Information on DCM

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Several Years go, information surfaced concerning dogs who were eating grain free diets and coming down with DCM.  Dilated cardiomyopathy involves deterioration of the heart muscles which can lead to congestive heart failure.  Researchers have suggested that when many brands took grain out of their foods, the addition of legumes, pulses or potatoes may have created issues involving the animals hearts. Some evidence may have pointed to the idea that these new added ingredients replacing grains could be reducing taurine absorption in the animals body, leading to the disease.  Although there is not conclusive evidence to date yet, and the sise of the studies done are rather small, we do recommend if you feed your dog kibble that it include grains for this reason.  Golden Retrievers are one of the top reported breeds to have DCM, so we say this to err on the side of caution.  Please see the articles listed below to read more.  

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• https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/truth-grain-free-dog-foods-dcm/

• https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-investigation-potential-link-between-certain-diets-and-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy

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• https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/questions-answers-fdas-work-potential-causes-non-hereditary-dcm-dogs

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• https://todaysveterinarypractice.com/study-grain-free-diet-for-dogs-leads-to-canine-heart-disease/

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• https://www.aaha.org/publications/newstat/articles/2021-08/new-clues-to-diet-associated-dcm-in-dogs/

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