You may have found that fellow dog owners have encouraged you to start to feed your dog grain free dog food, raving about the benefits to their dog. But what are the true benefits of switching to dog food that’s grain free?
The Benefits of Dog Food That’s Grain Free
There are actually many proven benefits to grain free dog food that should benefit the large majority of dogs. The primary reason among them is that many dogs are either allergic to or have an intolerance toward grains, mainly wheat gluten, corn or both. They are two of the top five foods dogs are allergic to which also include chicken, potato and soy. You will likely know if your dog has some form of allergic reaction to their diet if they have dry skin, excess shedding, digestive problems such as flatulence, bloating, sickness or bad breath. By removing grain from their diet you may find that your dog becomes a lot healthier within a few weeks.
However, even if your dog doesn’t have an intolerance toward grain there are other benefits to your dog of changing their diet to a grain free dog food. The first is that dogs can’t digest grain very well, their metabolism is more suited to proteins. Consider what wild dogs eat, it’s a primary diet of meat which is high in protein and fats, rather than carbohydrates, you wouldn’t see a wolf grazing in a field. Their teeth also show that they are carnivores, they are designed to eat meat as their primary food source. A dog that eats a diet high in any form of carbohydrate will struggle with their digestion, resulting in flatulence, bloating, and the occasional sickness.
Add to this that carbohydrates are filler products in two ways. First of all manufacturers use them to cheaply fill a can, packet or sachet. Carbohydrates are cheaper to buy, process and pack into dog food than meat, so in the lower end of the dog food market where price is the decision factor it makes sense that a dog food manufacturer would have a higher carbohydrate content in their food to bring costs down. Even if this is at the cost of canine health. Carbohydrates are also a filler in that they quickly fill a dog’s appetite, but are hollow calories, quickly burnt through exercise, leaving your dog wanting another meal within a few hours, which leads to obese dogs eating too much and carrying extra weight. Obesity in dogs leads to health problems.
However good quality grain free dog foods swap the carbohydrate for higher protein levels, leading to healthier all round health as well as weight control and healthy appetite levels.
So dogs that are switched to grain free dog food, even ones that can tolerate grain, benefit with a healthier mix of food, higher in protein which matches a dogs digestive tolerance. Proteins also strengthen bones, muscles, and promote healthier coat, skin and immunity.
To read more on topics like this, check out the lifestyle category.
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