Your dog's food/diet: Grain-free or not? - Doberman Forum : Doberman Breed Dog Forums

dobriety · 03-03-2011, 02:05 PM

Do you prefer to your dog's food to be grain-free or not? Please let me know the reason for your choice.

LindaH · 03-03-2011, 02:13 PM

Well, I can't vote because I feed both since I have found a grainfree Parker can eat with his allergy/ies.

I don't really have a problem with grains as long as they are high quality whole grains and the meat content is at least 1/3. I also don't feed the same food exclusively tho as I rotate foods.

Tollers-n-Dobes · 03-03-2011, 02:50 PM

I didn't vote as I feed both. Ripley cannot do grain free diets for some reason. Every one I've tried has had terrible results with him, from hives, to eating an insane amount of food and not gaining an ounce, to vomiting every night, etc. So he eats a food with some grain (Acana Adult). The girls thrive on grain free though, and feeding grainfree is always my first choice as long as a dog does well on it.

dobriety · 03-03-2011, 03:02 PM

Well, vote what you'd prefer to do. I guess due to allergies or whatever you've been forced to go one way or another, but what would you like to be feeding them...

lolonurse · 03-03-2011, 03:09 PM

I also didn't vote because I mix 2 together - 1 grain-free, the other wheat, soy and corn-free, but having rice, oats and I think maybe millet or barley, although the primary ingredient is chicken. So, while they do get some cereals, and I don't see anything wrong with that, the amounts are in a much better balance (imo), and they seem to thrive on it. But, then again, dogs are omnivores and opportunists, and will scavenge and eat anything. Even with vegies and fruits and cereals in their diet, both of them, and all the ones before them, will happily graze on new grasses and young weeds, and pick buds off my trees and roses, and eat dried and hardened "grass cookies" (the clumps that fall out from under the mower after laying in the sun for a few days) - maybe they are part Angus.

(oh - and the stews I make them, I usually add some rice or oats or millet to thicken it up a bit - easier to freeze and keep a decent consistency.)

Adara · 03-03-2011, 03:14 PM

I prefer grain free because I think dogs are carnivores and do not NEED grains. I think they can do ok on grains though. I would prefer to feed 100% raw in a perfect world. I'm doing about 70% right now.

Lori Z · 03-03-2011, 03:17 PM

Eli only eats grain free Acana Grasslands. He has pancreatitis and this is the only food he can digest without issues. Don't ask me why. I also feed him ground turkey/chicken and sweet potatoes. He has always eaten grain free food, before he ate Natural Balance grain free vension but he was very thin on that food so I switched to Acana about 6 months ago, I love this food and so does Eli, he only gets 3 1/2 cups a day and looks fab weighing in at 85lbs at 2 yrs old.

We tried raw when he was young, it didn't work for him whatsoever.

avianantics · 03-03-2011, 03:23 PM

Completely, 100% grain free, raw. Better coat, better muscle, no allergy problems, no skin issues, no dog odor, no gas, super clean teeth......

LindaH · 03-03-2011, 03:34 PM

I prefer to feed both as I don't have a problem with feeding good quality grains. So I still can't vote.

Maybe you could ask a mod to add the option of feeding both.

CuriousMoves · 03-03-2011, 03:42 PM

I'm not opposed to foods with grains, but my dogs seem to do best on grain-free foods. I experimented by going back to a food with grains for a while, and while they both did alright, Riley had gigantic, really stinky poops..which I wasn't a fan of. So back to grain-free we go. I feed a rotation diet, and I just started them on a bag of TOTW Sierra Mountain, which they've never had before. We'll see how it goes.

GingerGunlock · 03-03-2011, 05:24 PM

I didn't used to have an opinion on this, but during my Food Search™, I thought I had settled on California Natural, grain free, chicken. However, when I returned to my local feed store at the end of a bag, they only had Lamb and Rice. I thought, well, okay, and got it. And went through it in record time. Elka was hungry all the time, pooped too frequently, and I didn't like the consistency of what was coming out of her. I did some searching, and thought "Oh, Blue Buffalo has a grain free!" Nobody around me had the grain free Blue Buffalo, however, and though I'd ordered a just-in-case bag online, I didn't open it, because I didn't want to go through multiple switches. The Tractor Supply Company by me does, however, have Taste of the Wild, and so that's what we got, and she loves it. This does not mean we don't give her the occasional pizza crust.

And I found out dogs can go to the TSC.

And that, my friends, is the dog food saga.

dobermansrule · 03-03-2011, 06:20 PM

Quincy is Corn Dog. Purina Pro Plan Performance, best extruded corn mix technology can produce!

**Dobejazz** · 03-03-2011, 10:54 PM

My dogs are fed grain. They look great, feel great and I don't feel they have excessive poops. I'm in they feed what they do well on so I stick with Eagle.
Frosti my little Chi X came to me as a foster she was eating orijen red meat and had lousy runny poops - Since she has been eating eagle and proplan mixed she has gained weight and has great poops.

noodlerubyallie · 03-03-2011, 11:01 PM

100% grain free

Allie has allergies, Rocket has a sensitive stomach, and Ruby doesn't handle grains.

The girls get TOTW Lamb and Rocket scarfs Orijen Regional Red. I'm going to have to buy stock in Champion Foods at the rate he eats it.

sandy2233 · 03-03-2011, 11:15 PM

Emily's is Nature's Variety Prairie Mix. She has been on Wellness, Science Diet CD and Royal Canin SO because of UTI problems. I have to deal with allergies now (wheat) and just decided that I would stay away from most grains. Am in the process of switching foods now but have to be very slow about it as she has a sensitive stomach and doesn't adapt to changes very easily. And the fact that as much as I would like to throw the Royal Canin away (horrible ingredients), I have a hard time chucking a $70. bag of dog food. What happened to the good ole days of feeding Purina Dog Chow or Kibbles & Bits?
Was not aware of anything back then and dogs got a long fine.

Horsy · 03-04-2011, 01:43 AM

Grain free. Have no choice unless I want diesel to have runny poo, dandruff, lumps all over his body and generally hyper behaviour.

TucsonDobieOwner · 03-04-2011, 02:23 AM

Another Grain-Free vote. I feed my dogs Acana Pacifica. When Teufel was younger I fed him California Naturals Grainfree Venison due to lower protien and fat content. I am not thrilled with the company being bought out and swtched as soon as I thought he was ready. I will probably feed it to his little sister when she comes home though.

blackdoberboy · 03-04-2011, 07:23 AM

100% grain free.....
I feed raw

**MeadowCat** · 03-04-2011, 10:33 AM

Grain-free here, because that's what Shanoa does best on. She's been on Orijen since she was a pup. We tried several other foods and Orijen is the one that works for her. Each dog is different, so you have to find what works for your dog.

**EmilyB** · 03-04-2011, 11:58 AM

Well, I am an idiot and voted for the wrong thing.

chancellordobes · 03-04-2011, 12:27 PM

Grain free - even the cookies!

Mike B · 03-04-2011, 08:03 PM

Grain free I only want the best for my boy and it shows in his size, his coat, and energy level . We had problems when we first got Jack with regular dog food . Doberman's are what I consider very high end performance dogs , and I believe they need a proper diet and the grain free foods ( Acana ) are balanced just right.

vivienne00 · 03-05-2011, 10:24 AM

Grain free - of corn, barley, wheat
Not free of - oats, rice

The first ones are high gluten grains and the last 2 are not and are in fact recommended for helping with some conditions.

mangujowa · 03-05-2011, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmilyB

Well, I am an idiot and voted for the wrong thing.

Same here--not huge poo's, dandruff only if we're scratched him a lot or he's in a stressful situation (lots of barky dogs). It's the best formed poos he's had on any food so we're keeping him on it unless issues arise. Plus it's really reasonably priced.

Denissov43 · 03-05-2011, 07:34 PM

grain free:
90% RAW food feeder for over 20 years and I feed a Super premium GRAIN FREE kibble like TOW, FROMM, TIMBERWOLF, for putting out on meat fasting days... I fast from raw meat on weekends and my dogs eat probably 2 cups of kibble on those days snacking after playing all day. NO Grain kibble only... also supplement with 2000 mg Vit C, Medicinal mushrooms and immune building herbs, Kelp, and yogurt or Kefir daily.