Should I worry about grain-free dog food and DCM for my allergic dog?

Question

I just switched my dogs to Only Natural Pet Canine PowerFood Reduced Fat Grain-Free Dry Dog Food to try to help with some anal gland issues a vet suggested may be allergy-related (the reduced fat aspect is due to other established sensitivities). However I just saw where the FDA released a warning regarding grain-free diets being linked to DCM in dogs. Should I be concerned about their food? Ingredient list photo attached. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Male | neutered | 1 year and 10 months old | 23.6 lbs

C. Rathjens, DVM · Accepted Answer

The short answer is we just don't know. Grain free diets and "boutique" diets are currently being associated with DCM but we haven't figured out exactly why, so we can't predict which foods are going to be a problem. I would recommend talking to your vet to see if there are any prescription allergy diets that would be appropriate given Sirius' other medical issues. If so, that's probably safer. We do know that dogs are fairly unlikely to be allergic to the grain in food - it's usually the meat protein that is the problem. That said, the likelihood of DCM is low even with the grain-free diet, just perhaps higher than other diets. I wish we could be more helpful and hopefully will have a better understanding of the cause.

Should I worry about grain-free dog food and DCM for my allergic dog?

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