Don’t have sporting dogs but do have two gsd’s. Had them on a grain free diet when they were younger but switched back to a “normal” diet. To me, it wasn’t worth the risk. Saw no benefits to the grain free diets. They are just as happy, energetic, and healthy on food that isn’t grain free. Your results may vary but thats the path we chose.

 

Most of the foods I see now have added taurine.

 

My boots on the ground comments about grain free vs traditional. We've had mixed results with grain free. One neighbors female lab has done great on a 28-20 grain free. Other neighbors lab has done ok on same grain free. His 2 gsps and my lab did not do good on grain free. Something was missing in their diet. Finish looked poor, couldn't keep weight on, started trying to eat birds in the field, wanted to stand under deer feeder and eat corn while bird hunting. These things were very uncharacteristic of these dogs. We switched feeds a couple weeks ago to a traditional, but soy free 24-20 with omega 3, omega 6 and yucca extract. I'm taking the 2 gsps and my lab tomorrow. We'll see if I can tell a difference. For the record, my vet who is a personal friend doesn't recommend the grain free for the reasons mentioned by the OP.

 

Same with my gsd’s on the weight. They always seemed hungry on grain free regardless of how much we fed them and were below normal weight

 

I was feeding my GSP pup grain free puppy food and my vet told me to switch to a conventional dog food like the Pro Plan Sport I was feeding my other dogs before the 6 month old mark. She explained that dogs need quality grains in their diet to survive and flourish. She did have me switch my 11 year old GSP to a senior dog kibble with less protein to avoid liver problems and he's now 14 years old and still hunting birds on a limited basis.

 

.... She did have me switch my 11 year old GSP to a senior dog kibble with less protein to avoid liver problems and he's now 14 years old and still hunting birds on a limited basis.

👍...can be too easy to hear the advice of high protein food for a birddog...regardless of age.

Tailor food to the dog......don't make the dog fit the food the experts choose.

 

For about a year I was feeding Fromm’s, which worked well.

Fromm’s was recently acquired, and I believe their quality has declined.

For about 6 months now I’ve been feeding Orijen.

While about 20% more expensive than Fromm’s, I find Orijen to be superior in all respects (but price).

I’m fairly particular in what I feed. I read ingredients labels meticulously and prefer the first six ingredients to be protein.

Foods with high protein are not easy to find, as they are more costly, and most don’t want to/can’t afford to spend that.

I’ve consulted with my vet, and he believes there’s not much correlation between grain-free and heart issues.

He does believe there’s a correlation between overweight and overfed/under-exercise and heart problems.

I can say for sure that the higher protein, lower filler diet has resulted in fewer, smaller poops.

 

I had a German Wirehaired Pointer named Steve that had bad allergies in the summer. His eyes mattered up a lot. I switched to grain free dog food in 2018, and in Nov of that year he was rushed to the Emergency Vet, and they pulled over 250 mills of fluid from around his heart. I retired him at the age of 9. Then in January of 2020 his body started to swell again. I stayed up with him all night and went to bed at 6:00 AM to sleep before the next trip to the Emergency Vet. He died after he got up off of a rug in the living room and tried to come to the bedroom to find me. Steve was a GREAT dog. My daughter had an 8-year-old lab that died under similar conditions after feeding grain free dog food also in 2020.

 

I have a GWP and a Lab that were both diagnosed with DCM. Severe in the Lab and moderate in the GWP. Both had been on grain free for years. Both were fit and well conditioned dogs. Now both retired at 7 and 9 years. Cardiologist says she is seeing more and more issues and it seems to relate to grain free diets.She is sure not if the issue is the grain free aspect or what they are replacing the grain with,such as legumes. Too late for me now, but will never feed grain free again.

 

I called taste of wild Co and they says grain free is safe and they add Taurine ...
I air fry chicken hearts and feed a few to my dig every other day they are loaded with Taurine ...
He is 12 years old on grain free all those years ..

 

The grain free I fed my dogs had taurine added as well. Both my Vet and the Cardiologist suspect grain free was the issue. I am at a loss as as far as what happened in my situation. I just know I have two dogs of different breeds and separated by two years of age with DCM. When I saw the X-ray of my Labs heart I almost fell down. Absolutely huge. The Wirehair is not as bad. No more grain free for me.

I have have started to pay attention to the dog food in stores and the presence of grain free is incredible. In my area I think there is more varieties of grain free than others. So it is a huge business and if it was the only cause of DCM then the problem should be more widespread. The Cardiologist says more study needs to be performed but to her there seems to be a connection.

 

Not sure if FDA is still investigating it ...Seems to got quite lately ...
Whiskers is12 been on taste of wild prairie fir 11 years and no DCM ..
Lately I have been adding ..chicken hearts air fried every other day to food ..
They are loaded with Taurine ...
So here we have whiskers no problem with grain free ..
Could it be genetic history and breed of dog?

 

I know people that know people with unmatched credentials in canine nutrition, and this is what they tell me.
"Grain free" is marketing BS and Taste of the Wild is about 90% BS. Just one of many labeled bags filled by Diamond Pet Foods.

I fed PPP 30/20 for a long time with great results. I recently switched to Inukshuk because I believe PPP prices have become excessive.
About 6 weeks on Inukshuk now and I am very happy with it. Feeding about 10%-15% less than PPP.
I know many others that have been very happy with Inukshuk for a few years.
The catch? It is as expensive if not more so than PPP unless ordered by the pallet, 65 bags 33lbs each.
The pallet price makes it about 33% less than PPP 30/20 Chicken and rice.

 

When all this grain-free stuff started I switched to Costco (Kirkland) chicken and rice adult dog food for my labs. The food is actually pretty good and rates very highly in a the dog food ratings web sites I look at. It’s considered a “super premium“ brand and made by Diamond Pet Foods in the USA.

my vet says that grain-free is not good or necessary for dogs and the important thing is good ingredients and the correct calorie density.

3 years later the dogs are happy and healthy, still hunting, and my wallet is MUCH happier as the Kirkland food is about 1/3-1/4 the price of all the fancy grain-free high dollar niche brands.

 

When all this grain-free stuff started I switched to Costco (Kirkland) chicken and rice adult dog food for my labs. The food is actually pretty good and rates very highly in a the dog food ratings web sites I look at. It’s considered a “super premium“ brand and made by Diamond Pet Foods in the USA.

my vet says that grain-free is not good or necessary for dogs and the important thing is good ingredients and the correct calorie density.

3 years later the dogs are happy and healthy, still hunting, and my wallet is MUCH happier as the Kirkland food is about 1/3-1/4 the price of all the fancy grain-free high dollar niche brands.

Because of price increases of PPP and NutiSource I tried the Victor brand Beef and rice and then it was recalled for salmonella.
Then I switched to the Kirkland Branded Adult food also because of the 1/3 increase in price of PPP and NutriSource Performance.
I do not feed from the bag. I emptied a new fresh bag into the storage container and discovered a lot of moldy kibble at the bottom of the bag. Soon after all the Kirkland Adult chicken and rice disappeared from the rack temporarily . Costco took it back, but now i question quality control, handling and storage from the (Diamond) manufacturer.
Also, I was picking up about as much as was going in feeding the Kirkland.
Price is coming down a bit on PPP (still effing expensive) , so I switched back. Now I pick up less waste and i have never experienced a quality issue with the PPP.
Here is a good link on research on dog nutrition concerning carbohydrates and proteins. Carbs & Dogs

 

I ALWAYS empty out the bag into a dog food bin precisely so I can inspect the food. Never saw any mold but I DO look. Thanks for the heads up! I feed my dogs the mature/senior formula (they’re 9 and 10 and we’re getting a little chunky on the regular adult food now that they’re not as active.

 

Gentlemen,

Most of the time my gun dogs live to be 18 years old, however I just switched to Nutra Complete a freeze dried dog food that does not cook the nutrients out of the dog food. The Vet who invented this dog food is a pretty smart man, with a lot of experience, so I am giving the food a try. Pretty expensive stuff, and with the new pup arriving on the 21st of the month, I will have 3 dogs to feed again, 1 male Ryman Setter 15 years old, 1 female Gordon Setter just under 4year old, and the new Ryman female Orange Belton pup.
I will probably mix this new dog food with my Call of the North and see how things go with my dogs.
I used Pro Plan for many years, nothing wrong with it, however my Gordon has allergies, I am trying to eliminate, so far nothing has worked very well. I am hoping the Nutra Complete eliminates the problem, we will see.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man