Potential Connection Between Diet And Cases Of Canine Heart Disease

[Beachbum1]

https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm613305.htm

[oldrunners]

This is very interesting, since my Penny was just diagnosed last Friday with early DCM. She has been eating grain free for years. She is 9years, 7months old, and also has SLO. All three of mine eat this, since the previous foods I fed gave them chrystals in their urine. So now what do I feed?

[EllenEveBaz]

Thanks for the link, Beachbum. Potatoes and lentils -- who'd have thunk it?

 

Oldrunners, I'm sorry about Penny's diagnosis and hope she has many more happy years with you.

 

Random thoughts: Are there white potatoes in her current food? Of course, it's just a preliminary suspicion. And you always have to balance good effects vs bad effects of anything. Crystals in the urine sounds like a good reason to keep away from grains in the kibble. I wonder if the type of grain makes a difference -- like oats vs rice. I think there are several kibbles that use sweet potatoes, which are not related to white potatoes. Of course, Penny would probably enjoy it if you made her a pasta dish every night.

[oldrunners]

Penny, as well as my other two, eat TOTW pacific stream. Potato is the 4th ingredient, behind sweet potato, and a bit later there are lentils and potato starch, along with more fishy stuff. Among other things, Dr. Very Expensive, the cardiologist, suggests a senior food that is low sodium. The reason Penny initially went to our regular vet was a GI issue. During the exam, vet noticed an atypical sound in her chest, and off we went to the specialty vet. She just eased in to eating her regular food after chickie/rice for a week. I haven't researched low sodium senior food yet, but I will. I'm still processing this whole thing, and didn't want to change food on top of everything else, as in 3 new meds and not wanting to eat. sigh

On another note, TOTW was the third food I tried, and the first one to not cause crystals. I'm not particularly bonded to it, but it doesn't cause crystals, everyone likes it, so I stuck with it.

[seeh2o]

I don't know how you feel about it, but you might want to consider feeding raw. I've fed raw for almost 10 years, but my friend (she was my raw mentor) has fed raw for 40 years. Not one of her dogs had ever had heart disease.

Edited July 22, 2018 by seeh2o

[NeylasMom]

Thanks, this is interesting. I hope people read carefully and understand this is a small number of cases with absolutely no causal link so its not a reason to panic, but just another thing to consider/watch.

 

This is very interesting, since my Penny was just diagnosed last Friday with early DCM. She has been eating grain free for years. She is 9years, 7months old, and also has SLO. All three of mine eat this, since the previous foods I fed gave them chrystals in their urine. So now what do I feed?

I would take this information to your vet and discuss whether additional blood work is a good idea before changing things.

[oldrunners]

Dr. Very Expensive prescribed generic Vetmedin for Penny. He sent me home with a 30 day supply for $130. The good news is, I just found Vetmedin on Chewy for $88 for 50! Yay!