Is wheat bad for my dog? What about grain-free vs potato foods?

Good question! Wheat is actually a pretty uncommon allergen for dogs. Dogs with food allergies are more often sensitive to the protein source than the grains. The new grain free market is more based on diet concerns in people. So unless your vet has had reason to limit the wheat in Chloe's diet, I think those treats should be just fine. Hope this helps!

Great question! Grains are fine for Buffy, you do not need to feed her a grain free diet. There is absolutely so scientific evidence that grain free diets have any benefits to dogs, and it's a fad in my opinion. In addition, it's actually extremely rare for a dog to have a grain allergy. Only 10% of all allergies in dogs are due to food, and the majority of them are protein allergies. Go ahead and feed Buffy a diet with grains in it, it will provide a source of fiber and energy for her. I hope this helps!

Great question! In my opinion, grain free diets are a current fad. There is actually no scientific evidence that grain free diets are beneficial to dogs at all. Grains are fine for dogs, they provide a source of fiber which helps fill them up and keeps them satisfied. It sounds like Koda is letting you know he likes grains if he's picking the Royal Canin over Blue. Also in my opinion, Blue is a terrible food and you will find many, many veterinarians agree with that opinion. It is not a well regarded food in the veterinary community. Many vets have seen terrible cases of hemorrhagic gastroenteritis in dogs in Blue, as well as a lot of gas. In addition, they have been caught a number of times lying about what goes into their product, false advertising, and no quality control over how their food is made (they don't own their own factories, they send the recipe out to be made). Royal Canin is an excellent brand of food, and the best part of it is that they have veterinary nutritionists on staff. Blue, as far as I'm aware, does not. I would think a veterinary nutritionist would be best to know what a dog does and doesn't need in a diet. If Koda likes the Royal Canin, I recommend feeding that to him. Just be sure to switch his food over slowly so that he doesn't get GI upset from a quick change. I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would avoid the foods with a lot of dyes, like in Beneful. Royal Canin is an excellent food and wheat, corn, and rice grain are not bad ingredients. I would stick with Royal Canin. Good luck and kisses to Soska!

Again, there is no known problem with these ingredients. The stigma about byproducts is especially annoying, because byproducts like liver, kidney and other organs have great nutritional value compared with meat. The reason behind the stigma is not easy to understand. It really has to do with a series of non- professionals speculating on unsupported theories and then spreading the information as if it's truth. The same happens with people...just look at all the fad diets that come and go. While there may be some shred of evidence that these ingredients may have potential to cause harm, there is not nearly enough for a professional to say that they are bad and other ingredients are good. You can see that the pet food industry has responded to the unsupported claims of grains, natural ingredients, byproducts and even raw food, but please don't take that as confirmation that these ingredients are bad or good. It's nothing more than sales strategy and responding to consumer demands. This is a huge topic that I cannot begin to cover here, so I'll give you a couple links to some helpful articles: https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food https://www2.vet.cornell.edu/news/20130205/what-pet-food-should-i-feed

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If the study you are talking about is referring to DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy) in large breed dogs, I believe the correlation they are making is between grain-free diets and the development of DCM. Grain-free diets are very trendy right now, and there is NO benefit to feeding your dog a grain-free diet. Many small pet food companies are not well regulated for quality control, and oftentimes the nutritional information they provide on the bag is nowhere near what is actually in the food. Legumes and potatoes can be substitutes for grains, but they lack many of the essential nutrients that grains provide to dogs. This lack of specific nutrients can make dogs, especially large breeds, more prone to developing heart disease. I recommend feeding your dog a food formulated for adult large breed maintenance. Excellent brands are those like Hills, Royal Canin, Purina, and Blue Buffalo. These larger pet food companies are very well-regulated and nutritionally balanced for dogs. I hope this is helpful!

Science Diet is an excellent brand of food! It's recommended by so many vets because they have veterinary nutritionists on staff who help formulate the food to make the dog's nutritional needs are met. A veterinary nutritionist is the person with the most in-depth knowledge about a dog's needs nutritionally, and many other brands of food do not have veterinary nutritionists on staff. In addition, Science Diet owns their own factories, so there is strict quality control as to what goes into their food. This is in sharp contrast to other brands, such as Blue Buffalo, who do not own their own factories and simply hand a recipe over to make their food. That's why Blue Buffalo has gotten into trouble a number of times for their lack of quality control. Finally, wheat corn and soy isn't bad for dogs. They provide a source of energy for dogs, and should be part of their diet unless there is a proven grain allergy. Grain allergies in dogs are actually extremely rare. Only 10% of all dog allergies are food related, and the majority of those food allergies are due to protein not grains. Grain free food is a current fad that has no scientific basis as to its efficacy. I hope this helps!