To feed grain, or not to feed grain--that is the question.
In preparing for our new little fur bundle of joy, I've had a difficult time deciding which food to feed our pup. The breeder feeds the pups Diamond Dog food (http://www.diamondpet.com/products/dogs/), which has whole, natural ingredients--but does include grain. I was going to switch the pup to a similar type of food by Castor and Pollux; however, more and more I'm hearing that a grain free diet is best for dogs. I found this brand, "Now!" Which is composed of raw whole meat sources and veggies: http://www.amazon.com/Grain-Turkey-Salmon-Formula-6-Pound/dp/B0019B... The brand has stellar reviews, and I'm inclined to go for it.
Will it shock my pup's system to go from a grain diet to a grain-free diet? What's the best way to transition our pup from one brand to the other? Does anyone have experience feeding their puppies/dogs these brands? Which do you recommend?
Thanks in advance to any bits of advice you can provide!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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You could probably ask 20 people and get 20 different answers on grain vs grain-free and what is the "best" food. If your pup tolerates grain, why change things? I had my dog on a premium diet that included grain for over a year. He developed exercise induced hypothermia (nothing to do with the diet by the way) and one of the suggested management methods is to remove grain from the diet as its considered a "hot" food, or one likely to increase his body temperature during digestion. So we switched to grain-free and I've been feeding it since. I've also been told which protein sources are considered "hot" vs "cold' and take that into account when feeding my dog. But he has a special medical condition that requires this, where a happy healthy pup hopefully does not. So, really it comes down to what YOU want to feed and what you can afford to feed. A lot of grain-free and premium dog foods cost an arm and a leg and many people just can't afford that for a food that may or may not be better than the one that costs half as much.
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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As Melissa said everyone is going to have a different opinion. I don't mind some grains in a dog food but I wouldn't feed one with corn as one of the top ingredients. I did try a grain free food at one point and my pem just did not do well on it, mushy poops and awful gas, so that was the end of that. Not all dogs can handle every food, so if you do switch I would just buy a small amount of the new food until you're sure he does well on it. When you change foods with a puppy you should start by mixing a small amount of the new food in with the old, and increase the amount slowly over a week or two.
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Permalink Reply by Yuki & Ellie on
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As Melissa has already said, it really comes down to what you want to feed your puppy. A dog can thrive on cheaper brands like Iams and Beneful just as well as those on the pricier Taste of the Wild, Blue Buffalo or even raw diets. You have to ask yourself what is important to you.
When I welcomed Ellie into our home, I already knew I wanted to change foods. My eskimo dog, Yuki, had been having tear stain issues for almost a full year and I had read that a grain-free diet sometimes helps. So I did lots of research, spent lots of time getting confused and frustrated and then just settled on the one I felt the most comfortable with: Taste of the Wild. Is it the "right" choice? Well, I'm happy with it and my dogs both do well on it. Yuki's tear issue is much better (I guess he has a mild grain allergy). So I guess I can chalk that up as being right for us.
Going from grain to grain-free food won't "shock" your puppy's system. I used to feed Yuki Science Diet and Ellie was on Iams when I first brought her home. You treat it like any other new food, introducing it slowly over a period of 7-14 days (I chose 14 days, myself, since I like to err on the side of caution.)
My experience is that you'll drive yourself batty if you over-think things. Your puppy's nutrition is important, but he/she will most likely be healthy and happy no matter what you choose to feed. :)
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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Hi Chelsea, check out the FAQ, get educated and then make the best decision within your budget.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Go with what is best for you and your dog. Analyze what you read and don't take anything as gospel. For instance, many sites will say grain is not a "natural" part of a dog's diet (whatever that means) and then suggest a food that has lots of potato or peas. I guess my question would be, how are potatoes more natural than, say, rice?
SOME dogs have trouble with grains, some dogs have trouble with grain-free. Like I said, ask questions, check sources, look up some of the digestibility and allergy studies yourself, read Sam's FAQ, and go with what you think is best for your dog, then adjust if necessary if the dog is not doing well.
Good luck! There are MANY diets that most dogs will do well on; don't feel guilted into choosing one specific kind. Anyone can write a website. Don't believe everything you read online.
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Permalink Reply by steve smith on
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►I ask my vet what his dog eats or if he feeds his dogs anything that he sells and he seems to always aviod the question, I never get a straight answer. If $$$$$ was not an issue what would you do?◄
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Permalink Reply by justine moeller on
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We fed Science Diet to Mickey and had not so great result. We switched to Taste of the Wild and then Orijen (both grain free) and things improved dramatically. Following this we made the switch to raw feeding and again saw another improvement. It all comes down to choice of course, but at the end of the day, we try to do what has the best results for our dogs. I would personally recommend grain free.
That being said: my mothers 11 year old Border Collie eats some grocery store brand and does great.
Just do some research and keep asking people what they feed and why.
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Permalink Reply by Chelsea and Wyatt on
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Thank you for your input everyone; the feedback has been extremely helpful! I think I will slowly transition Wyatt to a grain-free diet and see how he adapts to it.
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►Let us know what he says if he likes it or not. Dino might be interested in that.◄
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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I would only suggest you wait two to four weeks before you start making any changes from what the breeder has been feeeding. Puppies have a lot of adjustments to make when changing environment and, if you run into any problem, the change in food will throw in one more variable to confuse the issue. Give the pup a chance to settle in and give yourself the time to get to know him and his needs and potty habits before slowly making changes.
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I agree! We fed one small bag of what the breeder fed before switching over to what we fed. Moving is AWFUL on a pup's digestive system. More than a few end up with a coccidia bloom. It can be tough to narrow down what is causing the problem when you also have a diet change in the mix.
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Very good points Anna and Beth, I definitely don't want to factor in additional change while he's already undergoing such a huge transition.
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