[augusta]

I've been very careful about feeding my puppy grain free food. He's eaten either Fromm or Acana since the beginning.

I just noticed that the last bag I bought him, Fromm 4 star chicken, is NOT grain free, and I didn't even notice. He seems as good as usual.

What's the argument for only feeding dogs grain free food? Since I'm on a tight budget this month, should I just go ahead and feed him grains? I was thinking of feeding him the Acana Chicken and Burbank potato next, which has oatmeal in it and is easier on my wallet than Acana Pacifica.

 

[Esand]

According to the Veterinary nutritionist who was filling in for my vet while he was on vacation last month... not important at all

UNLESS your dog happens to be intolerant of wheat or a specific grain. According to him, grain intolerances, while not statistically insignificant, affect a very small percentage of the canine population.


I have no idea about his nutritionist credentials for dogs but he is very highly respected in Polo circles and is the consulting nutritionist for one of the top teams in the world (La dolfina) and as a quirky side note is credited as one of the inventors of the original canine sex doll.

 

[zoorun]

I feed a big variety, Acana (all varieties- singles, regular and regionals), Orijen, Hoizon Legacy, Go!, Now, Acana Chicken and Burbank Potato, PC Nutrition First and right now actually Natures Domain from Costco. The majority of the time it's higher quality food, but here and there when money is tight she gets a bag of "lower" quality food.

I have heard good things about 4health, so as long as your dog is fine with it I say go ahead! You can add fresh meat and veg if you can get it cheap too

 

[patronizingrabbits]

Personally, I only think grains come into play if your dog is allergic to them or if a grain is the first ingredient in your dogs food. Some corn, potato, rice, etc thrown in with mostly protein probably won't harm a dog with no grain intolerances, but a food who's first ingredient is corn might make a lot of dogs that don't even have allergies have a dull coat and runny eyes.

 

[Larkspur]

Grains are essentially only a bad thing when they're a main ingredient (along with allergies and sensitivities). While domestic dogs have the ability to digest grains, it just means that they adapted to the food source available at the time... not necessarily that it's good for them. Some high quality food brands will include something like sweet potato as a source of carbohydrate. As long as it's not one of the main ingredients, there shouldn't be an issue. That said, I personally won't feed any dogs I own food containing grains if I can avoid it.

 

[Dawnben]

What's the argument for only feeding dogs grain free food? Since I'm on a tight budget this month, should I just go ahead and feed him grains? I was thinking of feeding him the Acana Chicken and Burbank potato next, which has oatmeal in it and is easier on my wallet than Acana Pacifica.

Most end up on your lawn so why spend money on something that has no value to you or your dog. If you just started the bag take it back most places like petco or petsmart will replace it with the right food.

 

[ChessaQ]

Plenty of dogs can handle grains just fine, so I think in small quantities, they're not a bad thing. However, I don't think they add anything great to dog food, so i don't feed foods with grains in them.