Photo Credit: American Kennel Club
A dog’s diet isn’t the same as a human’s.
There are many foods that we should all avoid feeding our four-legged best friend. We never want to see them get sick over something that could have been prevented. Grains have recently been added to the list of foods that dogs should not be consuming. But, perhaps we may have jumped the gun on that.
Grain-free dog food now constitutes almost half of the dog food market in the United States. It is interesting to note that during this shift in dog food, we also saw a shift in human beings’ diets as gluten-free and low-carbohydrate diets became all the rage.
However, it is now being reported that leaving grains out of your dog’s diet might be a greater risk than keeping it in. Not having grain has been linked to giving dogs a life-threatening heart problem called dilated cardiomyopathy. And, on top of that, there has been little to no research done that would suggest that grain-free diets have been positive for dogs.
People tend to connect their human food limitations to their dogs. An interesting study showed that in the early 2010s, fewer than 1% of Americans had celiac’s disease. But, as celiac’s disease became increasingly discussed and studied, almost 30% of people began reducing their gluten intake, even though gluten hasn’t been scientifically proven to be harmful to most people.
When information gets out there about something, people tend to latch onto it. It was reported that grains were bad for dogs and most dog foods changed their diet plans to be grain free. All of this was done with very little research.
When in doubt, talk to your local veterinarian about this topic. They may suggest the most expensive dog food to buy, which you should reconsider, but at least see what their opinion is on grains and make your own decision moving forward.
