There is a lot of hype on the internet lately about grain free dog foods. Does my dog really need a grain free food?
Dogs are true omnivores so they can utilize both animal and plant sources for essential nutrients. While dogs certainly utilize meat based diets well, grains can be a great source of protein, carbohydrates, fiber, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals.
If your dog is allergic to a specific grain or animal protein, then by all means avoid that product. Incidentally, the most common food allergies in dogs are from beef, dairy products, wheat, lamb, egg, chicken, and soy.
The wisest choice for your pet is to choose a well-researched food from a reliable company that does extensive quality testing both on the raw products going into the food and on the finished product. Further make sure the company formulates their food based on nutrient profiles of each batch of actual ingredients versus just combining healthy sounding ingredients.
