According to a warning from the food and drug administration released last week grain free food might be giving dogs a life threatening heart problem called dilated cardiomyopathy or dcm.
Why grain free dog food is good.
Best grain free dog foods the best grain free dog foods typically contain more protein than those made with grain.
How to choose a good grain free dog food.
If your dog is doing well on a grain free dog food but you are worried about the possibility of cdm our best recommendation is to talk to your veterinarian.
Just as much care should go into choosing a grain free dog food as it would be for accepting any food.
In large majority of instances there is no need for your pet to be eating a grain free diet.
Grain free dog foods also tend to have better quality ingredients because they contain no fillers like corn meal or wheat gluten.
This is because an alternate form of starch is needed for kibbles to be extruded.
But many are made with grain substitutes that can upset the nutrient balance of the finished food.
In the fda s july 2019 update on diet and canine heart disease they examined labels of dog food products reported in dcm cases to determine whether the foods were grain free defined as.
Grain free diets don t contain the cereal grains we like to avoid like corn rice and barley but they contain large amounts of peas potatoes lentils and legumes.
The best dog food according to experts includes wet dry and grain free dog food brands like rachel ray instinct orijen the farmer s dog freshpet and more.
Also grain free diets are great for some dogs to help them maintain a healthy weight.
But unlike cereal grains peas lentils and legumes are all high in protein.
You may have heard that grain free dog food has more meat because it makes up for the lack of grains.
Grain free dog food recommendations.
When grain free dog food swarmed the pet nutrition market it quickly rose to popularity.
These fillers provide no nutritional value.