Is grain free really better?

Question

Some dogs do just fine on pedigree or Purina or even kibbles and bits. My dogs even eat those except for my lab mix he can't eat those except purina and the grain free cause it will give him the runs.

Im not gonna tell you that their not good but there are better its just that some people really can't afford the price of a rain free bag like me.

I don't need you elling me that I should be feeding grain free because I have heard it before.

I have fed them it too just not all the time because its expensive.

My dogs are healthy. Even though they eat Purina.

My Rottie mix is perfectly healthy so is my lab mix ecept he has a sensitive stomach and allergies.

except not ecept

I was thinking about going raw but I am not sure how and what to feed them

would raw chicken be good for feeding raw diet?

I also add canola oil to their food to help.

Answer 1

Yes, grain free is 100% better.

I pay $55 for Innova Evo, and I feed less, so its cheaper than feeding a horrible food like Purina. Vet bills are also less, and my dogs are healthier.

Edit: Your dog may get the runs when switching to a high quality food because they could be going through detox. Purina and Pedigree use chemicals and corn, things that dogs don't need or digest.



Edit Again: Its great to switch to Raw, its the healthiest and inexpensive. Visit the BARF website, and make sure to create a complete nutrition diet. And chicken bones are the basis for many Raw Diets, and the necks are popular.

Edit: If you feed a quality food, you don't have to add anything, including Canola Oil.

Answer 2

the fact is, these dogs DON'T do just fine, it just looks like it.
Dogs cannot digest grains. They poop it out just the same as when we poop out whole corn. Only, it's ground up in kibble, so we don't see it.
if grain free kibble is expensive, you can feed raw foods cheaper than what you are feeding now.
I get chicken backs and necks for a dollar a pound. Much cheaper than grain free kibble.
grains cause allergies in dogs. All grains, not just corn. Grains are just empty calories, that your dog will poop our in voluminous quantities.

your dogs may be "healthy"(but a sensative stomach and allergies AREN'T healthy), but i guarentee if you switched full time, you would wee results that would blow your mind.
Part of problem with these foods like purina and pedigree is that they use an obscene amount of grains. Grains are heavily contaminated with pesticides. Then the little meat they do use it riddled with cancerous tissue, and euthanized pets.
The rest is more cancerous preservatives.
Grain free reduces most of this, plus the fact that grain free foods are holistic, or organic, so these chemicals aren't there.
So, they might be healthy now, but people who get cancer used to be healthy too.

Answer 3

Grain free can be too rich for some dogs, and the majority of grain free foods are quite high in protein. Some dogs do well on high-protein, but some don't. (I personally stick to under 30% protein for my dog because it seems common that papillons fed higher protein levels have elevated blood urea nitrogen levels.) Some moderate-protein, grain-free foods are Timberwolf Organics 'Ocean Blue' and Taste of the Wild 'Pacific Stream'.

I personally stick to under 30% protein for my dog because it seems common that papillons fed higher protein levels have elevated blood urea nitrogen levels.

All dry dog food needs a starch to hold the kibble together. In low quality foods, this is grains such as corn, wheat and brewers rice. In high quality foods, this is better grains such as barley, oats, brown rice, and white rice. In grain-free foods, this is potatoes, sweet potatoes, or tapioca.

All-in-all, it boils down to what *your dog* does best on.
.

Answer 4

It is purely a matter of opinion - dogs are omnivores. Using scientific methodology yields that there are minor differences (both pros and cons) to feeding grains. Also, the reason your dogs are healthy is because all commercial dog foods provide 100% of the nutrition a dog needs. The differences are to appease peoples opinions and are as much marketing gimmicks as anything so rest assured.

Answer 5

Check out this report,it is very informative and helped me pick out the best food for my dogs.The Dog Food Project was researched and written by an animal nutritionist.
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=betterproducts