Grain Free vs Healthy Grain

[John Caulfield]

Hello All,

We are fairly new here and still waiting to get our 2 doodles (9 days!).

Can someone fill me in on the grain free vs Healthy grains dog food? We will definately be feeding our dogs one of the products from the recommended list once we can transistion from the food they are currently on at the breeders.

Is it important for doodles to have grain free food? I am not sure why this is important.

Thank you,

[Katie, John & Parker pup]

I don't know about all of the logistics of the grain free vs. healthy grains but for me it was what ended up being best for Parker. I went through the recommended food list on here and started him on a healthy grains dry food and for some reason, we couldn't get Parker's "poops" to be healthy and normal, to the point where the vet was checking him for health problems...when I switched him to the grain free dry food, his poops were perfect and he has been healthy ever since! We feed him the Blue Buffalo Wilderness dry food which is the grain free formula...it comes in a few flavors for adult food as well and he loves all of them! I recommend just seeing how your doodles do with the food before you make any final decisions. Hope it goes well! Good luck with your doodle babies when they come home!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's a past discussion on this question that may help:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/why-gra...

There are as many different schools of thought about what to feed your dog as there are dog foods available, and there is really no one method or philosophy that is best for every single dog.

On the one extreme, we have people who believe that pet dogs should be fed like wolves out in the wild- throw them a hunk of raw meat and bone. On the other extreme, we have people who think the cheapest junk filled with corn and by-products from Walmart is fine. Even the professionals themselves disagree as to how much of which macronutrients, and in what form, make the best diets for pet dogs.

Some dogs do better without grain in their diets, and some do better which a reasonable amount of healthy grain. Grain should not make up the bulk of a dog's diet, of that we can be pretty certain. After that, it depends on your dog's eating habits, (picky? chowhound?) digestive issues, other medical problems, as well as your budget.

Do not make any changes in your dog's diet for at least two weeks, no matter what the breeder is feeding. After that, go slow.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

What is best for one pup, might not be the best for another.  First bit of advice is to not change anything when they come home. Keep them on what the breeder sends them home with for a few weeks so they can get adjusted to their surroundings. 

In my case, I switched Peri gradually (around 12 weeks I think) to Taste of the Wild (grain-free). After a few months, she really wasn't doing well on it (runny poos, etc...), so I decided to try a good food with grains (Fromm).  Also, with grain-free, you usually feed less because the nutrition is densely packed in (grains add more "fluff" but that's why it's important to choose HEALTHY grains!).  My Peri is a food hog and grains allow her to eat slightly more (serving suggestion larger).  In OUR situation, grains work well.  In others, their dog does better with grain-free.  It really comes down to personal choice - just go with something off of our list.

Do you know what the breeder is feeding your pups?

[John Caulfield]

The breeder said the were feeding Purina.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Which has grains.  You can really switch to anything you want. It's up to you.  I am going out on a limb and saying that the most popular foods fed may be Fromm 4 Star line (6 different proteins to choose from, they have grains) or Orijen (grain-free). 

Honestly, you can't go wrong with the brands we have on our recommended list.  I am a huge fan of Fromm if you want to feed with grains - there are so many flavors. We rotate each time we buy a new bag. Last month it was pork & applesauce, now we are onto salmon. Next month probably duck & sweet potato.  And they don't mess up the tummy because the basic formulas are all the same (except protein).  Just my two cents, but again, all the foods on the list are good, high quality foods!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'd say Fromm would be a good choice...again, after a few weeks. There are lots of Purina formulas, but none of them are good and all contain grains, to my knowledge. I think a transition to a healthy grain formula might be easier for young pups coming off Purina.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I agree.  But if someone is gung-ho grain-free, might as well start with that in the beginning once the pup is ready to transtion.

It doesn't seem like you care too much John, so go with grains.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree with you as well, lol.

It's probably best to wait and see what the pups eating habits and digestions are like before even making a decision. Doing the research first is a good idea, though!

[Katie and Sophie]

We ended up with two dogs that don't handle grain very well.  Our Aussiedoodle Sophie just doesn't process it well and our Weimaraner Jade has a full-blown allergy to it.  Taste of the Wild is working really well for us.  We also give them fruits and veggies as treats, and add some dairy into their diet (like plain yoghurt and cottage cheese).  I have no issue at all with high quality healthy grain food, it just doesn't work for our girls!  It all comes down to what food your dog handles well, and that is going to be different for every dog.