There appears to be a link between diets using legumes to boost protein and dilated cardiomyopathy. Whatever you feed, I would avoid anything with peas or other legumes high in the ingredient list.

Furthermore, if I’m feeding kibble, I have seen actual stool changes between grain free and grain inclusive. The latter seems to produce smaller, more solid stool than the former. My dogs have all done better on grain inclusive. I have found Purina’s Pro Plan to be the best for my specific dog’s gut – she has had almost no loose stool since we started her on it.

Not a vet, but someone who was heavily invested in Doberman breed education. We see this a lot in Dobermans fed puppy diets (not large breed puppy_. What are you feeding, and is it an adult or All Life Stages food? Have you consulted an ortho vet?

This is a training issue, not a medication issue. Look into Susan Garrett’s Crate Games. You need to train him to be okay with being in the crate, and her method is a great way to start.

Puppies get hiccups OFTEN. I would investigate how you feed her, whether you allow her to run around right after food, whether you allow her to drink a lot of water after running around. Ideally, she should be calm at least a half hour before and after eating, and I wouldn’t allow her to guzzle water. I would also ask your vet for suggestions!

I’ve heard of it and have friends with a cat who needed a nebulizer treatment daily.

If you can afford a second opinion, by all means, but it’s not unheard-of.

Licking the spot usually means it’s irritating in some way. I’d absolutely get him to the vet.

Ah, sounds environmental for sure. I’d just feed a decent grain inclusive food.

Also? Talk to a cardiologist in your area.

I would do trials of various proteins to verify the allergies are, in fact, environmental, and then feed a limited ingredient kibble based on that. There are several on the market if you’re in the US. I know someone whose greyhound couldn’t do fish or chicken and did exceedingly well on Natural Balance.

A friend’s golden lost his life to a cardiac event after several years on a grain free diet, confirmed by necropsy that he had a heart attack. The problem with grain-free diets is the substitution of legumes as fillers – this seems to be the contributing factor for dietary DCM. Did you have a necropsy done to verify it was the heart?

I’m so very sorry. Assuming your dog had dietary DCM, DCM is the absolute worst. We lost our Doberman in the same way, to sudden death, but in her case it’s endemic in the breed and she was diagnosed a little over a year prior. If it’s any consolation, the arrhythmic form of DCM – also called sudden death – does not allow the dog to suffer. It’s over like someone flipped a light switch. I know that’s the form I preferred for my dog – it SUCKED for us, but it was an easy departure for her, and that’s what matters most.

I would start researching raw, if you have a dog in need of a very restrictive diet that cannot easily be satisfied by mass produced options. Do a L O T of research into raw, as it’s more complicated than feeding a kibble diet.