Grain Free Pros and Cons

For Caleb it's definitely a food allergy/senstivity thing.  An added plus is smaller poops!

 I don't feed grain free, because mine do better with rice and oatmeal than with potatoes. Emma was a different story, and it's definitely an individual thing. Potatoes affect the blood sugar differently than whole grains. They're also a nightshade veggie, and can increase inflammation. I also prefer not to feed a kibble made in the Diamond plant. I'm weird about that, and since most of them are, now, I chose a smaller company that makes their own kibble. I'm comfortable with it, and the girls look great.

georgie4682

He has been rather gassy, which might have to do with his UTI issues right now,

Probably not -- a UTI is the urinary tract and infection, gas has to do with the intestinal tract and digestion

georgie4682

So, I am wondering why one would prefer a grain free as opposed to grains, or vice versa.

Grains have very litttle nutritional benefit for a dog -- they can be hard to digest and an allergen source.  Mostly they are there for bulk.  To make the dog feel *full* (which can be VERY important) and to make the food not overly rich (which can upset the stomach/digestion).

Now as for smaller poops -- that is NEVER EVER **not at all** a consideration for me and I would strongly urge it for you as well.  We suddenly have this whole TON of dogs with anal gland issues. 

 Anal gland issues result when  the poop isn't bulky enough to press adequately on the anal glands as the poop exits the body.  So in wanting these nice little pooops that are easier for US - we can totally screw THEIR bodies up  so the anal "scent" collects in those glands and causes discomfort and sometimes infection. 

 Now there IS a balance.  The cheap cheap foods (like Ole Roy) use all sorts of crud as filler -- things like peanut shells and completely not digestible stuff like that.   So no, you don't need a pom having a BM the size of a rottweiler.  BUT neither should we strive for those nice little compact poops.

Because the natural result of THAT is dogs who wind up having anal gland issues all the time and often who wind up having anal glands removed (which is like taking away a dogs ability to be "himself";)

That said -- I home cook for all 3 of my dogs -- and I dno't use grain much at all (only if I seriously mis-calculate how much liquid will remain and then I use soe oatmeal or balrey).    But I DO use veggies for roughage and bulk. 

The whole grain-free argument is largely because people want to see higher protein (which I do within reason) and hopefully better nutrition.  But you DO hav3e to balance that with how your individual dogs react to the ingredients.  SOME of the high quality foods can be too rich for some dogs and just don't set well with them.  SOME of the high quality foods, and I'm thinking of Wellness in particular, can actually encourage UTI problems. 

 I like grain free because I like to have my dogs get most of their protein from actual animal/fish sources rather than processed corn and the like. There's typically higher % protein in grain free foods, which I also like. Plus the poop output is very very small compared to feeding products that do contain grain. 

I have one sensitive tummy dog who does best on grain free.  Except for the anal gland issue that comes with the smaller poops (as Callie mentioned).  I have a high-energy allergy dog who does best on a food with some grain.  So IME . . . . it's a very individual dog thing.  And don't fall into the trap of thinking anything with "grain free" slapped all over the bag means it's going to be higher in animal protein than a non-grain food.  Many of them are loaded with potatoes or sweet potatoes or other non-grain carbs.

I feed grain-free totally, since I do feed a raw diet. But I have one girl who had anal gland issues when she was on kibble, and has some residual scar tissue from it, and if she doesn't have something small to bulk up the poop then she can have painful bowel movements. But instead of grains, we use some pureed fruit/veggie blends. She gets about 0.5 oz a day of it just to fill out her bowel movement, and it has made great improvements - still a nice compact poop, but enough so it doesn't cause her painful bummy afterwards.

My other two don't have any issues with the lack of grains, and Gaci likely wouldn't have either if it wasn't for the prior scarring from when her anal gland impacted and burst.

Myra

And don't fall into the trap of thinking anything with "grain free" slapped all over the bag means it's going to be higher in animal protein than a non-grain food.  Many of them are loaded with potatoes or sweet potatoes or other non-grain carbs.

Yes, that is why you read the ingredients whether its grain free or not.

Fortunately, as far as I know, I haven't had to worry about grains, one way or the other. I'm not sure, really. For the longest time, I fed Shadow Nutro Large Breed Adult Lamb Meal and Rice. Then, they quit making that formula. For a while, I fed him Eagle Pack Chicken And Rice. Then, Nutro came out with his old formula. At least in name. But, on the resurrected formula, his hide and coat was getting dry. I was having to add Missing Link, which is also a powder. I think they changed the mix and kept the formula name.

So, I tried him on Blue Buffalo Wilderness Duck and Potato and he's been doing fine, no additives. The only thing I don't like about the food is the "life bits" or whatever they are called. The little rabbit pellet-looking things have the chewing consistency of pebbles and mostly fall out of Shadow's large breed mouth. Why can't they just add the stuff into the regular size kibble instead of trying to be fancy for us humans? I need to shake them until they spit and then shake them for spitting. On the other hand, the "life bits" have all the probiotics and other stuff that dogs don't actually need but we humans put in to make ourselves feel better. Anyway, the food works and it will be our food as long as it works for Shadow.

I don't know if Shadow has developed a problem with grains. I don't think so. He still eats grass and roots in the yard. However, if the grain-free is working for him, hooraw for that.

I should email Blue Buffalo and tell them to keep making good food and get over themselves.

edited for spelling.

 ETA:

Something else that may help Shadow once in a while and I can't help bragging about it because I'm proud of myself, even though pride goeth before a fall. Once in a while, I feed Shadow a main leg bone from a deer. A friend, John, who hunts, usually gets at least 3 doe per season. I freeze them and then, thaw one out just a smidge in the microwave and let Shadow have at it. Some remnant meat, tendons, cartilege, and of course chewing on the main bone. Nice thing about raw, the bone cracks cleanly when it does crack. No shards, that I know of. So, maybe he gets some value from that, besides enjoyment. I no longer worry about him eating raw as I have seen him eat cotton rats and you can't get more raw than live prey.

 I moved over to grain free for Bugsy when I discovered he did much better on higher protein foods than on lower protein foods. He clearly digests them better so he eats less and yes he poops less.  I can still recall how I felt with some products when I was poop scooping - food in food out I don't think much stayed in!

He does have allergies but meats are the problem (chicken, turkey and eggs) although I believe flax is a problem too

He does have fairly small poops but no anal gland issues on the Orjen we are using although he has had issues in the past.  He does get 2-3 raw meals a week and has 'bone' poops which probably help with the glands.  Honestly allergies are what cause those problems.

I believe strongly that for him getting the vast majority of his calories from meat sources is a lot better than high calorie kibbles that are lowish in protein

I feed a grain free (and kibble free) diet. Bailey has been raw for around 2-3 years now.

The first food I ever fed him was Purina one I knew NOTHING about dogs or about feeding a proper diet. He was having skin problems and getting ear infection after ear infection constantly. Vet said we should switch to a better food and so he went on a high quality grain free food for a while (I dont remember what it was called). That didnt help, and eventually I heard about raw diet. I did a ton of research, talked to a lot of people who feed it, and finally decided to try it. After the switch we havent looked back since

jennie_c_d

Potatoes affect the blood sugar differently than whole grains. They're also a nightshade veggie, and can increase inflammation

 Those are very good points. I have to feed a kibble with grains because Jessie is allergic to white and sweet potatoes. And, I disagree with a poster's comments that they don't offer much nutrition; it depends on the grains.

 http://www.petfoodindustry.com/ViewArticle.aspx?id=12880

I was being all nerdy, and reading about this, while chatting with a friend, last night, and she found this article, on potatoes in pet food. It says that they are about as digestible as grain, starch wise, BUT other nutrients (like potato protein) are slightly less digestible. I wondered if that would affect pets with digestive issues. Emma was allergic to rice, so I made meat and potatoes when she was sick. It worked fine, for her. 

Yeah, that's interesting.  Willow can't have rice but does fine with potato.  I mash them though when I do give them to her.  Maybe that makes a difference?