If you are following pet food based social media, you’ve likely seen the recent news surrounding the fresh dog food brand Years.com and their proactive decision to pause subscriptions and recall recent batches of their food.
As an Emergency Medicine clinician, dog behaviourist, and canine wellness advocate—and as someone who recently started a Years subscription for my own dogs—I’ve watched the online conversation unfold rapidly.
Whenever a food brand initiates a recall, panic and speculation naturally spread across social media. While vigilance is critical, so is clinical objectivity.
Here is a breakdown of what we know, the vital distinction between correlation and causation, why dogs get dry eyes, and practical, safe steps you can take today if your food delivery has been paused.
1. What’s Happening: The Buckwheat & Dry Eye Investigation
Years has been investigating a cluster of canine dry eye cases (Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca, or KCS) reported by customers.
The Core Suspect: In April, Years updated certain recipes to include buckwheat.
Processing vs. Contamination: Emerging theories look at how buckwheat is processed. In traditional ultra-processed kibble or high-heat canned diets, raw proteins and starches undergo severe heat denaturation. In gently cooked, fresh-frozen food like Years, the ingredient is far less processed. Investigators, food technicians, nutritionists, and veterinary toxicologists are currently exploring whether the gentle cooking process leaves certain raw compounds active, or if there is an isolated batch contaminant/mycotoxin present in the raw buckwheat supply.
Transparency vs. Industry Norms
Pet food recalls happen across the entire industry. When mega-brands like Purina have had to recall batches due to potentially toxic levels of Vitamin D, it rarely makes mainstream social headlines.
Years has demonstrated commendable transparency by pausing subscriptions, openly communicating with their community, launching an independent scientific investigation, and committing to re-formulating their recipes.
Why didn’t a recall happen instantly?
There has been criticism online regarding the timeline, with questions about why action wasn't taken the moment the very first case was flagged after the recipe update. In clinical science and food manufacturing, establishing an epidemiological link takes time. An isolated case of dry eye is an everyday veterinary occurrence; identifying whether sporadic cases across the country represent a genuine statistical cluster—rather than background environmental noise—requires testing, tracking lot numbers, and ruling out other variables. Acting on solid data rather than knee-jerk assumptions is how responsible investigations work.
2. Correlation Does Not Equal Causation
When a recall happens, human psychology naturally looks backward to find a pattern. Suddenly, any symptom a dog developed between April and August—from ear infections and skin flares to lethargy—gets blamed on the food.
This is where we have to be careful as pet parents.
There is currently no clinical indication that this issue is linked to systemic health failures outside of the specific dry eye reports. If we become hyper-fixated on the food as the sole cause of every symptom, we risk missing an entirely different, potentially serious underlying condition.
The "Just Feed Kibble" Narrative
We’ve also seen some commentary—including from veterinary influencers online—using this situation to claim, "This is why you should only feed ultra-processed kibble." With all due respect to my veterinary friends, conventional training has historically leaned heavily toward processed, shelf-stable diets. If a vet suggested weeks ago to "get off fresh food," that is often standard dietary bias rather than definitive proof of a specific toxicological link. A manufacturing anomaly or raw ingredient issue in one fresh recipe does not negate the extensive, peer-reviewed benefits of fresh, species-appropriate, bioavailable nutrition over high-heat, ultra-processed pellets.
3. Why Environmental Factors & True Coincidences Happen
Dogs develop ocular issues, corneal ulcers, and dry eyes for a multitude of environmental, anatomical, and medical reasons—especially during the summer months.
Take my own dog, Seren. Seren has glaucoma and developed a corneal ulcer at the beginning of July. Despite intensive management, her intraocular pressures spiked, and she ultimately required surgery to remove the eye.
Prior to that ulcer, she had eaten exactly one single portion of Years food.
Did the food cause her eye loss? No. She was pottering around my parents’ garden, navigating dry summer trails, and visiting the beach (even wearing her protective eye goggles). A stray piece of grit, a grass seed, or dry, dusty summer air combined with her pre-existing glaucoma anatomy was the obvious clinical reality.
Other Common Drivers of Canine Eye Irritation:
To understand why tunnel vision is so risky, we need to look at what Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca (KCS) actually is from an objective, clinical perspective.
KCS is an aqueous tear deficiency where the tear glands stop producing the watery layer needed to lubricate and protect the eye. While the current social media conversation is hyper-focused on diet and buckwheat, KCS and acute ocular irritation are overwhelmingly driven by immune, environmental, neurological, and toxicological factors that have nothing to do with what is in your dog's food bowl:
a. Environmental & Summer Irritants
Summer weather and seasonal shifts create severe ocular stress:
Dry, Abrasive Ground & Particulates: High temperatures leave paths, trails, and fields bone-dry. Fine, gritty dust and sand are easily kicked up at paw level, causing microscopic abrasions on the cornea that trigger secondary tear breakdown.
Ground-Level Chemical Residues: Patio disinfectants, artificial grass cleaners, weedkillers, and decking treatments dry into a fine chemical film on outdoor surfaces. Dogs walk across them, lie with their muzzles inches away, or transfer residues to their eyes when grooming.
Indoor Air Pollution: Indoor air is frequently two to five times more polluted than outdoor air. Synthetic air fresheners, carpet cleaning foams, plug-ins, and aerosol sprays create constant mucosal irritation that disrupts the delicate lipid layer of the tear film.
b. Immune-Mediated Destruction (The #1 Clinical Cause)
In the vast majority of canine cases, dry eye is an autoimmune disease.
The dog’s own immune system produces T-lymphocytes that mistakenly attack and inflame the lacrimal (tear) glands.
Over time, progressive tissue damage permanently stops tear production.
This carries strong genetic predispositions, frequently affecting breeds like Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Westies, Cocker Spaniels, English Bulldogs, Shih Tzus, and Pugs.
c. Endocrine & Systemic Metabolic Diseases
Systemic hormonal imbalances directly alter glandular maintenance. Dogs with Hypothyroidism, Cushing’s Disease (Hyperadrenocorticism), or Diabetes Mellitus frequently develop dry eye secondary to their underlying endocrine dysfunction.
d. Deep Ear Disease & Neurogenic KCS
Tear production is regulated by parasympathetic nerve branches traveling near Cranial Nerve VII (Facial Nerve). Because this nerve pathway passes directly along the petrous temporal bone right beside the middle and inner ear, a deep or chronic ear infection (otitis media/interna) can pinch or damage the nerve. This causes sudden, neurogenic dry eye—often accompanied by a distinctively dry, crusty nostril on the same side.
e. Surgical & Drug-Induced Triggers
Third Eyelid ("Cherry Eye") Removal: The gland of the third eyelid provides 30% to 50% of a dog's total tear volume. If this gland was surgically removed in the past rather than tacked back down, severe KCS almost always develops later in life.
Medication Side Effects: Certain systemic drugs—such as sulphonamide antibiotics (e.g. Trimethoprim-Sulpha) or specific NSAIDs—are documented to cause idiosyncratic lacrimal gland suppression.
f. Structural Exposure (Lagophthalmos)
Brachycephalic (flat-faced) breeds or dogs with prominent, shallow orbits frequently do not close their eyelids completely while resting. This constant surface exposure leads to rapid tear evaporation, corneal desiccation, and chronic inflammatory changes.
š©ŗ The Clinical Takeaway
If your dog is squinting, rubbing their face, producing thick sticky discharge, or showing a cloudy cornea, do not lose critical days debating ingredients on social media. Whether the underlying driver is a stray piece of summer grit, a middle ear infection, environmental chemical contact, or an autoimmune flare, your dog needs an immediate veterinary check with a Schirmer Tear Test and fluorescein dye stain. Early, targeted care is what saves eyesight.
4. What to Feed While Your Subscription Is Paused
If your food delivery is paused, you don’t need to panic and switch to ultra-processed supermarket food. You can easily make a gentle, highly nutritious home-cooked meal in the interim.
I recommend picking up a copy of The Forever Dog Life by Rodney Habib and Dr. Karen Becker.
A wonderful, simple, and well-balanced recipe to cook this week is their Beef & Broccoli Recipe:
Fresh, lean minced beef (cooked gently on low heat)
Lightly steamed broccoli florets and stalks (blended for easy absorption)
Gentle healthy fats and whole-food calcium support as outlined in their recipes
It is easy to batch-cook, highly digestible, and provides clean, anti-inflammatory whole nutrition while food formulas are updated.
5. The Bottom Line
Keep an open clinical mind, advocate for your dog’s specific symptoms, and focus on supporting their overall toxic burden, nervous system, and gut health.
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Please remember: Information shared is for educational purposes and not a substitute for medical or veterinary advice. Always consult with a qualified professional for specific health concerns.