Unless you want to put it at direct risk of dying prematurely of heart failure.
Yep, you read it right. There are no 'ifs, ands or buts' about it:
Feeding Dogs a Strictly Grain Free Diet puts them at non-hereditary risk of dilated cardiomyopathy.
Thankfully, Janine, a PAFP foster and adopter, enlightened me to this fact.
Once Janine's 3rd whippet had late stage symptoms of advanced heart disease, she had reached her wits' end. Her first two whippets had succumbed to heart disease too. -And she just didn't get it: her dogs enjoyed top shelf dog food, Acana, had plenty of daily exercise, and regular vet visits.
That was it: beloved dog number 3 was going to a veterinarian-cardiologist. -Enough with unexplained heart disease for Janine's dogs... and heartbreak for Janine!
.jpeg) |
| Janine's foster, June, that almost was fed grain-free |
It's the food- straight from the good cardiologist's mouth.
This doctor explained to Janine that, 'dogs aren't physiologically meant to consume mass amounts of legumes, berries and such'- consuming grain-free dog foods long-term leads to swelling of heart tissue and muscle ... and death.
I found this out because I had taken a big bag of grain-free dog food for Janine's then-foster-dog!
We get most of our dog and cat food donated from Feeder's Supply. Pet food that's slightly expired, has bag damage, or has been returned, is what's donated to the rescue.
For more than a year much of what's been donated has been grain-free. People were returning it left and right, writing on the slips, 'dog didn't like it.' Hmmm, I guess some of these dogs knew that they weren't getting what they needed from these high-price fancy foods. Janine had bought her foster pup a bag of good ol' IAMS puppy food (foster was less than a year old), and wisely ditched the donated bag of grain-free.
 |
| Janine's sweet dog, Paisley. RIP girl, your death won't be in vain. We'll tell everyone we know to say no to grain-free dog food. |
I was very surprised to hear about this grain-free-feeding-impediment, yet SO relieved to know about it!
Rather than throwing out every bit of grain-free food in our doggy storage bin (what I was going to do), my husband suggested we very lightly mix in just a bit of the grain-free to the dogs' regular food (Purina One). That way we're getting the vitamin boost it provides without overdoing it. I thought that was a good idea, so that's what we do. And I no longer accept most grain-free donated dog food, trying to keep it an a 2:10 ratio, 2 being grain-free and 10 being 'regular dog food.'
Thus far, this risk of heart disease in cats linked to grain-free hasn't manifested. Still, I wouldn't risk it!
Naturally, I share this info with all Paw and Feather Plan adopters too.
Happy Feeding! It's a food jungle out there!
Here are links to just a couple of articles on this issue:
https://vetster.com/en/wellness/do-grain-free-diets-cause-heart-disease-in-dogs
Comments
Post a Comment