Gun Dog Forum

I guess this is a 3 question post!

Anyone know how grain-free kibbles are holding up for performance?

Are most sporting dogs still feed grain inclusive kibbles?

Is the alternative carb source in grain-free providing the same energy and same digestibility compared to grains?

I fed grain-free food to my dog for a couple of years due to her allergies. It didn't appear to help the allergy situation so for the past year she is back on Purina ProPlan Sport. While she was on the grain-free I did not notice any reduction in performance or energy. And she is a big running field trial Brittany that has a lot of get up and go. But the grain-free food she was on was 31% protein and 19% fat, so quite similar to PPP Sport.

I would guess the vast majority of sporting and trial dogs are on a kibble with grains. Unless there is a reason your dog needs to be on a grain-free food I would not feed it.

There was some noise last year about grain free kibbles having ingredients like potatoes, peas, and legumes which inhibit the uptake of taurine. Taurine deficiency was linked to cardiac problems specifically heart failure. There have been some decent studies done so you might want to look them up and talk to your vet. I'd advise sources from university vet schools not the cute puppy power websites.

I'm not sure where the controversy led as far as conclusions, because my dogs do very well on kibble with grains (PPP Sport). I don't see any advantage to the Feed 'Em Like Family thing. Some folks call grain fillers, but that's also what peas and potatoes are also. And if the 'peas' are sourced from China, God knows what's in them.

It is a common question for new dog owners, especially if you take a walk down the isle at Petco. “Grain-free” food is a marketing strategy for dog owners, not dog health. As stated, some were linked to ill health and death. I have found my dogs do much better with a source of corn in their diet, coats, energy and holding weight. I have one that for some reason gets really stinky feet if he eats anything with wheat in it. Pick up a bag of Pro Plan Sport and you can rest assured your dog will be getting everything it needs and you can worry about other more important things.

BTW, none of us are sponsored by Purina, it’s just readily available, consistent and works really well from pup to retirement.

The Taurine issue with grain free dog food absolutely causes enlarged heart. A puppy I bred nearly died because of it. She got hit by a car and the vet
discovered the heart issue. A change of food got her heart back to normal. Not worth the risk......Cj

marketing, marketing, marketing.

All natural, no antibiotics EVER, grain free, non GMO,first ingredient is real meat etc, etc. It is all marketing BS.

PPP is indeed an excellent feed, complete and absolutely uniform.
One of the ways dogfood companies control their costs is to vary the formula, depending on the cost of the various ingredients. If the price of wheat is up and the price of barley is down, many producers will tweak the recipe to add more barley and less wheat. Purina Pro Plan does not do that, as I understand, so the diet the dog experiences is uniform, reducing incidence of loose stools, etc.

Most major dogfood manufacturers have gone the"boutique" route due to the ability to charge more for these"specialty feeds, but their performance feeds are all pretty good. Most any feed with 30% Protein and 20% fat will do a hardworking dog just fine. Animal feed suppliers have also take to adding things like joint supplements, antioxidants and such. Unfortunately, most of those additives are present in amounts which are too small to have benefit. Again...marketing BS over substance. If your dog needs chondroitin or glucosamine(or both)for their joints...buy the supplement and give it to them in the medically recommended amounts.

Also. beware of suppliers like Taste of the Wild, which do not have a single manufacturing facility, but instead have a huge marketing budget. Their quality control is in the hands of the subcontractor...the one that submitted to lowest bid.

A previous poster hit on something that has bothered me for a long time. The SOURCE of the various ingredients in the formula is unknown and honestly, with the track record of toxic contaminants in products from countries like China and the lack of QC from countries like India...that makes me waaay more uncomfortable than whether or not the meat ingredient was antibiotic free or not.

As has been said, the marketing is for us humans. I'd turn the bag over, look at the ingredients and the percentages and go from there.

FWIW, I use a Sportsman's Pride product, 26/18, and my dogs do just fine on it.

RayG

The big national brands like Purina have nutritionists on the payroll, and I'm pretty sure the small boutique brands don't. Purina for example keeps "research" dogs who can be tested for various health concerns related to feed. If I were to switch to a smaller or local brand, I'd find out who mills it for them, like Diamonds mills for TOTW and 4Health, and do a little asking about qa, qc, and who reads and adjusts formulas.

CJ, holy cow! Who could gave imagined that getting hit by a car probably saved that pup's life?

Shags:
That was my exact response when I heard about it.
His vets think she did not have long to live. they are very competent UofM vets. It was quite easy to get her back on track. I do not know what food she is on now. but it work.
They had changed her from the PPP I had her on because of bad smelling gas. I have never had a dog with a gas issue........Cj

IME a major cause of gas and/or diarrhea in an otherwise healthy dog is too much food. Cutting back a little each meal, and feeding two small meals if they need the calories, can clear it right up. Sometimes it helps to skip a day of feeding to give the gut a chance ro settle down, then proceed with the smaller portions, adding slowly day by day until you find the happy place, amount-wise.

I fed my setter grain free for a while. After a while on the feed he started having issues in the field on warm days - He would breath very heavy, his tongue would swell, and he'd start weezing for breath, then I'd have to put him up. Switched to Pro Plan after I read about the heart issues and this problem seems to have mostly resolved. Far from scientific but I think the grain free food might have caused a heart issue.