Grain-Free Pet Food

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German, French, US owners differ on grain-free dog food

Scientists observed a disconnect among pet owners and pet food makers regarding grains in dog foods.

July 16, 2021

Tim Wall

While dog owners worldwide buy grain-free pet food, their motivations may differ from one culture to another.

Humanization of dogs’ diets from two research perspectives

June 10, 2021

Debbie Phillips-Donaldson

A recent study showed owners often feed their dogs according to their own diet routines, while another researched how dogs were fed thousands of years ago.

Sharing pet food analysis data key to avoid another DCM

One response to the DCM situation, the rise of alternative grains, may end up repeating the problem it was meant to fix.

June 8, 2021

Tim Wall

Providing empirical data to back up nutrition claims could help pet food companies avoid another situation like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation into canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

Grain-free diet change related to longer life for DCM dogs

Dogs that received taurine supplementation during the course of their disease also had a significantly longer survival time than those that did not.

March 18, 2021

Tim Wall

Among dogs diagnosed with canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), veterinary medicine researchers at Tufts University identified a correlation between survival time and changing from a grain-free dog food diet.

High-protein cat food may reduce bird, wildlife predation

Compared to a control group, cats killed fewer wild animals in the groups that ate high-protein diets and that played with their owners. Those two groups of cats also brought down less prey than before the experiment began.

February 17, 2021

Tim Wall

For those cat owners who let their felines roam the neighborhood, high-protein cat food may be one means to reduce predatory pressure on birds and other small wildlife.

Coastal wolves, ancient clambakes and paleo dog food

Human food trends arose from people’s intentions to eat as our Paleolithic, or Stone Age, ancestors did, and these trends transferred to pet food.

February 10, 2021

Tim Wall

For dogs, the paleo diet can mean meat and other items encountered around human camps during domestication. Although “discarded loincloth” will never become a dog food variety, other ancient flavors may remain to be revived as dog foods.

Grains rise in pet food as amino acids insure against DCM

The gravitas of the FDA influenced pet owners to take the announcement seriously. This wasn’t an irate blogger, this was the United States federal government.

November 8, 2020

Tim Wall

To avoid DCM and future problems, pet food formulators may need to reevaluate what humanization means in terms of ingredient diversity.

Key points of FDA meeting on DCM correlation to dog food

The event was a forum where scientists with research into DCM could share information, collaborate, and discuss many different – and even conflicting – theories on the condition.

November 4, 2020

Tim Wall

Officials with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine released several documents and statements about the agency’s investigation into correlations between specific dog foods and cases of canine dilated cardiomyopathy.

DCM and grain-free pet food: September 2020 FDA update

October 30, 2020

Ryan Yamka

FDA’s recent, very quiet update on its grain-free pet food-DCM investigation showed that, no surprise, it’s a complex issue that can’t be pinned to one cause.

Natural, grain-free pet food sales down; Big bag recovers

Compared to 2019, all pet food sales remain down in 2020. However, in addition to bag size, specific types of pet food performed better than other varieties.

September 11, 2020

Tim Wall

Some pet food sales trends gradually returned to pre-COVID levels, while others remained low.