[Patricia A]

I’ve been feeing Stella chewys baked kibble as a base and because of recent possible association with grain free foods I stopped feeding because Peas are their 3rd ingredients. I went to Fromm small breed adult. As far as kibble goes I thought at least I was giving the best since I go by the advisors 2018 list of 5*. My question is if after studies it is determined that grain is not causing problems I would go back to Stella’s. But this is my question. When the advisor gives his reviews he writes “Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the chickpeas, peas, alfalfa and flaxseed, this looks like the profile of a kibble containing a significant amount of meat.”
So does this mean I can trust that even though the 3rd ingredients down are legumes the protein from them are a VERY small portion and mostly protein is meat? I don’t know if I can trust anymore that all these grain free foods are the best thing that’s happened to the industry because now they can use cheap legumes to boost their claim of a high protein food?
My dogs were all on Fromm before getting on the grain free craze. But the advisor only gives them 4stars and has a lot of ingredients in red. Hope my question makes sense since my head is spinning with confusion about what to feed already.

[anonymous]

No one has the answers to your questions right now, we are all awaiting the results of the FDA investigation.
I would take any dog food reviews with a grain of salt. There are no veterinarians or veterinary nutritionists affiliated with DFA.
Hope this helps, excerpt below from: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2018/08/grain-free-diets-and-heart-disease-in-dogs/ click on link for full article and comments.

Bottom Line
Nutrition and metabolism are complicated, and the exact relationship between dietary composition, breed genetics, and other factors leading to DCM is not yet clear. It is too early to say with certainty whether the diets are the primary cause of DCM in these dogs or whether other breeds may also be at risk. However, it is clear that the idea behind the health claims for grain-free diets is speculative at best and very likely untrue. Extreme diet fads hardly ever turn out to be a good idea in people, and the same is probably true for pets.
If you are feeding a grain-free diet, there is no need to panic. If you own a golden retriever or other breed that has been shown to be develop DCM in the past, it makes sense to talk to your vet and potentially have taurine levels tested or other diagnostics done depending on the circumstances. The diet you are feeding may be perfectly fine, but it is also probable not any better than any other diet with more conventional ingredients, and there is now some small indication that it may place some dogs at greater risk for this preventable disease.
The links above to the FDA and UC Davis Vet School will provide more information.

[Patricia A]

Thank’s Anan. I think for now I’ll just rotate brands they are used to be safe.

[Author]

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