Why Is Grain Free Bad For Dogs

Understand what the fda is telling dog owners about grain free dog food and dilated cardiomyopathy dcm so you can make informed decisions for your pet.

Why is grain free bad for dogs. The foods were tested for minerals metals and amino acids and no significant abnormalities were found. This suggests a strong link between grain free foods and heart disease in these pets. In large majority of instances there is no need for your pet to be eating a grain free diet. One misconception is that grain free dog food is also low carb.

The fda received 515 reports of dcm in dogs between january 1 2014 and april 30 2019. So far the fda report s biggest finding is that nearly all dogs with dcm were fed grain free diets. When they looked into what these dogs were eating they found that 90 were on a grain free food and 93 were on diets that contained peas and or lentils. While grain free dog foods do not have grains they do substitute other carbohydrate sources such as potatoes sweet potatoes lentils peas or quinoa.

There are no scientific studies to indicate that grains are bad for dogs. According to a study reported in sciencemag dogs have evolved genes for digesting starch that wolves do not have. The fda is investigating potential links. Grain free diets and heart failure so to start with for those of you who aren t aware grain free diets have been implicated as a cause of heart failure in dog breeds that would not normally get that particular type of heart failure.

However vegetables such as potatoes sweet potatoes green peas and tapioca often replace the grains in grain free dog foods especially in kibble foods making them as high or higher in carbohydrates than grain based dog foods. The fda hasn t yet determined the exact mechanism for how the disease forms. Grain free diet for dogs can be good only for certain pets and in very specific cases. In fact there is a new study that shows the opposite.

In some cases a grain free food may be equal to or higher in carbs than dog foods with grains. Therefore grain free foods are not carb free. According to a warning from the food and drug administration released last week grain free food might be giving dogs a life threatening heart problem called dilated cardiomyopathy or dcm.