# Cardiomyopathy and food



## SusanG (Aug 8, 2009)

My vet suggested I switch my girls over to a food that does not have lentils and peas in it or at least one where those ingredients are at the lower end of the list of ingredients. For now they are on Nutrasource Beef and Rice and Adult Chicken and Rice, mixed with Wellness Core Healthy Cuts canned. They like it, especially the Healthy Cuts but I see the Nutrasource is only rated 3* on Dog Food Analysis. I checked Purina Proplan which is not rated that highly either.

I'm not sure what to do. Fromm has one that would work but for some reason my girls won't eat Fromm kibble.

What is everyone else feeding?


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I home cook and our dogs' food is human quality as a result. If I can do it for 180 pounds worth of dogs anyone can.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

I home cook too because my dog can’t tolerate any legumes such as peas or green beans. She also needs a lower fat diet and I just couldn’t find a commercial food that fit her diet needs.


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

I tried home cooking and they had diarrhea, even though I weighed and measured and followed directions. So I sometimes will mix in some of that with their Victor kibble and/or Merrick canned...the kind that says 96% of protein from chicken or from beef, whatever the meat. I don't care if it has grain or not. I am looking for one without pea protein or legumes. I read on the nutrition expert's site that I have used that the order, 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc in which ingredients are listed is not necessarily highest to lowest amounts. 

I looked at Proplan ingredients...not excited over that. I am feeding this (3rd bag) and they like it and I like the looks of the ingredients. Of course though, I do switch foods so they're not always eating the same thing. I also add sardines some days, eggs on other days, sometimes a spoonful or two of my homemade stuff that's kept in the freezer. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IAJQMTU/ref=twister_B07RTDDG1T?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I am not very comfortable feeding any commercial pet food these days. Maybe I'll try home cooked again but not put so many ingredients in it at once. The things they discover from time to time in commercial food is pretty spooky. And it's not that infrequently either.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

We had a discussion about it not too long ago a thread started by me if you want to look for it.

I avoid legumes and potatoes (if I remember correctly, bad memory) so I changed to Pro Plan sensitive and both my dogs are doing well on it. I think it has salmon as the main protein. No legumes or potatoes.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

After reading all the info on the DCM warning from the FDA I went looking for some dry foods without all the suspect ingredients. I do not like the 'big 4' brands of kibble recommended by everybody because of the corn, soy, and wheat in them, which I found makes my girl 'itchy'. I now, so far, have found 2 that sound good to me. I got a bag of each of these..
The first is 'Victor's Senior Healthy Weight' which I picked because Molly gains weight easily(she's 7yrs old ) It does have peas in it but they are listed as the 10th ingredient so it doesn't worry me too much.
The 2nd one is called 'Nature's Logic' and has absolutely no suspect ingredients including no chemically synthesized vitamins. It's an 'All Life Stages' kibble.....I got the 'Duck and Salmon Meal Feast'.
These 2 bags will last quite a long time, so for now I refuse to worry any more until the FDA updates their findings LOL!!!


P.S. Kibble is only a small part of Molly's varied diet of raw, dehydrated, canned, & home cooked.


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

I recommend joining a facebook group called Taurine-Deficient Dialated Cardiomyopathy. It is a science based group run and moderated by Veterinarian, Veterinary Cardiologists and Veterinary Nutritionists. Among those individuals is Dr. Joshua Stern, the cardiologist who was the first to notice a correlation between diet being fed and the resulting cases of Cardiomyopathy.

I, personally feed Purina Pro Plan Sport and Poppy loves it. She is doing great on the food and her coat is amazing.


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## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

ProPlan here, too. Vet said Noelle is doing fantastic.


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

I've read quite a bit about this increasing incidents (or more being reported?) of DCM lately. And what I saw was that it's showing up in dogs that are not deficient in taurine. I don't know the percentage of dogs that are showing DCM that are low on taurine. But the taurine may not be the entire story. There may be some other reasons. It's all in the investigative stage still. But it does seem to have something to do with replacing meat protein with pea protein. Dogs need meat and these gosh darn dog food companies are too cheap to use plenty of meat. It's not all grain free fed dogs either who are turning up with DCM. 

I gathered that a little pea protein or legumes are fine...in fact, some amount of legumes have some good nutrition. BUT since it's hard to know how much they're using of that and how much is meat (some foods let you know) I find it prudent to steer clear of the pea/legume protein and watch for lots of meat and good supplements since much of it is destroyed upon cooking. (if they're using high temperatures) This lack of meat means lower amino acids and some other enzymes I believe so that may indeed be the common denominator...not that there's no grain in the food.


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## Streetcar (Apr 13, 2014)

Reading about this here has really raised my consciousness, and the Castor & Pollux I finally settled on a couple years ago (and that has worked the best of any food for Oliver's stomach) seems full of chickpeas .

I tried adding a bit of a bit higher level Purina from the grocery store, but even a little didn't go well. Yesterday I got on amazon and ordered a small bag of the Purina Pro Sensitive, which is salmon-based like his current kibble. No soy, wheat, or corn; it includes oats and maybe some rice. I'm sure hoping he does well adding that in - if so, I'll switch to that.

And I still cook him his "stew" that gets added to his breakfast. Usually ground chicken (discovered it's turkey that doesn't agree with him), veggies, herbs. No set recipe, and it's only about a tablespoon mixed with the kibble, so not a substantial part of his diet. But he does like it a lot. Of course, he likes pizza and chips, too LOL.


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## Dogs4Life (May 27, 2018)

This whole topic has caused me so much anxiety since I started reading about it. I am just not in the position right now to figure out a home cooked diet for my dogs, but Nature's Logic looks like a good choice, so my fur babies will give it a try. Thanks for the suggestion, Molly.


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## TERIN (Mar 27, 2019)

My Vet absolutely insisted that at least 75% of the diet I fed Sally must be a good dry dog food with no peas or legumes high on the ingredient panel

I could add a little extra meat, egg, or veg, if I liked, not the whole meal home made

This Vet has seen many dogs with nutritional deficiency from home made only


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## Saaanderud (Nov 29, 2018)

Can anyone recommend a vitamin supplement? My Coco is 11 yrs, has a 9-yr history of inflammatory bowel disease, and last winter had two plasmacytomas removed (one from behind her lower jaw). She has always been a picky eater, and not eating triggers a flare. So, I feed her whatever she'll eat. 
But I know she's not getting a balanced diet, and I worry about cardiomyopathy and other disease from vitamin deficiency. She was on canned Royal Canin GI but now won't eat it. I feed her jars of meat babyfood or cooked chicken or hamburger and freshpet. My vet says dogs don't need supplements and so won't recommend one, although he admits she might benefit from one since she isn't eating well.
I should add that she's on Entyce appetite stimulant or she basically doesn't eat enough to maintain her weight.


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