Posted on 06/30/2019 6:59:58 AM PDT by ConservativeMind
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identified 16 brands of dog food that had been linked to heart disease in dogs that eat them, according to a report the agency published Thursday.
In the report, the FDA named for the first time the pet food brands most frequently associated with adverse events. In descending order of most incidents of heart disease, the brands are Acana, Zignature, Taste of the Wild, 4health, Earthborn Holistic, Blue Buffalo, Nature’s Domain, Fromm, Merrick, California Natural, Natural Balance, Orijen, Nature’s Variety, NutriSource, Nutro and Rachael Ray Nutrish.
The heart condition examined in the report, canine dilated cardiomyopathy, often results in heart failure and is believed to have a genetic component, according to the report.
The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates there are 77 million pet dogs in the United States, most of which are not developing dilated cardiomyopathy, the FDA said in a statement. The number of dogs affected with heart disease may not seem like a lot, John de Jong, president of the veterinary association, said Saturday, but the FDA found a trend and is informing consumers of it.
De Jong said the trend of not having grain in a dog’s diet might be a culprit.
“The whole grain-free thing is a popular myth,” de Jong said. “If they look at the dogs’ relatives in the wild, like coyotes, wolves and hyenas, they live on their prey. Those animals they prey on are typically herbivores, so they are ingesting grains anyway.”
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.com ...
My dogs eat venison mixed with ol’ roy.
We can’t afford the spendy dog food but hubby hunts. Guess my dogs are doomed too.
It must be for this idiotic theory to hold any credence at all. The facts are that these dog foods are made of medium quality meats reared on grasses and grains, just like any other farm grown livestock. Certainly not Prime Grade A beef, but good beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, etc. GRAIN fed fowl, certainly. For this FDA study to conclude that the dogs fed on these meat based foods to not get any grain nutrients from these meat based dog foods shows someone in the study has a vegetarian agenda.
I don’t know about you, but I have never met a wild canine species that acted as a farmer or ate grains in the wild. I have seen dogs eat grasses to induce vomiting as an emetic, but not as a food additive.
Keep in mind, I am not a “dog person,” just a person who hates bad science. . . especially bad science with a political agenda, so even I have a bias.
I hope he was just mis-quoted. If not he is not very smart and surely mortified by now.
I am happy to know that I am primarily all vegan now and will eat my steak as guilt free as ever.
You are the first person I have run across that has stated poop is vegetables.
His comments were so “right,” that the Seattle Times wanted to reprint the original article from the New York Times.
The blind leading the blind.
A second-generation vegetarian.
I’ve seen apple skins in coyote scat.
And I’ve seen dogs eat tomatoes.
They don’t cultivate their own, however.
And don’t forget the little bells in grizzly scat.
Again, correlation is not causation, and not all of these dog foods use legumes to boost the protein content. To release these data on such a weak correlation and for such a small population targeting a genetically proclivity in certain dogs is poor science. The way to do science would be to make an announcement that high legume content dog foods may have an adverse effect on dogs with a proclivity to restrictive cardiomyopathy heart failure in later life, not issue a blanket condemnation of a list of dog foods that are actually beneficial to the vast majority of dogs who are provided them to eat.
Our little maltese mix has only eaten Blue Buffalo (lamb and brown rice)since he was 6 moths old and off puppy chow. He turned 15 in April. Up until last year people thought he was a puppy and has never been ill. He has a little arthritis now and deafness and slight cataracts but otherwise OK. We always bought the lamb and when we get Blue Buffalo canned it is always beef or lamb. Always avoided any chicken in his diet.
Why is the FDA spending money evaluating DOG food?
My 15 year old dog ate ol Roy all his life and did not die from heart disease, he died from old age.
And, from what I’ve seen, none of these foods (mileage may vary on each brand), are 100% meat and also include vegetables and grains). . . so I again query, who is funding this study?
I recall feeding the dogs my mother raised with Skippy Dog Food, which appeared almost indistinguishable from Hormel Spam in a can. . . All of them lived to ripe old ages. Of course, they also got a lot of table scraps. Loved it all. . . And scarfed it up in seconds. No dog I’ve ever known ever ate like a gourmet. . . Wait, I take that back. My mom had one dog, Tina, a Poodie-Shel, who would eat one piece of kibble at a time, carrying it from her bowl to a comfortable place and then chew on it, then go back for another.
Oh, my, a Blue Buffalo diet causes arthritis, deafness, and cataracts! Proof positive! You must stop feeding your little doggie that poison immediately!
Golden's are hunter-killer-eaters.
LOL it’s called old age. On the other hand my first dog only lived to 8 and died of extensive intestinal cancer, I fed her the cheapest food I could buy. (college days)
Had friends who gave their retrievers a whole raw chicken each once a day. They ate it all and were the healthiest dogs, glossy coats and all.
Coyotes come up and eat the apples that fall off our trees. Bears will do the same if they got close enough. We don’t have many bears around here. We would have a lot fewer coyotes if I could get more clear shots at them.
Our 21-year-old cat is hyperthyroid. She’s doing fine on medication. However, when she gets a mouse, she eats it all, except the gut, and is suddenly calmer and looks better for the next few days. Once this past winter, she had a feast of 3 mice and was calm, contented and even looked more plush for a week afterward.
Otherwise, she demands dry Meow Mix and will deign to eat only a few morsels of chicken or beef or lick the gravy from a gourmet cat food.
She WANTS Meow Mix. We give her Meow Mix. She does seem to thrive on mice (and mice by-products). Can’t argue, since she’s 21.
Our dogs get Purina products. The kibble has dried meat in it. They all got/get scraps and leftovers. They get commercial treats. All lived to old age, except one stupid beagle who drowned chasing a raccoon over the ice in March.
All those fancy dog foods have had recalls for various reasons. Purina hasn’t.
Coyotes eat plants regularly, judging from their poop I see in the desert.
My spaniel/retriever mix eats Taste of the Wild and has developed heart problems (he is old, and had bad heartworm before we adopted him). My vet mentioned to me about a month or so ago that grain free was leading to a lot of heart problems. Sigh.
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