What Is Grain-Free Dog Food?

As we are going to discuss the pros and cons of grain-free dog food let us understand its ingredients. Grains such as wheat, barley, oats, corn, etc., are added to the dog food. They are not inherently bad but low-quality fillers derived from corn, wheat, etc. should be avoided. 

Whole, organic or natural foods are unprocessed and contain the complete nutritional profile of the grains. Whole grains are healthier as they are not degraded due to processing. But they should be high quality and digestible to the dog. 

If your dog is allergic or sensitive to grains then a grain-free diet is advisable. Your dog will get high quality and digestible food as it contains legumes, beans, vegetables and other plant-based sources of the basic food groups. 

Pros and Cons of Grain-Free Dog Food

We discuss the pros and cons of grain-free dog food so that you can decide for yourself if it is right for your pet.

Pros of Grain-Free Dog Food

A grain-free diet does not mean any carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are made of 3 components – sugar, fiber, and starch. Fiber and starch are complex carbohydrates that release energy slowly. While sugar is a simple carbohydrate that releases energy immediately. Starch from dog food ingredients such as tapioca, beans, vegetables, legumes, and potato digests slowly to release energy over time.

Grain-free dog food is meant for canines that cannot digest grains. Usually, all dogs have enzymes to digest, absorb and utilize the nutrients from grains. But in the case of those dogs that cannot – grain-free dog foods are a blessing.

Dogs may be allergic to grain proteins such as gluten. Their system may identify the protein as an invader and produce histamine. This causes the dog to chew, scratch and itch incessantly. A grain-free diet may be recommended in this case. 

Other health issues that benefit from grain-free dog food are dog obesity. The low carbohydrate diet causes their body to utilize the fat and proteins to produce energy. 

A low carbohydrate diet or grain-less diet is recommended for dogs diagnosed with cancer or diabetes. Low carbohydrate and high-fat diet with fish oil help speedy recovery and extend a disease-free remission. 

Grain-less dog food also helps manage the production of insulin for diabetic dogs. Some grains have a high glycemic index. The high glucose level challenges insulin levels. 

Lectins and glutens in some grains cause inflammation. Chronic gut inflammation occurs where the superficial layers of the intestine have eroded. This impairs the secretion of enzymes that aid in immunity, digestion, and absorption of nutrients. The malassimilation of carbohydrates causes diarrhea.

If this malabsorption continues it leads to bacterial fermentation and overgrowth that causes flatulence, and other issues.

The Cons of Grain-free dog food 

Regular dog foods include a balanced amount of grains in them. This provides complex carbohydrates that digest slowly and release energy throughout the day. Grains are nutritious. They are loaded with vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, etc. The dogs are disallowed the benefits of grains.

Grains are also rich in fiber that binds the feces and helps in gut motility. This helps clean the digestive tract and maintain weight. Grains can delay gastric emptying; this slows down the small bowel transit time. During this time the bowels bind the toxins and bile acids that irritate the bowels. The overall process normalizes the gut motility. The slow transit of fiber also causes the animal to feel full longer which curbs the appetite.

Grains are also rich in lean protein. The gluten in the grains is a high-quality protein. Though it is not as bioavailable or intestinally absorbable as animal-sourced proteins. The high-quality whole-grain diet helps fortify other protein sources that contribute to your dog’s health. 

The combined effect of the nutrients, fibers and regular bowels sets up a healthy gut fauna. A healthy gut ensures a healthy heart, brain and immune system. This promotes healthy sleep, improves the mood and prevents auto-immune diseases and cancers. 

Some pet owners believe that a grain-free diet means a high protein or meat diet. This is not true as this dog food includes peas as a first and alternative ingredient to grains. The following ingredients may be chicken meal and fats; which is not meat.

Best Dog Food for Labradors

Grains have lower fat content than meat. A balanced diet of meat and grains helps control weight by reducing calories. 

A study by FDA informed of the deleterious effects of the grain-free diet on these fur babies. It found that the dogs fed on lentils, peas, potatoes, and legumes had higher chances of suffering from Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy. 

Regardless of the pros and cons of grain-free dog food your dog deserves a balanced diet. As one size does not fit all it is recommended that you formulate a diet that supports your pet’s needs. The factors to consider would be the pet’s activity level, age, size, health issues, etc.

You may not need to include grains. But it is always wise to consult with your veterinarian to personalize your pet’s food.

What Are the Nutritional Requirements of a Dog?

Before we discuss the best dog food for Labradors let us learn more about dogs as a genus and species. This will give you an insight into their anatomy and physiology. Which in turn will give you an idea of what kind of food is best for them?

Like all living beings, dogs of any breed require carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, vitamins, and water. These food groups are broken down in the body to build muscles, bones, blood, etc. They are required to carry out various physiological functions in the body. 

The need for these components may vary in different stages of the canine’s life. For example, a puppy and adolescent may require more calcium for growing bones. A well-balanced diet is vital for the overall health and wellbeing of your Labradors. 

Dogs belong to the taxonomical Order Carnivora. Some animals in this order are Obligates or true carnivores. For example, with cats; meat is an absolute dietary requirement. But humans and dogs are Omnivores. This means that the dentition (the teeth structure) and intestines have become adapted to an omnivorous diet. 

Their nutritional requirements are met through a plant and animal-based diet. The source of the nutrient groups is less important compared to the digestibility and quality. In other words, if Labradors are fed a balanced vegetarian diet they will thrive.

Types of Best Dog Food for Labradors

We have enlisted the various types of dog foods available in the market. 

Dry Food aka Kibble is a combination of raw ingredients that are cooked, ground and blended. The homogenized mixture is extruded into bite-size pellets. Besides meeting nutritional needs kibble has dental benefits.

Chewing kibble scraps off plaque and tartar off your pet’s teeth. Besides, if your dog has specific dietary requirements you will find a great variety of kibble available in the market.

Wet food comes in pouches and cans. Wet foods contain 87% moisture while dry foods only 10%. They also have a higher percentage of fats and proteins besides higher amounts of calories and flavour. Beware of the ingredients used to bind and thicken the food besides other additives such as colours, preservatives, etc.  Wet foods have a short shelf life and are meant as supplements. 

Prescription foods cover specific dietary requirements to mitigate a health problem. They are not regular food for Labradors. 

Freeze-dried foods are frozen and then the moisture is removed by desiccation. The resulting product retains the nutritional integrity. This food can be cooked or raw and requires rehydration. They are flavorful, carry high nutritional value and do not contain artificial preservatives.

Human-grade dog foods contain ingredients fit for human consumption. 

Dehydrated foods are the dry feed that requires rehydration to restore the food to the original state. No preservatives are used thus it is safe and healthy. 

Frozen fresh foods are closest to the natural dog diet. They may be cooked or raw, frozen or refrigerated. They are usually high-quality foods where nutritional integrity is not compromised.  

The other diets you will find on the pet food aisle are flax-free, gluten-free, GMO-free, grain-free, high protein, limited ingredient, low glycemic, low protein and organic.

How to Choose the Best Dog Food for Labradors? 

The best advice is to feed the Labrador with the highest quality food within your budget. You cannot see the difference between premium dog food and budget dog food by reading the label. The difference is in the source of the ingredients in the packet. The two dog foods – premium and budget – may contain 27% of proteins but the difference is in the digestibility. 

The ingredients in pet food are listed by the order of weight. Each ingredient is weighed and added to the batch of food. Some ingredients such as fresh meat have lots of water. This water is lost during processing. Another point to be noted is if, in a dry diet, corn is enlisted as the first ingredient. It will be superior quality corn. 

To complicate the matters further some nutrients are listed maximum percentage while the others as a minimum. This means that the batch may contain a lower or higher percentage of a certain ingredient than printed on the label. In conclusion, instead of vacillating and worrying the best solution is to ask your veterinarian.

Nevertheless, here are a few tips to decide the best dog food for Labradors.

Pick a dog food with recognizable, real ingredients comprising of whole foods. For example – Turkey, sweet potato and cranberries mix. Here the first ingredient is meat and it is grain-free.

Pick a low-calorie diet as most neutered, spayed, indoor and adult Labradors have low energy requirements. Ideally, the cup should contain less than 350 calories.

You also have to remember you hand out treats to your fur baby which might pack on pounds leading to health problems.