Is grain-free dog food safe for my Rottweiler or should I use Royal Canin?

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!

I like the supplements you have picked for Rocco, and the powdered probiotic is just fine. There is only a risk with the fish oils if you give him more than the recommend dose. No, grain free is no safe at all. It does increase the risk of DCM. Grain free is a dangerous fad, a marketing tool. Grain allergies are actually really rare in dogs. I would switch his food. I hope this helps!

Grains are very rarely the cause of any skin issues so switching Kyya to a normal, grain containing diet is recommended. Keep in mind that the link is not understood but as long as the pet is not showing signs of heart disease, changing the diet will help avoid any heart pathology. The brand I like best is Royal Canin. You would pick the large breed formula. I also like Purina ProPlan. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am not sure I am reading this right but I will try to clarify what I think you mean. Prince should be fed a large breed puppy food. In the States, giant breed is for mastiffs and Great Danes so large breed is perfect for a Rottweiler. Royal Canin makes excellent puppy and dog food. At 5 weeks he can definitely have puppy food as long as he has teeth. You may need to water down the dry food to make it softer for him to chew. These foods are designed for young puppies until about 1 year of age. It has the proper blend of vitamins and minerals to help his body and organs grow. I would continue to feed the Royal Canin. In the States we call biscuits “treats”, so as long as you mean biscuits is food and not treats you should be all set. I hope this helps. Good luck and kisses to Prince!

Grain free diets are not recommended. They are marketing hype to cater to owners that think grains are bad for dogs. They are not. These grain free diets have been linked to causing heart disease in dogs. Please do not feed these diets. ( https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/health/grain-free-dog-food-heart-disease.html ) If you need a nutritional consult you should speak to your vet. That is what they are there for. There is no "best " diet. Diets are subjective. Each vet has their favorites. It doesn't mean one is better than another.

Definitely do not feed grain free! Vets are seeing an increase in dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy who are on grain free diets. Iams and Royal Canin are both excellent foods. I feed my own dogs Iams, and they love it. You aren't wasting money on those brands of foods, and I would give her food from one of those brands. Other brands I recommend include Hill's Science Diet, and Purina ProPlan. I hope this helps!

In general, it is not recommended to feed dogs a grain free diet unless they are known to have a grain allergy (which is very uncommon). There are many misconceptions about pet nutrition circulating. While the link is not yet understood and has multiple factors, something about the grain free diets may be allowing heart disease to develop in certain dogs. I recommend to feed a high quality brand with a good reputation and minimal problems with food recalls. The brand I like the most is Royal Canin. They conduct feeding trials to measure the digestibility of their diets. Most pets who eat this brand have excellent coat and stool quality. They also tend to produce minimal stool which is a sign the diet does not contain fillers and is highly digestible. I also recommend Nutro and Purina Pro Plan. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.