How Do You Know if You Should Feed Dog Grain Free
While evaluating your options to find the best food for your best friend, you've probably encountered conflicting opinions nigh grain gratuitous dog foods .
While some sources indicate that a grain free diet is healthier than traditional canis familiaris food, the Grain Complimentary Diet Alert released by the FDA in 2019 left many dog owners concerned about potential impacts of grain gratis foods on their pets' health. The alert came after the FDA investigated reports of canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) — essentially an enlarged center — in dogs eating certain types of dog foods, many of them labeled "grain gratis."
With the growing popularity of grain free dog food and many leading "healthy" commercial dog food brands involved in the study, dog owners who feed their dogs these foods (or are because doing then) are faced with many uncertainties: How healthy is information technology to feed my domestic dog grain gratis foods? Are there whatsoever benefits of grain free canis familiaris nutrient? Are some domestic dog foods or brands safer than others?
It can exist complicated, but in short: the healthiest dog diet does not contain grains or the fillers that commonly supervene upon grains. Only natural raw dog nutrient diets avoid this trouble completely.
With all the confusion out there, nosotros've put together key considerations from our expert animal nutritionist Dr. Richard Patton to assist yous determine which diet is best for your dog.
Grain Free Domestic dog Food
What Is Grain Gratuitous Dog Food?
"Grain free" doesn't mean low-carbohydrates or all meat.
"Grain free" has become a label that nosotros tend to associate with "healthy" or "loftier quality." Domestic dog food that's free of grains can be a healthy choice for your canis familiaris, but Dr. Patton says that "grain free" can be a deceptive term:
"When the grains are taken out of these foods, they're but replaced with other ingredients — peas, lentils, sweet potatoes — which ways they'll often have more than carbohydrates than foods that aren't grain free. So, the problem with 'grain free' foods with these ingredients isn't just about the chance of DCM, it'due south nigh excess soluble carbohydrates."
These backlog soluble carbohydrates can lead to several issues in dogs. While your dog needs carbohydrates to produce free energy, too many of them can contribute to obesity, the wrong bacteria in the gut and a lack of energy. Then, if a dog nutrient is labeled "grain free" but the grains are replaced with other ingredients, it's not necessarily a healthier option for your dog.
Learn more nigh the impact of backlog soluble carbohydrates on your canis familiaris's health .
A raw canis familiaris food diet is a skillful way to reap the benefits of a healthy grain free diet without having to worry nearly risks that come from fillers or ingredients used to supervene upon grains.
Is Grain Complimentary Dog Nutrient Good or Bad?
Gluten free and grain costless diets for dogs have go increasingly popular in recent years due to concerns most food allergies or the high amounts of carbohydrates in traditional dog food. Merely, since this fasten in popularity coincides with a rise in cases of canine dilated cardiomyopathy linked to grain free foods, many dog owners are at a loss about whether grain free diets are actually safe.
How concerned should dog owners be about the Grain Complimentary Diet Warning?
The FDA investigated 515 reports of DCM in dogs received between January 1, 2014 and Apr xxx, 2019, finding 560 dogs were affected. Out of the 560 dogs diagnosed with DCM, 119 of them died as a result of DCM .
"An enlarged center is very common in humans," says Dr. Patton, "only information technology's uncommon in dogs, then these numbers do seem apropos. It'south absolutely something we should keep an open up heed about and go along investigating."
And then, why would a grain gratuitous diet contribute to DCM? Information technology might not be as uncomplicated as grain gratuitous or not grain free, according to Dr. Patton. The amount of other ingredients of business organisation complicate the consequence.
A deeper expect at the results of the 2019 report shows that these cases may take something to do with mutual ingredients in grain complimentary dog nutrient. The findings testify high instances of cases reported in foods with ingredients such as peas, lentils and sweet potatoes .
To complicate the situation even more, some domestic dog breeds had more than cases reported than others, and some brands were reported more frequently than others. (Vital Essentials was not one of the grain gratuitous domestic dog food brands identified in the study equally perhaps linked to DCM.)
If a dog food is labeled "grain free" merely the grains are replaced with other ingredients, it'due south non necessarily a healthier selection for your dog.
With so many unknowns, it's difficult to pivot down the exact cause of or contributor to these cases. But, equally Dr. Patton shares, we should consider how these foods affect our dogs' health, and we shouldn't limit our concerns to the chance of DCM. At that place are other issues that tin consequence from some dog foods that have been labeled "grain free" but actually just replace the grains with like (or even unhealthier) ingredients.
What Is the All-time Grain Free Dog Food?
How Raw Dog Nutrient is Different
Rex loves the crunch of Vital Essentials freeze-dried mini nibs and his parents love the convenience. @rex_the__dino
Dissimilar most commercial grain gratis domestic dog foods, raw domestic dog nutrient is naturally grain free rather than modified to exclude grains. Every bit Dr. Patton notes, "Raw food isn't grain free in the sense that grain gratis traditional kibble is. It'due south grain free considering the only ingredients are what nature intended: meat, vital organs, and bones, which means more protein and fewer soluble carbohydrates."
Raw dog food produc ts like those from Vital Essentials aren't but grain free, but they're besides gratuitous of any of the other ingredients that could potentially crusade problems .
"Grain costless is a non-issue in Vital Essentials foods," Dr. Pa tton says. "Vital Essentials doesn't have to use special recipes to exclude grains considering the grains aren't there in the kickoff place. And that's how nature intended information technology."
Willow knows a nutritious Vital Essentials raw meat nutrition is all that's needed to stay healthy — no corn required! @lil.willoww
So, should you choose grain costless?
It all comes down to what "grain free" ways in terms of the nutrient and, of course, what'due south best for your pet. Not all grain free dog foods are created equal; some grain free foods simply supersede the grains with other carb-heavy fillers that are just as unhealthy for your dog and may even be linked to DCM.
A raw domestic dog food nutrition , however, is a good way to reap the benefits of a healthy grain free diet without having to worry about risks that come up from fillers or ingredients used to replace grains.
Larn more about Vital Essentials ingredients here or locate a store near you if you want to start giving your dog the benefits of a raw food diet.
Have cats too? Check out our other web log that answers whether you should feed your cat a grain costless diet.
Concluding updated on 10/viii/2021
Source: https://www.vitalessentialsraw.com/blog/should-your-dog-eat-grain-free-food/
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