09/03/2025
Long Post, But Important
In recent years, we’ve seen new pet food trends hitting the market. Right now, fresh pet foods such as Fresh Pet, The Farmer’s Dog, and others are becoming more popular. Many of you have asked us what we think about these diets, so here’s our perspective.
Looking Back: The Grain-Free Trend
Back in the 2000s, a similar trend started with grain-free diets. These diets were marketed as “safe, holistic, and natural.” At the time, most were made without the guidance of board-certified veterinary nutritionists, and companies weren’t properly testing their foods. They skipped long-term feeding trials on dogs, which meant we didn’t know the risks until years later.
Over time, veterinarians began seeing cases of DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy) in dogs eating grain-free diets.
What is DCM? DCM is a serious heart condition where the heart muscle weakens and the chambers enlarge. This makes the heart unable to pump blood effectively, leading to congestive heart failure. Sadly, DCM has no cure and drastically shortens a dog’s life.
The exact pathophysiology (the process of how a disease develops in the body) is still not fully understood. However, the leading theory is that replacing grains with legumes or other carbohydrate sources reduces the absorption of key nutrients needed for heart health—contributing to DCM.
It’s important to note: not every dog on a grain-free diet develops DCM, but these diets increase the risk and predispose some dogs to the disease.
The New Trend: Fresh Foods
Now, we’re seeing the same pattern with “fresh foods.” Logically, fresh food sounds healthier—but the truth is, we don’t yet know the long-term consequences. It may take 10–15 years before we fully understand the effects of these diets.
Recently, the University of Minnesota Urolith Center published a new finding: a never-before-seen type of kidney and bladder stone in dogs, and these stones have been linked to fresh food diets.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12035869/?fbclid=IwY2xjawMk__lleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHg2FyKhvhz_y5Uf_tZhvGiv86iL_U4hzGqbSQAunfIgP5_Jp5gReXbX_wNEN_aem_5R0Ob9DsHDtaYUNg7sOWEg
This doesn’t mean every dog eating fresh food will develop urinary stones—but just like with grain-free diets, the risk is increased. If your dog is on a fresh food diet and develops urinary issues, it may not be just a urinary tract infection (UTI). Urinary stones may also be a possibility.
Our Goal
At Eden Veterinary Clinic, our mission is to keep your pets as healthy as possible for as long as possible using the best available scientific evidence. You may agree or disagree with the science—and that’s okay. We live in a country where you are free to make your own choices about what to feed your pets.
If you agree with our recommendations—great.
If you disagree—that’s fine too.
But please, be respectful. If you choose to troll, your comments will be deleted, you’ll be banned from our page, and possibly dismissed from our practice.
We know this is a long post, but we feel this information is too important not to share.
– Eden Veterinary Clinic, PLLC
