Ashley De Lisle
Feb 10, 2023
Maybe you didn't know it was a "concern" but since 2018, the sudden announcement by the FDA to collect data regarding cases of Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) specifically surround cases linked to dogs on grain-free diets sent dog owners and breeders everywhere wondering what to do.
Was it safe to have my dog on sweet potato, peas or other starch as a substitute for grains?
As of December 2022, the FDA announced they will no longer give updates regarding Grain-Free Diets and it's alleged role in Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy.
"Adverse events reported do not provide sufficient data to establish a causal relationship"
It also states that their hasn't been a correlation even between grain-free diets and DCM.
"Additionally, this study compiled sales data for grain-free diets at brick-and-mortar stores between 2011 and 2019, then overlayed the sales data with annual DCM incidence to analyze correlation. The authors wrote that they did not observe a significant increase in the DCM incidence rate over time, which included the recent period when sales of grain-free pet food grew exponentially."
Read the article below
There is still lots of research to be done in this area but for now, non-hereditary DCM is a complicated, muli-factoral disease involving genetics, underlying medical conditions and diet and no data supports a correlation or causation from dog food that is grain-free.