Grain Free Dog Foods under fire?

H

hunter94

Well-known member
Special FDA Alert
The FDA has announced it is investigating a potential connection between grain-free diets and a type of canine heart disease known as dilated cardiomyopathy. Click here for details.
 
Altillathedak said:
The issue doesn’t appear to the fact that grains aren’t present but what is present. “Diets in cases reported to the FDA frequently list potatoes or multiple legumes such as peas, lentils, other “pulses” (seeds of legumes), and their protein, starch and fiber derivatives early in the ingredient list, indicating that they are main ingredients.” https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm613305.htm
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exactly. consumers complained about the excessive use of corn in dog food, so to keep it cheap and counter the complaints, the makers substituted legumes and potatoes, especially peas, yellow peas, chick peas and pea flour, which is evidently worse than the grain.......it's always about filler and keeping costs down. the jury is still out, investigation began in June, but there does appear to be a problem.
the dog food manufactures need to reveal the % of filler in their respective foods. we have no way of knowing how much "filler" is in the food we buy. even the high end brands, in fact almost all the grain free foods have peas and potatoes in them....if the findings are conclusive, the whole dog food industry is going to be turned upside down.......the only alternative is feeding your own ingredients at home.
 
Seems to me this is a case of crying wolf. That report is very inconclusive. I don't know why they would put something like this out until they have more information.

I do have an interest as I am currently feeding my Brittany, who is an allergy dog, a grain-free, limited ingredient food that contains peas, pea flour and chickpeas. But I'm not going to worry about it until there is some concrete evidence that it's a problem. Besides, it appears to be more of a problem in large breeds.
 
Dakotazeb said:
Seems to me this is a case of crying wolf. That report is very inconclusive. I don't know why they would put something like this out until they have more information.

I do have an interest as I am currently feeding my Brittany, who is an allergy dog, a grain-free, limited ingredient food that contains peas, pea flour and chickpeas. But I'm not going to worry about it until there is some concrete evidence that it's a problem. Besides, it appears to be more of a problem in large breeds.
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i guess we need to just keep reading, there is quite a bit of info out there already with more to follow. at the very least peas, lentils and potatoes are mainly cheap fillers......so was/is corn/wheat, but all this stuff is still selling.
 
Dakotazeb said:
Seems to me this is a case of crying wolf. That report is very inconclusive. I don't know why they would put something like this out until they have more information.

I do have an interest as I am currently feeding my Brittany, who is an allergy dog, a grain-free, limited ingredient food that contains peas, pea flour and chickpeas. But I'm not going to worry about it until there is some concrete evidence that it's a problem. Besides, it appears to be more of a problem in large breeds.
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The problem seems to primarily effect Goldens. My vet is a breeder of Goldens and has been apprehensive of "grain free" diets for years. While I'm sure their are dogs that have grain allergies I think a lot of people feed it because it is trendy or cool in their mind. The less I worry about food the better my dogs do
 
I never put any stock in the grain-free foods until I got an allergy dog. And I'm still not sure that grains are the issue. The cause of allergies in dogs is extremely difficult to determine and in most cases impossible. In many cases it's not the grains to blame but the protein source. I'm sure that 95%+ of the dogs out there do not need grain-free food.
 
In the 50s and 60s my mother raised dogs, she made all her own dog food. Entirely of grains, ground beef trimmings and molasses.

She cooked it in the basement, man that smelled good enough to eat myself.
 
McFarmer said:
In the 50s and 60s my mother raised dogs, she made all her own dog food. Entirely of grains, ground beef trimmings and molasses.

She cooked it in the basement, man that smelled good enough to eat myself.
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I thought about making my own out of the deer I shoot.
 
westksbowhunter said:
I thought about making my own out of the deer I shoot.
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Apparently you didn't read that article I posted above. Here is an excerpt from the article:

In my 20 years as a veterinary nutritionist, I’ve seen vast improvements in our knowledge about pet nutrition, in the quality of commercial pet foods, and in our pets’ nutritional health (other than the unfortunate rise in obesity). However, in the last few years I’ve seen more cases of nutritional deficiencies due to people feeding unconventional diets, such as unbalanced home-prepared diets, raw diets, vegetarian diets, and boutique commercial pet foods.
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I just don't know how people that feed raw or homemade dog foods can make sure they are providing a balanced diet for their dog. There have been many research hours put into making commercial dog food to ensure a good healthy diet.
 
Yep I read it. I am still considering making my own. The cost of quality dog food is outrageous. $70 plus for top end food and a 30 lb bag is crazy. Add in another $10 per month for heart wormer, keeping a dog is very costly. It is over $100 a month to keep 2 dogs.
 
If the issue is taurine, it's not found in cereal grains either. So whether the pet food makers use corn/wheat/potatoes/lentils makes no difference with respect to taurine levels. Taurine is primarily found in muscle meat; poultry has higher amounts than beef/lamb/venison/etc.

https://www.onlynaturalpet.com/holi...-importance-of-taurine-for-dogs-and-cats.aspx

Admittedly that's a pet food producer touting their own product but I believe they are correct about where taurine is found.

Interesting bit there about the history of dry dog food. I didn't realize WW2 figured into the transition so much.

It may be the cows at Chik-Fil-A have it right:

View attachment 8355
 
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Chestle said:
If the issue is taurine, it's not found in cereal grains either. So whether the pet food makers use corn/wheat/potatoes/lentils makes no difference with respect to taurine levels. Taurine is primarily found in muscle meat; poultry has higher amounts than beef/lamb/venison/etc.

https://www.onlynaturalpet.com/holi...-importance-of-taurine-for-dogs-and-cats.aspx

Admittedly that's a pet food producer touting their own product but I believe they are correct about where taurine is found.

Interesting bit there about the history of dry dog food. I didn't realize WW2 figured into the transition so much.

It may be the cows at Chik-Fil-A have it right:

View attachment 8355
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:thumbsup: You are absolutely correct. Since taurine is not found in cereal grains what difference would it make if they use corn, potatoes or legumes?
 
Dakotazeb said:
:thumbsup: You are absolutely correct. Since taurine is not found in cereal grains what difference would it make if they use corn, potatoes or legumes?
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my guess is there is more to this issue than has been uncovered so far......hopefully the panel investigating will figure out what may be going on.......it may well be not so much the lack of taurine, but the heavy presence of peas and legumes that is making the kibble dangerous to our dogs. i have no idea.
 
This DCM/taurine link has been known for a long time. Decades, even.

I think the "heavy presence of peas and legumes that is making the kibble dangerous to our dogs" is a problem but it is the basic underlying problem in most of the less expensive kibble.

Clipped this from the article I linked above:

However, the basic reason <reason for DCM - Chestle> remains the same for dogs as cats: there isn’t enough real meat in the food to sustain a meat-eating predator like a dog or cat. The vast majority of dry pet foods out there contain little or no real meat, but instead use cheaper substitutes like grain proteins (corn gluten, wheat gluten, soy protein), and by-products such as meat and bone meal.
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I think THAT is where the problem is. IMO it isn't peas & legumes versus corn & wheat. It's meat protein versus cheaper plant sourced protein of any kind.

Eat Mor Chikin! :)
 
I give my dog a chicken egg or a few quail eggs, raw on top of her dry dog food. She loves them. I had never heard of taurine until this thread, but I googled it, and eggs are a source of taurine.

I'm not a veterinarian or a pet nutritionist, but adding an egg to your dog's food seems like one option for filling in the blanks that might be missing from your dry dog food. Might be worth asking your vet about.
 
I'm feeding a mixture of propac and eukenuba. Propac has rice and peas in it. Eukenuba corn. I didn't want to completely cut out corn and develop an intolerance. It keeps the cost down a little bit.
 
I feed Purina One. Vets always say how good my dogs look and how healthy they are. You can get it at any Walmart or supermarket, so you never have to go out of your way to find it nor have to change the dog's diet in the middle of a hunt if you run out.
 
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