The Years dog food recall, announced on 17 August 2026, has left owners facing mounting vet bills, distressed animals, and a guilt that sits in the gut long after the food bowl has been emptied.
The company voluntarily pulled all its fresh meals after reports emerged linking a recipe change to sudden bilateral dry eye in dogs, also known as keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS). The condition prevents a dog from producing tears, leaving eyes sore and, if untreated, at risk of permanent sight loss.
What the Years Dog Food Recall Covers
The recall covers all Years puppy, adult and senior fresh meals. The Chef’s Collection range is excluded because it uses quinoa rather than buckwheat. Every other Years recipe contains buckwheat at between 6.3% and 7.2%, depending on the formulation, an ingredient added to the meals only several months before owners began reporting problems.
By the evening of 18 August, 192 customers had reported potential eye issues, up from 57 cases recorded just two days earlier on 16 August, according to DVM360. Years’ own recall page carries an inconsistency worth noting: the company separately quoted a figure of ‘0.1%’ higher up the page, a figure apparently not updated when the case count rose. Based on the raw figures of 192 reports against approximately 40,000 customers year to date, the proportion is closer to 0.48%, as Floofers has flagged. Years has not publicly explained the discrepancy.
The Food Standards Authority (FSA) and Trading Standards were both advised before the recall was issued. On 1 August, an independent vet and RCVS Specialist in Small Animal Clinical Nutrition told the company that a link to Years foods was unlikely based on data available at that point, but recommended further investigation. Three weeks later, the recall followed.
Years says its investigation is ‘currently focused on potential contamination within a portion of buckwheat supply, rather than buckwheat itself.’ The company put buckwheat through its standard ingredient and recipe approval process before introduction, including supplier approval, ingredient specification review, and formulation in line with FEDIAF guidelines. That process, whatever its rigour, did not catch whatever is now making dogs ill.
Behind the Statistics, Dogs Are Struggling
Elizabeth, a 29-year-old civil servant from north London, has watched her six-year-old cavachon Chester struggle to open his eyes since May. More than ten vet visits produced three different diagnoses: conjunctivitis, hay fever, and a possible autoimmune disorder. Her vet now says they are ‘fairly confident of a link’ to the recalled food. The trips and treatments have already cost her hundreds of pounds, and she worries about whether the damage will prove reversible.
Marie Carter-Robb, editor of Pets Magazine, fed Years meals to all three of her dogs from April 2025. Only her seven-year-old cavalier King Charles spaniel, Phoebe, has developed symptoms, formally diagnosed with dry eye on Thursday. Her vet told her that if the timing of buckwheat’s introduction correlates with Phoebe’s symptom onset, ‘he would be suspicious of it as the inciting cause.’ Phoebe now needs eye ointment for at least several months, bringing examination and medication costs on top of the emotional toll Carter-Robb describes plainly: ‘The worst part is the guilt.’
Adele Chaplin’s eight-year-old greyhound, Lettuce, has had it worst of all. Diagnosed with bilateral dry eye and eye ulcers in March, he was referred to a specialist vet ophthalmologist in April with a warning he might lose his eyes. He still had zero tear production at his most recent test and requires drops, cream and oils administered hourly. Chaplin, who lives in Suffolk, estimates the cost so far runs to thousands of pounds. Greyhounds typically live to around 14, meaning potentially six more years of treatment, alongside insurance premiums that have already doubled.
UK Pet Food, the industry trade body, notes that Years is not a member of its organisation, but says it is following the investigation closely and is in contact with veterinary nutrition experts across the sector. The body adds that buckwheat is a widely used, approved ingredient in both human and pet foods globally, a point that shifts the likely culprit toward contamination of a specific supply batch rather than the ingredient category itself.
Petfood Industry confirms that untreated sudden bilateral dry eye can lead to blindness. Independent laboratory testing is under way. Until those results arrive, owners whose dogs showed symptoms months ago are left managing daily treatment regimes, absorbing costs they never anticipated, and waiting to learn whether a bag of fresh pet food has done permanent damage their vets cannot yet fully assess.
