Have you ever considered feeding your dog grain free dog food? PetFlow recently sent out an email about the topic, and remarked about how many emails they get about grain free pet food and why it’s different from other pet foods. The answers may surprise you, as many people will not know the difference.
The first key point is to stress that cats and dogs were never meant to eat grains in the first place, so why are so many companies putting it in their dog foods? PetFlow went on to explain the first use of grains in pet food and the myths of high protein diets.
Grains first appeared in pet foods about 70 years ago when consumers wanted the convenience of pet food in a bag and manufacturers wanted to reduce costs with inexpensive calories from grains. Although grains such as rice or wheat provide low-cost calories, their high carbohydrate content contributes to obesity, diabetes, kidney stones/struvite crystals, behavior problems, allergies, skin/coat problems and a host of other health problems in cats and dogs.
There is a myth that high protein diets are harmful to kidneys. This probably started because, in the past, patients with kidney disease were commonly placed on low protein (and thus low nitrogen) diets. Science has since shown that for patients with kidney disease the concern is rather protein quality, not quantity. High quality protein is digestible and produces fewer nitrogen by-products.
Cats and dogs are simply not evolved to eat processed cereal grains. The relatively short gastrointestinal system of dogs lacks the enzymes needed to efficiently digest carbohydrates and is naturally evolved to metabolize a diet high in protein, which is why grain-free, reduced-carbohydrate diets based on human-grade meat, vegetables and fruits most closely matches the diet nature intended for your dog or cat.
Indeed, veterinarians are increasingly citing grains and carbohydrates as primary causes of health problems common to dogs and cats. In addition, as we all sadly know, the majority of pet food recalls over the past 10 years have been due to contaminated grain products: glutens, corn, wheat & rice.
And although it overlooks the most fundamental purpose of pet food (to provide nourishment) the “grain-and-carbohydrate” approach to pet nutrition is still widely practiced due to the lower cost, ready availability and long shelf life that grains provide. Unfortunately, dogs and cats suffer as a result of this. We believe that you should spend your money on your pet, not your vet.
Since PetFlow is an expert in dog food, they also carried a wide range of grain free dog food products. We have listed a few of these products below. To visit the full selection of grain free products at PetFlow, simply use their navigation menu, select your type of pet, and “grain free” in the “lifestyle” setting.
EVO Wild Cravings Red Meat Formula Grain Free Treats for Dogs- Evangers Slow Cooked Turkey Stew Canned Dog Food
- Evangers Slow Cooked Lamb Stew Canned Dog Food
- Evangers Slow Cooked Beef Stew Canned Dog Food
- Merrick – Before Grain Pork Dry Dog Food
- Merrick – Before Grain 96% Variety Pack Canned Dog Food
- Acana Ranchlands Grain Free Dry Dog Food
- Nature’s Recipe Grain – Free Chicken, Sweet Potato And Pumpkin Recipe Dry Dog Food
- Nature’s Recipe Grain – Free Salmon, Sweet Potato And Pumpkin Recipe Dry Dog
- EVO Wild Cravings Turkey and Chicken Grain Free Treats for Dogs
You will get FREE SHIPPING on any $49 order of grain free products with coupon code PETFOODIA at checkout.
Grain Free Feeding Notes: Often times, pets with higher quality food will eat smaller portions. If a grain-free product is slightly more expensive than your average dog food, make sure you are feeding your pet the appropriate portion size. The higher the quality food, the less you will need to feed them, which is an important factor to understand when selecting your next grain free pet food product.
