It seems that if you follow any pet pages on social media,
you’ll see very strong opinions on what to feed your dog, from people who swear
by their own experiences to those who cite scientific sources. What to feed
your dog can quickly become a passionate and heated debate!
Over the last few years it seems grain free has become all
the rage in pet care, but is it really healthy or are we forcing our lifestyles
on to our pets?
DOES YOUR DOG NEED A GRAIN FREE DIET?
Supporters of grain free diets state that grains are an abnormal
source of nutrition for our dogs. Their claim is that ancestors of our current
dogs did not eat grains. While this may be true, dogs of today have evolved to
be able to digest grains and glutens pretty easily. Dogs have several genes
that have been modified through the course of their evolution to allow them to
easily digest carbohydrates, which includes grains. So while most dogs do just
fine with a grain free diet, this type of diet is not required in terms of
digestion.
For dogs that really do have allergies to grains, a grain
free diet would be a great choice. The following are symptoms that would be
expected in dogs that have allergies:
- Itchiness
- Excessive
hair loss
- Bald
patches
- Inflamed
skin
- Sore
and scabs
- “Hot
spots”
A trial with a grain free food would be necessary to
determine whether the food is beneficial for your dog.
I myself am an owner of an American Bully who happens to be
on a grain free diet. Compared to a regular diet, he seems to do much better on
a grain free diet. He has hall of the symptoms listed above if he does eat
foods with grain and it takes weeks for him to recover, depending on how much
he eats. While I would never push my beliefs onto someone else, grain free has
worked for me,
Sources:
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