Merrick Real Texas Beef & Sweet Potato Recipe
If you are specifically looking for grain-free canine formula, then you can’t go wrong with this Merrick recipe.
It’s perfect for all breeds, ages, and sizes and is available in a variety of different flavors. We recommend the beef and sweet potato recipe as it is poultry-free .
Containing a whopping 38% protein and 15% fat, Merrick’s philosophy is that these two properties in combination with a host of vitamins and minerals will do wonders for promoting the overall dog’s health.
They are extremely transparent with regards to the ingredient composition, choosing only the best available products and containing no corn, wheat, soy or gluten ingredients.
This helps give us tremendous confidence in recommending the brand. At $60 for a 25-lb bag, this does fall into the premium category.
Whether the exceptional nutritional content is worth the increased price is up to you.
Mix It Up With Bezzie
bezzie bites are gluten and grain-free, and nutritionally balanced to keep your dog tail-wagging. we offer convenience through our front-door delivery service and more importantly the option to mix and match different dry food flavours with our raw food range, combining the benefits of both worlds. dont wait – delight with every bite and see a happier bezzie today!
What Can I Feed My Dog Instead Of Dog Food
Refrigerator Plain, low-fat Greek yogurt. Mild cheeses, such as American. Cooked white or sweet potatoes. Cooked eggs, such as scrambled eggs. Rotisserie chicken, skin and bones removed. Cooked lean meat, such as chicken, beef, or turkey. Cooked or raw fresh vegetables, such as carrots, corn, and broccoli.
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Is Grain Free Bad For Dogs With Allergies
If your dog is found to have a sensitivity to corn, wheat or other grains, a grain-free dog food may be recommended. These foods have the added benefit of also being gluten-free. Some of the grain-free foods that your vet may recommend include: Hills Science Diet® Adult Sensitive Stomach & Skin Grain Free dog food.
The Ultimate Guide To Grain Free Dog Food
We answer your key questions on grain free dry dog food. Is grain free better than normal dog food? Is it ok for puppies? Are non grain free foods bad?
Food is always a hot topic and recently people have become increasingly aware of the impact our diet has on our health and the environment.
One of the major talking points: how do we eat food in its most natural form? This means food choices are constantly up for debate. This mind-set has a big say in what we choose to eat, and now, what we buy our dogs.
Its fantastic to see so many owners passing their healthy diets on to their dogs. It’s important to feed them the right stuff. However, as with all things relating to diet, theres a lot of confusion as to what the best food options are.
There is a dog food debate in full swing. The major question is: should I be feeding my dog grain free food? So, heres our attempt at explaining everything you need to know.
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Are There Any Grain
If a grain-free diet is critical, Romine recommends considering a grain-free product from one of the following brands: Eukanuba, Hill’s Science Diet, Iams, Purina, or Royal Canin. These options are among the few that meet current nutrition and safety standards set by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association and labeling standards set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials . They also have undergone AAFCO feeding trials to ensure safety.
“There are so many health problems we can’t prevent,” Romine says. “If you can prevent heart disease by controlling your dog’s diet, do it. Err on the side of feeding a diet that doesn’t have those problems , until we understand the problem more.”
How Do Grains Benefit Dogs
Dr. Venator says, Grains are actually an excellent nutrient source. Grains are packed with nutrients and provide carbohydrate, fat, and antioxidants. That means, the grains in dog food can support healthy, skin, and hair, plus support healthy immune systems and more. Also, there are many different kinds of grain: wheat, barley, corn etc. Each has its own combination of nutrients, and many are easily digested by dogs. Dog foods containing grain balance the grains nutrients with nutrients provided by other ingredients to create a nutritionally complete dog food.
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Wegmans Bruiser Kibble Variety Mix
This brand of dry dog food has ingredients that have been considered dangerous for dogs to eat, including BHA, xantham gum, BHT, corn gluten, and food coloring.
Wegmans Bruiser Kibble Variety Mix demonstrates the motto that you typically get what you pay for.
It is affordable dog food, but if youre looking to give your dog stable nourishment, you should look for an alternative option.
Dry Dog Food With Grain Some Popular Choices
With the emergence of grain-free dog products on the market today, there are still a number of quality, nutritional products that do contain grains. For your convenience, I have listed a few of these below:
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What Does This All Mean
A relationship between grain-free diets and the development of DCM hasnt been fully proven. However, there are numerous reports of dogs with DCM whose condition improved or completely resolved after they were taken off a BEG diet and started on a special amino acid supplementation . The short answer is, we still dont know why this is happening, but it appears that DCM is more likely to occur in dogs who are only eating BEG diets.
Is There Any Situation In Which A Dog Would Need A Grain
It is rare that a dog would require a grain-free diet for medical reasons. The top two dietary allergens in dogs are beef and dairy products, with wheat coming in third. Additionally, in the case that a grain sensitivity does exist, it is unlikely that a dog will be triggered by all types of grain. If you suspect that your dog has a dietary allergy, have a chat with your veterinarian. Dietary allergies will require veterinary intervention for diagnosis and treatment.
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Purina Dog Chow Complete With Real Chicken
Its proudly tagged as having 23 vitamins and minerals as well as containing real chicken, so youd expect it to be a healthy chicken-based dish for your pup. But that would be wrong.
There is no chicken to be found within the first five ingredients. But wheres the chicken? Its in the 7th slot, after the corns and legume.
Well list down the first five ingredients here: Whole Grain Corn, Meat And Bone Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Beef Fat Naturally Preserved With Mixed-Tocopherols, Soybean Meal. Thats a significant amount of corn and soybean when put together.
We dont have a problem with corn. We recognize that corn contains nutrients and is not a filler. In most cases. However, for a recipe thats not formulated to target specific canine medical conditions, wed expect the corn to be merely a supporting ingredient and not the main one. Quality dog food should always contain more meat than carbohydrates.
The second thing weve noticed is that most of the meats are unnamed. Thats a red flag in dog food. While an unspecified meat ingredient will not harm your pup, its kind of worrying that you dont know whats going in your pets food. Itll even be more worrying if your pet turns out to be sensitive to the ingredient included.
Theres Meat And Bone Meal and Poultry By-Product Meal. What meat do these refer to? Pork, beef, chicken? What kind of poultry? Turkey or chicken?
Properties Of Grain Free Dabove Food
Grain-free food can be of high quality and very well tolerated. If it has a high meat content, it provides the dog with sufficient animal protein. Fresh ingredients, muscle and offal can be prepared gently and supplemented with vegetables, fruit, valuable oils or herbs. This feed contains carbohydrates that are difficult to digest, such as wheat, oats, rye, barley, millet, corn and rice. The manufacturers take into account the individual energy and nutritional needs of dogs. This will vary significantly by age. You can offer grain-free food for senior and adult dogs, as well as puppies.
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Should I Feed My Dog Grain
Considering a grain-free diet for your dog? Get clued up before you make the switch to other fibre-rich foods.
Angell PetCo has always championed clean dog diets with foods free from grains that cause allergic reactions and upset stomachs in many dogs. Our founders, Robert and Jill Angell were amongst the first to move away from common commercial grains like wheat, maize and cereals in favour of grain-free options.
How To Choose The Best Grain
Lets take a look at a few important characteristics that high-quality grain-free dog foods should possess, and how this could impact the health of your pup.
- High in Meat Protein – High-quality grain-free dog food will list real meat as the main ingredient not unnecessary fillers such as potatoes and starches. Dogs are primarily carnivorous and thrive on a meat-based diet. When real meat is listed as the first ingredient, you can be sure your dog’s food contains a high ratio of a quality protein source that will support their overall health.
- Minimally Processed – The best grain-free dog foods are made with minimally processed, whole, and natural ingredients. Dry dog foods are cooked multiple times at high heat, which destroys nutrients and diminishes flavor. By comparison, minimally processed wet foods contain ingredients and nutrients closer to their original state.
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Moisture Rich – A dog’s natural, carnivorous diet contains around 70% moisture. High-quality, wet grain-free dog food mirrors mother nature by providing adequate moisture to help the body function. Unlike dry dog food, it’s biologically appropriate and can help prevent health problems including urinary tract infections, digestive issues, and obesity.
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So Grains Are Good For My Dog
Yes, they can be very nutritious as part of your dogs diet. Whole grains offer a range of important nutrients for dogs as part of a balanced diet. This works in conjunction with high-quality animal protein sources.
Grains provide:
- An excellent source of complex carbohydrates for energy
- Essential amino acids from plant protein
- B vitamins
- Fibre for intestinal health.
Top 10 List Of Bad Dog Foods
| Worst wet food | |
| Worst dry food for adults | IAMS Proactive Health |
| IAMS Protective Health Smart Puppy | |
| Also Avoid | |
| One of the worst dog foods | Gravy Train |
| Not healthy for your pup | Pedigree |
We structured the following list of dog food brands to avoid this year in a way that will make it easy for you to make a more informed shopping decision.
You will have a better understanding of why it is critical to seek out the better option for your pup by first emphasizing the bad dog food and then reading about healthy dog food brands to choose from.
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Natural Dog Food Benefits
Grain free vs grain dog food. Whats best for your dog? I will speak from personal experience, and tell you that making a choice of the two, has become a pain in the ass. I have walked in your shoes and understand how difficult choosing a healthy, nutritional food for our pets can be. There is still quite a debate going on between grain and grain-free pet food, so much so, I decided to conduct extensive research to get some answers for myself and then present these findings to you. Is dog food containing grains a risky choice?
Ready to unlock the mystery of dog foods with grain? Feeding your pet a food containing grains a mistake? Sick of the headaches you get when trying to choose a healthy dog food? The answers to these questions are indeed thought-provoking, and this article will go in depth in this controversial topic.
Carb Percentages In Popular Commercial Dry Dog Diets
Just for shits and giggles, Id like to give you an idea of the percentages of carbs in some popular dry dog diets.
When youre reading through this information, keep in mind that carb percentage is one of the tools we use to determine a quality dog food diet, but its not the only one.
The species-appropriateness and quality of the ingredients are just as important. You should even consider how often a company has issued a recall, what it was for, and how it was handled.
After screening based on a number of pre-qualifiers, analyzing carb levels is usually my last step in differentiating the premium diets from one another in order to determine which foods to carry in my stores.
You will see some ingredients in the foods below highlighted in red. Those ingredients should be avoided and if youd like to know WHY, check out the Tail Blazers Ingredient Dictionary.
Visionary Keto Pet Food Dog Beef Recipe
- Carbs: 7%
- First 5 Ingredients: Beef, pork fat, pork meal, chicken meal, whole egg
- Main Protein Source: Beef
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Grain Free Feeding Has Been Linked To Heart Disease In Dogs
When grain-free first became fashionable, I hesitated because of my concerns about the nutritional and health consequences of alternative ingredients. This caution has been justified. There is growing evidence from the USA that grain-free diets are linked to canine dilated cardiomyopathy , a type of heart disease. Analysis of data by the US Food and Drug Administration into hundreds of cases including deaths caused by DCM has found a potential link with grain free food, although, so far, no definite cause has yet been established. A particular concern is that DCM is being seen in breeds not associated with the disease. Some of the US pet food brands linked to the condition are being sold in the UK.
As a result, both American and British vets are encouraging pet owners to think carefully before choosing a grain free diet. Even if you put aside the potential risks associated with this diet, there is no evidence to support any claim for health benefits that can be gained from feeding a grain free diet.
Why Is The Fda Investigating Grain
It is easy to panic anytime we see an FDA headline about pet food. After all, keeping our dogs healthy is essential to us, and we know that diet can make a big difference in a dogs well-being. We reached out to Dr. Jerry Klein, the Chief Veterinary Officer of the AKC, to hear his thoughts on the ongoing FDA investigation.
The FDA is investigating a potential dietary link between canine dilated cardiomyopathy and dogs eating certain grain-free dog foods. The foods of concern are those containing legumes such as peas or lentils, other legume seeds, or potatoes listed as primary ingredients. The FDA began investigating this matter after it received reports of DCM in dogs that had been eating these diets for a period of months to years. DCM itself is not considered rare in dogs, but these reports are unusual because the disease occurred in breeds of dogs not typically prone to the disease.
Between January 1, 2014 and April 30, 2019, the FDA received 524 reports of DCM , and most reports were submitted after the FDAs first public alert in July 2018. The total number of pets affected is greater than 524 because some reports included multi-pet households.
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What Should I Do To Make Sure My Dog Is Healthy While On A Grain
Romine recommends taking a dog who has been on a grain-free diet to the vet to get checked outeven if that pet doesn’t show any symptoms. The vet will listen to your dog’s heart and take x-rays. Your pooch may even end up getting an echocardiogram by a veterinary cardiologist, which is the gold standard for evaluating cardiac function. But, she says, the good news is, “It’s possible to reverse the disease as long as your dog is not in end-stage DCM and you swap out the grain-free diet.”
Why Would I Feed My Dog Grain
Allergies or intolerances to grain are far less common in dogs than in humans, so most dogs dont require grains to be excluded from their diet. And whilst there are cases where the exclusion of wheat is necessary, every dog is different. Some dogs may have digestive intolerances or allergies and do better when certain ingredients are excluded from their diet.
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