
DCM, Grain-Free Dogfood, Taurine and Legumes
The FDA put on a webinar about their current investigation into Dialated Cardiomyopathy (DCM). This has been something of a hot topic in recent months, as the FDA dropped a bit of a bombshell in July by implicating Grain-Free diets with high amounts of Legumes (peas, lentils) and Tubers (potatoes).
The Webinar was recorded and is available in full here: https://www.petfoodindustry.com/events/612-webinar-fda-possible-dog-food-link-to-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy
The bottom line for me is that I’m going to keep feeding Orijen, a grain-free food with legumes in it.
Why?
- Legume content is very low, on average they’re at least 10 ingredients in and roughly 5-10% of the total food
- DCM has STRONG genetic components that are not present in GSDs
- There are no studies yet about any of this and the jury is still out on the real cause
- Orijen employs veterinary nutritionists and I trust them to stay on top of the latest research
One of the panelists, Dr. Greg Aldrich, made some really good points about the actual incidence rates so far as well. So far there have been <200 cases reported as part of this “outbreak”, but roughly 20 million dogs in the US are being fed these grain free diets. Of the 160 dogs reported to the FDA with confirmed DCM diagnosis, there was very little commonality about food brand or line, with many individuals being the only dog in the whole set on their given food.
All in all, this is definitely something to keep an eye on and bring up with your vet on your next visit!
My key takeaways from the webinar were:
- Incident rates are very low (160 cases, compared to ~20 million dogs eating “boutique, exotic or grain free” diets)
- Taurine deficiencies have NOT been implicated thus far. The majority reported cases were dogs with normal taurine levels
- There is no evidence that potatoes or tubers are involved
- The FDA is still severely underfunded when it comes to monitoring/regulating pet foods
Other interesting take-aways from my notes:
- 10–15% of dogs experience heart disease in their lifetime
- DCM has a strong genetic component. Several breeds are clearly predisposed to it:
— — Giant breeds like St. Bernards, Irish Wolfhounds, mastiffs
— — Golden Retrievers and American Cocker Spaniels
— — A full 50% of Dobermans have/develop DCM - There are several well known causes for DCM outside of genetics:
— — Various amino acid imbalances (including Taurine deficiency)
— — Toxicities including Cobalt - Taurine deficiency was identified as a major source of DCM in cats in the 80’s which lead to minimum taurine levels in the cat AAFCO standards.
- Dogs do not require Taurine in their food as they’re able to produce it on their own from other amino acids (most foods include some anyway)
- DCM’s first symptom is usually sudden death. If other symptoms do occur, they include fainting or extreme fatigue
- Once the damage is done and the dog has congestive heart failure, survival is rarely over 6 months
