I think some of our alarm over this may be premature. Most of the dogs who’ve presented with DCM are Golden Retrievers. A few others are in the mix who aren’t typically prone to DCM like Goldens are, which is what triggered the alert. The common thread seems to be grain-free and/or exotic diets (kangaroo and quinoa, things like that). I considered home cooking with a good vet-approved supplement, but home diets aren’t ideal — it’s hard to get them right. Most vets recommend AGAINST home cooking and ARE recommending a big-brand grain-included food (Royal Canin, Iams, Purina, etc.) — but 1) most of those foods do have pea/legume ingredients and/or potatoes somewhere in the mix, and 2) most of the cases of DCM (though not all) have taurine deficiency. Low taurine has been pinpointed as the culprit in DCM in cats for many years, and many dog foods now have added taurine. It’s important to note that most dietary taurine comes from meats, not grains — it’s not the lack of grains that’s the problem with grain-free foods, though added potatoes and/or legumes may block or diminish taurine absorption. I feed Wellness grain-free Core (chicken variety) and Koby and I both like it — it’s not full of chemical additives like the big-name brands are (which may be carcinogens), its protein level is high, Dogfood Advisor gives it 5 stars, and it does have added taurine. I have just had Koby (who shows no signs of heart failure or any other health problem) tested for taurine — I don’t have the results back yet but they should be in this week and I will post them. In the meantime, while we wait for more information on what’s really going on here — and unless Koby’s taurine level comes back low or he shows signs of DCM — I’m continuing to feed Wellness Core because it’s AAFCO tested, human grade, good protein level, taurine added, and Koby likes it and has always been very healthy on it. He’s about 4 (he was a rescue and a stray before that) but I’ve had him over two years and he’s been on this food since I got him (and when he was in foster through Cairn Rescue he was on another grain free, don’t remember which) — so he’s been grain-free for quite a while.
One or two of the Goldens with DCM in the UC Davis study were on Wellness Core — but Goldens are much more likely to develop DCM than most other breeds. I don’t recall whether these Goldens were taurine-deficient. Someone on this thread posted the link to the spreadsheet from that study, or at least I think I got it from this thread, but I can’t find it now. I would very much like to find it again — if anyone out there reading this is the one who posted the link, PLEASE post again!
