- Location
- Sydney, Australia
How awful for you, I can't imagine what you were going through Kelsey. I'm glad you and Axel can continue to enjoy your walks and a normal life
Surprising diagnosis
- Thread starter Kelsey
- Start date
- Location
- Canberra, Australia
A big shock...but now it can be managed. Here’s to a very long and happy life for Axel.
Atemas
UK Tour Guide
- Location
- North Cambridgeshire
Sounds like an excellent plan @Kelsey&Axel. Also lots of reassuring/helpful posts here. Try not to worry (I know - easy to say but not easy to do
)
Beanwood
Administrator
What an awful shock! You must have been reeling from it. I guess (small consolation...) having the diagnosis early means you can be looking in the right direction when you notice any symptoms, meaning you then have the option of treating with the best course of early intervention. I am glad that members with a similar diagnosis have been able to share their knowledge as well as positive experiences. 
- Location
- Vlaardingen, the Netherlands
What a shock for you!
For me it is a wake up call for I feed Finn also grain free (Acana). Now I am thinking of going back to Purina pro plan....I am very happy with Acana, but reading this I change my mind and probably will go back to what he was on before! Thank you also @M.F. for providing this article!
For me it is a wake up call for I feed Finn also grain free (Acana). Now I am thinking of going back to Purina pro plan....I am very happy with Acana, but reading this I change my mind and probably will go back to what he was on before! Thank you also @M.F. for providing this article!
- Location
- Essex, U.K.
What a shock for you, it is encouraging though that the vet says Axel will live a long time yet and that you are doing the right things for him.
He will have a wonderful life with you and now you are prepared and know what to look for you can keep an extra close eye on him. Thank goodness your friend led you down this path.
I had not heard of DCM and it would be great if @snowbunny could start a thread.
He will have a wonderful life with you and now you are prepared and know what to look for you can keep an extra close eye on him. Thank goodness your friend led you down this path.
I had not heard of DCM and it would be great if @snowbunny could start a thread.
- Location
- Andorra and Spain
The number of affected dogs appears to be increasing (although some of this is anecdotal) but is still tiny.
They can't link DCM to grain-free or specific ingredients.
There are multiple apparent causes of DCM, not all linked to diet.
Look into how the people who recommend certain brands have been financed by those brands.
I don't think you should rush to change away from a food you're happy with as a knee-jerk reaction. @Beanwood is going to start the article later and I'll add my 2¢ as well
Boogie
Moderator
- Location
- Manchester UK
My knee jerk reaction was to put some of Spencer’s Royal Canin in with Tatze’s meal.
Silly, but we worry, don’t we? I never once worried like this with my children!
Silly, but we worry, don’t we? I never once worried like this with my children!
Oh Kelsey that must’ve been such a shock! Sending lots of love to you & Axel. He’s in the best possible hands!
Stanley’s on grain free food
I was always under the impression that Purina and royal canin weren’t that great.. but royal canin pay vets to push it.
I’m reluctant to change his food because he loves it and does well on it and it’s a good quality food. But now I’m a bit scared.
Stanley’s on grain free food
I was always under the impression that Purina and royal canin weren’t that great.. but royal canin pay vets to push it.
I’m reluctant to change his food because he loves it and does well on it and it’s a good quality food. But now I’m a bit scared.
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
@Kelsey&Axel I saw the bald spot but obviously didn't know what was going on. What a shock! It sounds so scary but I'm sure you'll be able to make the best of it and the lovely Axel will be none the wiser.
The last I read re grain free and DCM was that the FDA were investigated and conducting studies. To me this means that there is a concern but nothing is known for certain at this stage.
The last I read re grain free and DCM was that the FDA were investigated and conducting studies. To me this means that there is a concern but nothing is known for certain at this stage.
Kelsey, how stressful! All the best with everything. I know in humans having a leaky mitral valve is reasonably common and often asymptomatic, so fingers crossed.
With the lack of information out there it is so hard to know what"s the right thing.
We are in the same boat. Chewie is doing well on grain free puppy food, but now I'm not sure what to do when we transition him to adult food.Oh Kelsey that must’ve been such a shock! Sending lots of love to you & Axel. He’s in the best possible hands!
Stanley’s on grain free food
I was always under the impression that Purina and royal canin weren’t that great.. but royal canin pay vets to push it.
I’m reluctant to change his food because he loves it and does well on it and it’s a good quality food. But now I’m a bit scared.
With the lack of information out there it is so hard to know what"s the right thing.
I don’t know whether you listen to RN’s Health Report with Norman Swan? Last week there was a story of over-diagnosis for spongy heart disease, and the devastation such a diagnosis has—all for nought. It should never have been diagnosed in the first place. I wonder if similar is done with mitral heart disease? Just causes so much anguish.
As for dog food, I really do believe making your own using high-quality animal protein that has not been exposed to excessively high temperature, and ensuring a variety of nutrients, is the best thing to do. Most dog food (especially kibble) is not only highly processed and cooked at excessively high temperatures, the protein used is usually of extremely poor quality (not fit for human consumption), and it lacks variety which is so necessary for ensuring a wide array of nutrients.
- Location
- East Sussex
This isn't the case in the UK. Here 'Material of animal origin comes from animals which are inspected and passed as fit for human consumption prior to slaughter. The material must be free of transmissible disease, which therefore excludes material from dying, diseased or disable animals.' Pet food
Of course other things you say are the case here too, such as kibble being cooked a very high temperature.
- Location
- Andorra and Spain
The animals are fit for human consumption prior to slaughter, but this doesn't mean that the parts of the animal that end up in the food, nor the quality control that is used during handling, is suitable for humans. It's far better than in many countries - I know in the USA there have been cases where traces of euthanasia drugs have been found in commercial kibble, as euthanised animals were added in to the mix; something that couldn't happen under UK law. But it also doesn't mean that everything that goes into the kibble is fit for human consumption, even though it sounds as if that is the case.
I don't think there is a correct answer; home-made diets have also been linked to the DCM issue. I do believe that whatever you choose to feed your dog, you would do well to have at least yearly comprehensive haematology and biochemistry analysis to see if there is anything out of balance showing up there.
Oh my goodness... I am so sorry you have this worry. Axel is a Lucky boy to have such a caring person looking after him.
“Not fit for human consumption” is an interesting term, one which I’ve learned fairly recently. It’s about the protein not being accessible via digestion. For example, dog food often has an over abundance of all the bits humans can’t eat, like bones and feathers and hair—which are considered “not fit for human consumption”. After cooking at high temps, they get a protein reading. But the reviews (one of which was on Linda Case’s website—Science Dog) I’ve read say it’s not high enough quality for good health. There was also that awful case of adding melamine to dog food to erroneously increase the protein reading.
Of course, feeding home-cooked or raw food is not a silver bullet. People often want to feed as cheap as possible and can therefore prepare inadequate meals, for example, I hear of people feeding just chicken heads and feet and liver cos it’s cheap—where’s the variety, high quality muscle meat (necessary for taurine), and balanced nutrition? Or, they just get it wrong and feed unbalanced meals regardless of price.
Of course, feeding home-cooked or raw food is not a silver bullet. People often want to feed as cheap as possible and can therefore prepare inadequate meals, for example, I hear of people feeding just chicken heads and feet and liver cos it’s cheap—where’s the variety, high quality muscle meat (necessary for taurine), and balanced nutrition? Or, they just get it wrong and feed unbalanced meals regardless of price.
Jacqui-S
Moderator
- Location
- Fife, Scotland
Actually this is interesting to contemplate.
I don't know how many of you are aware about the controversy over breast screening? About overdiagnosis causing treatment for something which would not have been life changing in any way if not diagnosed at all. Non harmful lesions which cause significant morbidity through worry and "unnecessary" operations.
Food for thought too.