Tufts Updated Article On Diet Caused Dcm

[MaryJane]

13 hours ago, oldrunners said:

My Penny was diagnosed last June with DCM, early stages. I had brought her in because she wasn't eating, and the vet noticed a suspicious heart sound during the exam.  I was sent to the cardiologist immediately, as an emergency-squeeze-me-in-and-charge-me-extra patient.  She was diagnosed and put on Vetmedin and the supplement L-carnatine.  I had been feeding grain free since I got her.  She seems to be stable now.  She is just shy of 10 1/2.

If you are on Facebook - there is a group that has a ton of information.  They have charts that show the incidence of DCM in many of the dogs foods so, it might be worth your while to look at it and evaluate whether you want to stay on grain-free.

[oldrunners]

Yup, I'm there, thank you for suggesting, tho!

[oldrunners]

Penny went for a recheck echo last week.  She needs a dental, and my regular vet didn't want to do it without the echo, rightly so.  The cardiologist was very pleased--her heart function has actually improved!  He considers her stable, I'm to continue the vetmedin and L- carnatine, and she doesn't need a recheck for 6 months to a year, unless I have concerns.  She is cleared for her dental, and will have it on Thursday.

[SmolAliens]

Anyone know if the regular Kirkland chicken/rice/veg food is made by Blue, or is it just the Nature's Domain grain-free?

[Shannon]

As far as I know, Kirkland is made by Diamond. 

[Batmom]

Glad Penny has improved!  Hope her dental went well?

[NeylasMom]

This is a really nice article on what's known about diet related DCM at this time:

https://therawfeedingcommunity.com/2018/02/08/grain-free-diets-and-dcm/

[MaryJane]

3 hours ago, NeylasMom said:

This is a really nice article on what's known about diet related DCM at this time:

https://therawfeedingcommunity.com/2018/02/08/grain-free-diets-and-dcm/

From my interpretation of the article, it skews the information to concentrate on taurine deficiency. I think the Tufts articles are way better and they are not making any conclusions and instead pointing out that switching to a grain-inclusive diet produced by the major companies that have rigorous after-product testing may reverse the problem.

Note, there are many groups putting their own spin on the data to support their perspective/product, think twice -- better to go to the source and read the Tufts articles (or FDA reports).

[NeylasMom]

3 minutes ago, MaryJane said:

From my interpretation of the article, it skews the information to concentrate on taurine deficiency. I think the Tufts articles are way better and they are not making any conclusions and instead pointing out that switching to a grain-inclusive diet produced by the major companies that have rigorous after-product testing may reverse the problem.

Note, there are many groups putting their own spin on the data to support their perspective/product, think twice -- better to go to the source and read the Tufts articles (or FDA reports).

Funny, I didn't get that impression at all. I thought the article was quite balanced and I didn't feel they were promoting any one diet. On the contrary, I thought they did a really nice job of spelling out how much is still really not understood and giving multiple options for diets in the meantime. I feel like I'm coming from a pretty unbiased place since I've barely paid any attention to the issue. 

Anyway, hopefully some people will find it useful. 

[Rickiesmom]

The most interesting thing to me is that they feel this is a relatively new problem, so are looking at what may have changed in the last few years.  While a common factor seems to be inclusion of peas/lentils/potatoes they are looking at other factors including changes in the sources of ingredients.  Barring a sudden breakthrough, figuring out the root ccause is going to take some time.  In the meantime, it does seem prudent to move to a food produced by a company that meets WSAVA guidelines.

[beledi]

For those who feed  Purina Pro Plan, which type do you feed?

 

[oldrunners]

Proplan 7+.  Both my girls are 10 1/2, Sirius will be 7 in September.  To be blunt, I just cannot afford Merrick, Eukanuba, or Royal Canin.  I have never fed Hill's, so I went for Purina, since I had fed it many years ago when I had two dogs on their kidney diet.  These are the 5 listed on WSAVA guidelines.

[ramonaghan]

Fromm's response to the investigation: https://frommfamily.com/about/question-and-answer/fda-dcm/fda-dcm/

Sweep's due for her annual this month, and barring any issues, I will keep her on Fromm Classic Adult. It's the cheapest of their options, it's not grain-free, and it has none of the concerning ingredients like lentils and potatoes that the more expensive lines from Fromm do. Sweep does well on it and has not gotten tired of it after years eating it. And I appreciate the accountability and transparency from the company. 

[Batmom]

Fromm is one of the companies that has had cases on both their grain-free AND their grain-inclusive diets.

[oldrunners]

I am in error:  Merrick is not on WSAVA guidelines, Iams is.  Damn these senior moments, which seem to be getting longer and longer...

[ramonaghan]

9 hours ago, Batmom said:

Fromm is one of the companies that has had cases on both their grain-free AND their grain-inclusive diets.

True, but the Classic recipe isn't one of the ones listed in the FDA report, only their other lines which all seem to contain peas, lentils, or potatoes. That said, I guess I'll get my vet's input and go from there. 

[Jerilyn]

Lila took herself off of Fromm's Gold last winter. Turns out she knew they changed the formula even though they didn't bother to tell anyone about it.  I've had her on ProPlan Bright Mind and she likes it and is doing well on it.

[ramonaghan]

22 minutes ago, Jerilyn said:

Lila took herself off of Fromm's Gold last winter. Turns out she knew they changed the formula even though they didn't bother to tell anyone about it.  I've had her on ProPlan Bright Mind and she likes it and is doing well on it.

Okay, that's concerning. They admitted to the change when you asked?

[LaFlaca]

20 hours ago, ramonaghan said:

Fromm's response to the investigation: https://frommfamily.com/about/question-and-answer/fda-dcm/fda-dcm/

Sweep's due for her annual this month, and barring any issues, I will keep her on Fromm Classic Adult. It's the cheapest of their options, it's not grain-free, and it has none of the concerning ingredients like lentils and potatoes that the more expensive lines from Fromm do. Sweep does well on it and has not gotten tired of it after years eating it. And I appreciate the accountability and transparency from the company. 

I feed Lola Fromm products, rotating among the different 'flavors'. Thanks for posting the company's response to the DCM issue.

[Jerilyn]

51 minutes ago, ramonaghan said:

Okay, that's concerning. They admitted to the change when you asked?

it is. I was their biggest supporter for a long time, but they lost my trust after that.  They changed the main protein source from duck to chicken. And they were not real straightforward with their response. No one responded to my first email, I had to escalate it, and then the response was kinda BS about how it was no big deal and they notified their dealers. My feed store is really great, they sell a ton of Fromm, and they have a Fromm rep in there regularly. I asked them about it and they had no idea and were not notified either.  That change led to a whole series of events that almost led to Lila not being here anymore. This whole DCM thing is what led to me figuring it out since duck was a suspect protein and I checked the food bag to see if it was the first or second ingredient and was surprised to see it not listed at all. 

[ramonaghan]

10 minutes ago, Jerilyn said:

it is. I was their biggest supporter for a long time, but they lost my trust after that.  They changed the main protein source from duck to chicken. And they were not real straightforward with their response. No one responded to my first email, I had to escalate it, and then the response was kinda BS about how it was no big deal and they notified their dealers. My feed store is really great, they sell a ton of Fromm, and they have a Fromm rep in there regularly. I asked them about it and they had no idea and were not notified either.  That change led to a whole series of events that almost led to Lila not being here anymore. This whole DCM thing is what led to me figuring it out since duck was a suspect protein and I checked the food bag to see if it was the first or second ingredient and was surprised to see it not listed at all. 

Wow, thanks for sharing this. So much for that transparency I was just praising them for.