Grain free food

[Christine Lavallee]

Any advise? I was told to put my 85 pound goldendoodle on a grain free food to help his dry coat, but I don't want too high of a protein, I would not consider him high active or a working dog, So any opinions on Taste of the wild or Wellness Core?

[Trowby]

We use Merricks BG - Before Grain food. It's medium protein as is Taste of the Wild. Sage is a finicky eater so I've started mixing in a little bit of grain free canned food to the BG kibble. She goes right for it then.

Trowby

[Christine Lavallee]

I have not looked into to this one, thanks. Your doodle is adorable!

[Adina P]

Have you checked out our Food Group? Might be a great question to post there =)
If there is another carbohydrate to take the place of grain (potato? sweet potato) it shouldn't change the protein if it is provided in comparable amount to the grain removed. But I feed food with grain so never really looked into it.

[Tom Higgins]

We feed our boys Evo, which is grain free, and they love it. Never tried Tast of the Wild. Wellness was good, but they like the Evo much better.

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

We feed Natural Balance (Duck/Potato or Fish/Sweet Potato) and have had good success with it. I do not have experience on the 2 you asked about.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Hi Christine:
We have a very large and active discussion on commercial food recommendations as well as lots of information on various foods in The Food Group. Please join us! We started the group because so many people have these types of questions, we thought it would be helpful to put it all in one place!
I am wondering who told you that a grain-free food would help your doodles' coat? A fatty acid supplement would be a better suggestion. There is a lot of well-meaning but incorrect information and advice out there about dry coats, itching, etc., relating to food allergies, grains,etc. If you got this suggestion from people on forums, with all due respect to those involved, you may want to do a little research based on facts instead. We also have a lot of information on these issues in some of the Food Group discussions, as well. Hope to see you there!

[TrevorDoodle]

A good quality food does certainly help but I would also recommend what Karen said: "A fatty acid supplement would be a better suggestion." I supplement my doodle's food with salmon oil everyday and I really think that is what makes his coat so soft.

[Christine Lavallee]

Trevor is gorgeous! I am trying my Baxter on Taste of the Wild and ordering some some fish oil to add to his food, its worth a try! I never thought feeding him the wrong food would dry his coat so bad, but it did.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

TOTW is considered a good quality food, from what I have heard from other Food Group members, and the fish oil supplements will also help.
Regarding "grain" in the foods, keep in mind that not all grains are created equal. The ones you want to avoid (in kibble) are wheat and corn; brown rice, barley, or oatmeal are included in many of the higher quality foods, and are fine.
Good luck, and please check out the FG for lots more info.

[Christine Lavallee]

Thank you so much the help, I will check out the food group!