 GMT
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Post by katiekaty on Dec 1, 2018 0:24:33 GMT
Our doxie has a grade 4-5 heart murmur but no CHF yet. We had already elected to do home cooked because we were having trouble getting her weight down abit although she wasn't technically overweight/obese to relieve any issues on her heart. When we went back to the vet for nail trims 6 weeks later we discussed the study, and are glad she is off and so is our chiweenie. The recommendation would have been to change their diet from grain free to something else. Our doxie's weight is really down is the very normal, good range and the murmur is hardly noticeable at all. Her taurine levels are great. I am glad we have switched to homecooked. Besides they absolutely loved the flavors and I know exactly what is going into their little bellies. I also do not have to worry about the recent additional recalls!
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