Grain-Free Dog Food, Treats and DCM: What Owners Should Know

Grain-Free Dog Food, Treats and DCM: What Dog Owners Actually Need to Know

If you have seen headlines linking grain-free dog food to heart disease, and you have wondered whether the food or treats in your kitchen are part of the problem, you are not overreacting.

DCM is a serious condition, and dog owners are right to take it seriously.

But the headlines flattened a complicated story into a slogan. The investigation was serious enough to deserve attention, but the public story often became stronger than the evidence.

On a dog food or treat label, "grain-free" by itself does not tell you nearly as much as people were told to believe.

This page covers both food and treats, in that order, because that is the order most owners actually worry in. It is not veterinary advice, and it is not a guide to diagnosing or managing heart disease. It is here to help a sensible UK owner read a label with more confidence and less panic.

What is DCM in dogs?

Dilated cardiomyopathy, usually shortened to DCM, is a disease of the heart muscle. The heart becomes enlarged and pumps less effectively. Over time, fluid can build up in the lungs or abdomen, valves can leak, and heart rhythm can be disturbed.

In plain English, the pump becomes baggier and weaker.

Symptoms can include reduced stamina, lethargy, coughing, faster or harder breathing, collapse or fainting, and abdominal swelling. Obvious signs sometimes appear late.[3]

Some breeds carry higher genetic risk, including Doberman Pinschers, Great Danes, Boxers and Cocker Spaniels. There is also a non-hereditary form that researchers think may be influenced by multiple factors, including diet, individual susceptibility and how a food is formulated.[2][3]

DCM is not something to self-diagnose from an ingredient list. If your dog has symptoms, known breed risk or an existing heart condition, that is a vet conversation.

Why did grain-free dog food become linked with DCM?

In July 2018, the US Food and Drug Administration alerted the public to reports of DCM in dogs eating certain pet foods. Many of the reported foods were labelled grain-free and contained high proportions of peas, lentils, other pulses, potatoes or sweet potatoes high on the ingredient list. Grain-containing diets also appeared in the reports.[1][2]

A second update in 2019 named brands and published case data, and that is when the story went public in a big way. From that point, "grain-free" became media shorthand for "risky" in a way the FDA's own wording never really supported.

The FDA investigated a possible link. It did not prove that grain-free food causes DCM.

What did the FDA actually show?

A more limited picture than many headlines suggested.

The FDA collected adverse event reports, looked at ingredient patterns and published updates. By 2022, its position had become more careful. The agency stated that both grain-free and grain-containing diets had appeared in reports, and that most reported diets contained non-soy pulses such as peas and lentils high in their ingredient lists. It also said it had no definitive information showing that the diets under investigation were inherently unsafe.[1][2]

A few details matter for reading any "FDA said" headline:

adverse event reports are voluntary
they are a signal, not a count of how many dogs are actually affected
there is no national pet-disease surveillance system equivalent to human public health monitoring
report numbers rose after public announcements, which is common when awareness increases
the FDA did not request recalls of foods linked to the DCM investigation because it did not have definitive information showing those diets were inherently unsafe[2]

So, plainly: the FDA did not prove grain-free caused DCM. It did not prove potatoes caused DCM. And it did not prove that the mere presence of peas, lentils or other pulses makes a food dangerous.

But that is not the end of the story.

What has changed since the original FDA investigation?

Research has continued, and by 2026 the picture has become more specific.

In a June 2026 update, veterinary nutrition researcher Lisa Freeman at Tufts University summarised the growing research on diet-associated DCM and said the condition appears to be associated particularly with diets high in pulses such as peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans.[14]

That includes both grain-free and grain-inclusive diets because either can be formulated with high levels of pulses.

Crucially, the same update says diet-associated DCM does not appear to be caused by the absence of grains itself. Researchers have still not identified the precise mechanism by which some high-pulse diets may affect the heart.[14]

That is an important shift in emphasis. The question is becoming less about whether a food contains grain and more about how the complete diet is formulated, particularly how heavily it relies on pulses.

This is a stronger signal than we had when the FDA investigation began. It is still not the same as proving that every food containing peas or lentils is harmful, or that a specific amount of a specific pulse causes DCM in every dog.

Did the public story go further than the evidence?

Yes.

The public message hardened into "grain-free equals risky" long before the evidence supported that certainty. That was too simple then, and it remains too simple now.

Research has not produced one neat answer. Some studies have found cardiac changes or improvement after diet change in dogs eating certain non-traditional or high-pulse diets. Other work has produced different results.

For example, a 2025 randomised 18-month feeding study of 60 healthy adult dogs found no clinical evidence of DCM across four complete diets that included grain-free and grain-inclusive formulations with different combinations of peas, pea fibre and potatoes.[7]

That study has important limitations. It involved healthy dogs, relatively small groups and specific formulations, and the authors themselves said the findings may not apply to other foods or manufacturing methods. The study was also funded by Hill's Pet Nutrition and all authors were current or former Hill's employees, which is relevant context when weighing the evidence.[7]

Against that, the 2026 Tufts update says the wider body of research now points particularly towards high-pulse diets, while the precise biological mechanism remains under investigation.[14]

So the sensible conclusion is not "the scare was fake". It is also not "grain-free causes heart disease".

The original label was too blunt. The emerging concern is more specific: some high-pulse complete diets appear to be associated with diet-related DCM in susceptible dogs.

Confirmed recalls are different from unsettled diet theories

Dog food safety problems can be real and serious. Regulators do find them, and recalls do happen.

Recent examples include aflatoxin contamination, unsafe levels of vitamin D, Salmonella, Listeria and foreign material such as metal. These are not imaginary problems. They involve specific products, specific batches, test results, contaminant findings, illness reports or recalls.[8][9][10][11][12][13]

Those cases are useful for understanding evidence quality, not for attacking any one country's standards.

When regulators find a concrete food-safety problem, the chain from a specific product problem to a specific risk is usually more direct and traceable.

The grain-free / DCM story was different. It began as an investigation into reported associations and possible diet links across many brands, recipes and individual dogs, without a single identified contaminant or mechanism.

The DCM investigation was serious, but it was not the same as a recall for a proven contaminant, toxic nutrient level or faulty batch.

Both deserve to be taken seriously. They are not the same kind of finding and they do not carry the same weight of evidence.

What about potatoes and sweet potatoes?

Potatoes and sweet potatoes appeared in some of the reported diets. That made them worth looking at.

They were not proven to cause DCM.

Seeing potato or sweet potato on a label is not the same as seeing evidence of heart-disease risk. What matters more is the amount, the role the ingredient plays in the recipe and what the whole diet looks like.

A clearly declared potato in a transparent recipe, especially one led by named animal ingredients, is a very different thing from a vague formula where multiple plant fractions dominate the top of the list. The first one gives you something to judge. The second one gives you fog.

Potato on a label is information. It is not a diagnosis.

What about peas, lentils and pulses?

This is where the evidence now deserves more attention.

Peas, lentils and other pulses appeared prominently in many of the diets reported during the original FDA investigation. The FDA has said that pulses have been used in pet foods for many years and that their presence alone does not show they are inherently dangerous.[2]

However, the signal around diets high in pulses has strengthened. The June 2026 Tufts update says diet-associated DCM appears to be associated particularly with diets high in peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans.[14]

That does not mean that spotting "peas" halfway down an ingredient list makes a food dangerous. Researchers still have not established the precise mechanism, and quantity, formulation, processing, individual susceptibility and feeding duration may all matter.

For a complete food eaten every day, though, heavy reliance on pulses is now a more meaningful question than whether the front of the bag says "grain-free".

Look at the whole recipe. Are peas, lentils, chickpeas, beans or pulse fractions among the dominant ingredients? Are several different pulse ingredients being used? Is this your dog's main diet or a small occasional treat?

A small, clearly declared amount in an occasional treat is a very different feeding situation from a complete food built heavily around pulses and eaten every day.

Is grain-free dog food bad?

No, not automatically.

Grain-free is a label claim, not a nutritional verdict. It tells you what is not in a recipe. It does not tell you what is in it, in what proportions or how well the formula is balanced overall.

A grain-free recipe can be excellent or poor. A grain-inclusive recipe can be excellent or poor. Either can also be high in pulses.

For complete food, formulation matters more because the food may be eaten every day over long periods.

Grain-free is a poor shortcut for judging a dog food. The full formula matters more.

The evidence does not justify turning grain itself, the absence of grain, potato or sweet potato into simple villains. It does justify paying closer attention to complete diets that rely heavily on pulses.

Was this a UK or European issue?

The grain-free / DCM story came mainly from the United States through an FDA investigation that began in 2018.

UK Pet Food, formerly the PFMA, monitored the issue alongside FEDIAF, the European pet food industry body. In its published 2021 statement, UK Pet Food said there was no information at that time to suggest a similar issue in the UK or Europe.[4]

That is not the same as "the UK proved there is no risk". It is not "Europe proved grain-free is safe". It does not mean DCM cannot affect dogs in the UK, and it does not mean diet never matters.

It also matters that this UK statement predates much of the subsequent research summarised in the 2026 Tufts update.

UK dog owners should therefore avoid importing the old US headline wholesale, but they should not ignore newer evidence about high-pulse complete diets either.

What should owners look at instead of "grain-free"?

A practical checklist for both food and treats:

Is this a complete food or a treat?
A complete food has to provide the main diet. A treat does not. Do not blur the two.

Are the ingredients clearly named?
"Chicken" is clearer than "meat and animal derivatives". "Salmon" is more specific than vague wording such as "fish derivatives" or "fish and fish derivatives".

Is the recipe transparent or vague?
A clear ingredient list with useful percentages is easier to assess than a long list dominated by category words and hard-to-interpret fractions.

How heavily does the recipe rely on pulses?
For DCM, this is now a more useful question than "does it contain grain?". Look especially at peas, lentils, chickpeas, beans and pulse fractions in a complete food eaten every day.[2][14]

What about potatoes and sweet potatoes?
Their presence alone is not evidence of DCM risk. Look at amount, role and the whole formulation.

What is the main animal protein source?
Is it named? Is it specific? Is the recipe easy to understand?

How much is being fed?
Daily quantity changes the relevance of every ingredient.

Does your dog have symptoms or known breed risk?
That changes the question entirely.

Does the manufacturer explain the recipe clearly?
If you cannot tell what is in the bag, it is much harder to judge it properly.

Further help:

How are treats different from complete food?

Complete dog foods are designed to be eaten every day as the main source of calories, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. In the UK and Europe, complete pet foods are commonly formulated with FEDIAF nutritional guidance in mind.[4][5]

Treats are different. They are intended as occasional rewards, not as nutritional foundations. Most treats are not formulated to be complete and balanced, and they are not meant to be. The WSAVA nutrition toolkit notes that products intended for short-term, intermittent or complementary feeding should form only a small portion of the diet, around 10% or less unless used under veterinary supervision.[6]

That is why complete food is the bigger question on DCM. The concern centres on principal diets fed every day, often for months or years. Occasional treats fed in small quantities are simply not the same exposure.

A complete food eaten every day matters more than an occasional treat, but both should be clear enough for owners to judge.

The 10% rule is a useful rough guide: treats should usually make up no more than around 10% of a dog's daily calories. If treats are creeping above that, or being used as toppers or pseudo-meals, they stop being occasional and start being part of the main diet picture.

Further help:

How Bounce & Bella thinks about grain-free food and treats

Bounce & Bella foods and treats are grain-free, so this is a fair question for us to answer clearly.

Grain-free is a recipe choice. It is not a medical promise.

We do not claim our foods or treats prevent DCM. We do not claim they are suitable for dogs with heart disease. We do not claim potato, sweet potato, peas or other pulses are harmless in every diet, and we are not going to.

What we do believe is that labels should be clear enough for owners to judge the recipe themselves. That means named ingredients, declared percentages where relevant, and recipes written in plain enough language to mean something.

For complete foods, the same principle applies: judge the full recipe, how heavily it relies on different ingredients and the feeding context, not the grain-free claim on its own.

If a recipe is so vague that you cannot tell what is in it, that is a problem regardless of whether the food is grain-free or grain-inclusive.

A few examples from our treat range show what clearly named recipes look like. These are examples of transparent labelling, not medical claims:

Pure Chicken Nibbles: one ingredient, chicken.
Venison Strips: 100% venison.
Natural Beef Dog Chews: 100% air-dried beef.
Whitefish and Potato Cookies: 85% whitefish and 15% potato.

The point is not that any of these products are "safe for DCM" or suitable for a dog with a heart condition. The point is that the ingredients are written plainly enough for owners to read them in context.

Concerns about symptoms, breed risk or diagnosed heart disease belong with a vet. Always.

A simple comparison table

Question	Better way to think about it
Is it grain-free?	Useful label information, but not a verdict on DCM risk.
Is it a complete food or a treat?	Complete food matters more because it may be eaten every day over long periods.
Are peas, lentils or other pulses high in the recipe?	This is now a more meaningful DCM question than the grain-free label. High-pulse diets are an area of genuine concern, although the exact mechanism is still unresolved.
Does it contain potato or sweet potato?	Look at amount, role and the whole recipe. Presence alone is not proof of harm.
Are the ingredients clearly named?	Clear recipes are easier to judge.
How much is being fed?	Amount and duration change relevance.
Does the dog have symptoms or breed risk?	Vet advice matters more than label-reading.

When should owners speak to a vet?

A label-reading page is not the right place to make heart-health decisions.

Speak to your vet if any of the following apply:

new or persistent coughing
reduced stamina or unusual tiredness
faster or harder breathing
collapse or fainting
abdominal swelling
a breed with known higher DCM risk
an existing heart diagnosis
worry about your dog's main diet rather than a single ingredient
any ongoing concern that is not going away

A vet can examine your dog, run the tests that actually answer the question and give advice based on your specific dog rather than a general article.

Bottom line

DCM is serious, and owner worry about it is reasonable.

But "grain-free food causes heart disease" is still not what the evidence shows.

The FDA investigation found reports involving both grain-free and grain-containing foods. More recent research has sharpened the picture: the strongest dietary signal now points towards some high-pulse complete diets, while the absence of grain itself does not appear to be the cause.[2][14]

The precise mechanism is still being investigated. That means it would be wrong to dismiss the issue entirely. Heavy reliance on peas, lentils, chickpeas and other pulses in a complete food is now a legitimate nutritional question.

It would also be wrong to leap from that to "peas are poisonous" or "every grain-free food is dangerous". The evidence does not support either claim.

What matters is the whole recipe: what ingredients are being used, their likely proportions, how the food is formulated, how much your dog eats and whether it is the main diet or an occasional treat.

Complete food matters far more than occasional treats because it may be eaten every day for months or years.

So don't judge a food simply because it says "grain-free" or "contains grains". Read past the slogan and look at what the recipe is actually built from.

If your dog has symptoms, a known breed risk, an existing heart condition or you are concerned about its main diet, speak to your vet.

FAQ

Is grain-free dog food linked to DCM?

Some diets reported in cases of diet-associated DCM were grain-free, but grain-containing diets have also been involved. More recent research suggests the more useful dietary signal may be high levels of pulses such as peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans, rather than the absence of grain itself.[2][14]

Does grain-free dog food cause DCM?

Current evidence has not established that removing grain from a diet causes DCM. The FDA did not establish that, and the 2026 Tufts research update says diet-associated DCM does not appear to be caused by a lack of grains.[2][14]

The precise mechanism is still being investigated.

Are potatoes or sweet potatoes dangerous in dog food?

The evidence has not established that potato or sweet potato causes DCM. They appeared in some reported diets, but appearing in reports is not proof of harm.

Seeing potato or sweet potato on a label is not the same as seeing evidence of heart-disease risk. Amount, role in the recipe and whole-diet context matter more.

Are peas and lentils dangerous in dog food?

Not simply because they are present. However, research increasingly points towards an association between diet-associated DCM and diets high in pulses.[14]

That is different from saying every food containing peas or lentils is dangerous. Quantity, overall formulation, feeding duration and whether the food is the dog's main daily diet all matter, and the exact mechanism has not yet been identified.

Is grain-inclusive dog food safer?

Not automatically. Grain-containing diets can also be high in pulses and have appeared in DCM reports.[2][14]

Whether a food contains grain is therefore a poor shortcut for judging this particular issue. The overall formulation, and especially heavy reliance on pulses in a complete daily food, is more informative.

Are grain-free treats a DCM risk?

The main evidence on diet-associated DCM concerns dogs' principal diets eaten every day, not occasional treats fed in small amounts.

Treats become more relevant if they are heavily overfed or used as meal replacements. For most owners, occasional treats fed sensibly are not the part of the diet that deserves the greatest attention when thinking about DCM.

When should I ask my vet about DCM?

Ask your vet if your dog has coughing, reduced stamina, breathing changes, fainting, abdominal swelling, a breed with higher DCM risk, an existing heart diagnosis, or any persistent worry about diet or symptoms.

A vet can examine, test and advise. A treat or food page cannot.