FDA investigating connection between certain dog foods and canine heart disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning dog owners about a possible connection between canine heart disease and certain brands of dog food.

The FDA says they are investigating a potential dietary link between canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and dogs eating certain pet foods containing legumes like peas or lentils.

The investigation was launched after they received a number of reports of DCM in dogs eating these diets.

Officials say while DCM is not considered rare in dogs, the reports were unusual because many of the reported cases occured in breeds of dogs not typically prone to the disease. Most of the reported cases involved dogs that ate diets which contained high concentrations of certain ingredients such as peas, chickpeas, lentils, and/or various types of potatoes.

Some of those foods were labeled as “grain-free” but grain-containing diets were also listed.

The FDA has compiled a spreadsheet of all DCM case reports submitted through April 30, 2019. 

Brands named most frequently in reports submitted to the FDA (as of April 30, 2019) that had at least ten reports, include Acana (67), Zignature (64), Taste of the Wild (53), 4Health (32), Earthborn Holistic (32), Blue Buffalo (31), Nature’s Domain (29), Fromm (24), Merrick (16), California Natural (15), Natural Balance (15), Orijen (12), Nature’s Variety (11), NutriSource (10), Nutro (10), and Rachael Ray Nutrish (10).

The FDA says these foods have not been recalled because they have not yet determined the nature of a possible connection between the foods and canine DCM.

You can find more information on the FDA’s website.