Is grain-free canned dog food safe for my dog's long-term health?

Related Answers from Veterinarians

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  Answered By Lindsey Edwards MVB, BSc, IVCA

  Veterinarian

  Published on December 24th, 2017

  The vast majority of dogs tolerate cereal very well and do just as well on such diets as they do on grain free diet. A small minority will have dietary sensitivities and require specialist diets without certain ingredients, sometimes cereal and sometimes different protein groups. If a pet is doing well on a particular diet i would not recommend changing

  

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  Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

  Veterinarian

  Published on March 27th, 2019

  I personally do not recommend it. There are no proven benefits to feeding a raw diet, and in fact, it causes a serious health risk to both the dog and owner. The dog can get E coli or Salmonella from it, and these bacteria can be passed to you just from handling the meat or even getting kisses from the dog. Not worth it. As for grain free, I strongly urge you not to feed that to Jackson. Vets are seeing an increased in dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy who are fed a grain free diet. The FDA is investigating this link. Grain free is a fad, and proving to be a dangerous at that. There is no research at all that it's beneficial to dogs over a diet with grains, and grain allergies are very rare in dogs. It's no wonder he's waiting for the meat and fish, he likes it better and will chose that every time over his dog food. Stop offering these extras to him, and only feed him dog food. He will start eating that when he realizes it's the only food he will get. Brands of food I recommend for him include Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. I hope this helps!

  

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  Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

  Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

  Published on April 28th, 2018

  Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Great question. There is no scientific evidence that grain free diets are any better than diets with grain in it. You do not have to measure the amount of grain as there is no downside in feeding diets with grain. As long as you get a high quality diet like the ones made by Science Diet or Royal canin, he should be fine. Good luck and have a great day!

  

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