# Grain free food



## Jaime (Oct 8, 2012)

There are so many now to choose from. Are you looking for wet or dry? It's confusing to navigate and it can get very pricey. Quality food is very important though so I guess you need to figure out what you're willing to spend. When we got our new puppy recently, I did a ton of research (and drove myself crazy). We bought Fromm for our last golden so originally I was just going to use that again. WOW - price went up almost $15/bag in two years! Dog Food Advisor has a great five-star list. I read the reviews (customer) more than anything. I'm currently blending food for our Gracie who will be six months in April. I'm using Annamaet (not grain-free but breeder recommended it to at least start off with) and Kirklands Nature's Domain Salmon and Sweet Potato. The Kirkland's is grain free and very reasonably priced however I think we will be switching after this bag. We also give her Castor and Pollux Organix wet food which is also grain free - very happy with that. We're trying to go as organic or GMO free as possible in our home... puppy included. So my search will start all over. Good Luck!


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## goldy1 (Aug 5, 2012)

There are lots of good ones out there. Even among the quality foods, you will need to try them out (transition over slowly) to see which agrees best with your dog.

For dry kibble, I've used Innova Evo, Wellness Core, and Merrick. The 2 that agree best for Chance are Wellness Core Original Formula and Merrick Texas Beef and Sweet Potato.

Whole Dog Journal does a review of both canned and dry foods - worth a look.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

We have been using Acana Wild Prairie for about two years.


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## MyBentley (May 5, 2009)

You might want to take a look at the Canidae Grain Free Pure formulas. There are four different ones and they're moderate in protein and fat percentages unlike Natural Balance which is low and EVO which is high.

Grain Free Dog Food - Premium Dog Food | CANIDAE


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## Pwio (Mar 19, 2014)

We were feeding our golden puppy Eukanuba Large Breed Dry Puppy Food for the first 9 months of his life. We had always noticed him scratching more often than other dogs that we knew, so after talking to some friends, we decided to try a grain free food to see if it would help. We gradually switched him over to Canidae and the frequency of his scratching has drastically declined.


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## mmacleod75 (Apr 7, 2012)

Keltey has been on Acana Grasslands for almost 2 years with no issue. With Wild Prairie, her stool was a bit soft, but Grasslands has been great. Lots of energy, lean, nice coat, recent blood work was great. I'm sure others will have similar results with other brands, as there seems to be lots of good options.


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## dogloverforlife (Feb 17, 2013)

Fromm, Annamaet, Nutrisource, Earthborn.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## goldenca (Jan 31, 2011)

We mix Acana Grasslands with Acana Ranchlands. Her coat is great and energy fine. Both are grain free. The store ran out of Ranchlands so we are trying Acana Wild Prarie....but she likes the other 2 better.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

Its so hard to know what causes scratching though....we switched brooks very gradually over to a grain free food and noticed all sorts of scratching and hot spots.....but was it the food or the time of year (spring and all sorts of pollen and ticks).
Its so hard to know.


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## GoldensGirl (Aug 2, 2010)

Welcome to the Forum!

Joker and Sunny have fewer ear and skin problems on a grain-free diet. However, watch out for the starch used in lieu of grain. Many of them contain sweet potatoes, which are very high in oxalates and thus contribute to forming calcium oxalate kidney and/or bladder stones. Potatoes, spinach, and beets are also very high in oxalates. If you decide to use one of the foods, you might consider using a veterinary probiotic with strains that consume oxalates. 

My Joker recently had surgery to remove bladder stones, so I am probably especially sensitized on this point. After much research, we have switched Joker to Orijen Senior, which is grain free and low starch, using peas as the primary starch.


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## Cowtown (Sep 23, 2009)

I'd recommend Earthborn, Dr. Tim's or Farmina.


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## brendadavis44 (May 6, 2014)

We use taste of the wild grain free puppy/ salmon


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## Melfice (Aug 4, 2012)

GoldensGirl said:


> Welcome to the Forum!
> 
> Joker and Sunny have fewer ear and skin problems on a grain-free diet. However, watch out for the starch used in lieu of grain. Many of them contain sweet potatoes, which are very high in oxalates and thus contribute to forming calcium oxalate kidney and/or bladder stones. Potatoes, spinach, and beets are also very high in oxalates. If you decide to use one of the foods, you might consider using a veterinary probiotic with strains that consume oxalates.
> 
> My Joker recently had surgery to remove bladder stones, so I am probably especially sensitized on this point. After much research, we have switched Joker to Orijen Senior, which is grain free and low starch, using peas as the primary starch.


Interesting info, and I give sweet potatoes (raw) to my pups as treats. They love it, and even know what time of day for them. 

For Grain-Free food I like Fromm's new Lamb & Lentil Recipe. It has no potatoes, and I like feeding them Farmina Natural & Delicious Wild Boar Grain-Free Formula as well (very good food btw)...even tho Farmina does have potatoes in their formula, its a very meat heavy dog food.

Also, I feed my pups Orijen Regional Red (Six Fish too) which has no potatoes in it...so most of their food is heavy meat based, and I like to keep them happy with a good rotation of foods too.


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## Rob S. (Feb 2, 2014)

Farmina N&D is what I am using. Both the Ancestral Grain line and Grain-Free line are low carbohydrate foods without peas, lentils, chickpeas and canola oil and have more meat content than any other food out there. The protein choices are great, Boar, Chicken, Lamb, Cod & Herring and really great kibble size not like the confetti that is becoming the norm.


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## Keragold (May 9, 2008)

*Give Petcurean a try*

Have a look at NOW FRESH by Petcurean. Uses 100% Fresh Meat and oils including coconut oil. 
Dry Dog Food | Petcurean NOW FRESH Grain Free Dry Dog Food

Alternatively if you want something potato free and grain free, have a look at Petcurean's GO! Sensitivity + Shine Turkey recipe.
Food for Dogs with Allergies | Petcurean GO! Sensitivity + Shine
I've had three of my boys on the Turkey for over a year and they look spectacular! My fourth little senior citizen JRT is on NOW FRESH Senior formula for the coconut oil. He had pancreatitis but has had no attacks for two years now since he has been on the NOW.


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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

I notice a lot of people are using Farmina for their dogs. I've checked it out and think I'm going to add it to my rotation of kibble. Right now I'm using Earthborne and mixing it in with Grandma Lucy's dehydrated (no potato or grain).


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## murphy1 (Jun 21, 2012)

Acana has four different flavors of grain free food. Murphy has done wonderful on Acana. He's had Pacifica (fish) and Ranchland (bison/beef).


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## siulongluiy (Apr 25, 2012)

I do a rotation of the Acana Grain Free line and the Fromm Grain Free line.

Oatmeal loves them both, but I do notice a difference in stool sizes for both kibbles!


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

I've been giving Tucker Diamond's new line of grain-free foods. He's done very well on them.


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## goldlover68 (Jun 17, 2013)

As you can see, this topic has lots of information and comments. My answer is it depends what food you use based on two factors...1. What you dog loves to eat. 2. What special needs your dog has (Competitive Dog, Age, Allergies, Other health concerns, etc.)

Check out this site, it has helped us with our dogs for some time in finding and ordering foods to meet their individual needs, Good Luck 

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/


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## bemyangell (Mar 4, 2007)

Our pups are on Annemaet. They seem to do well on it.


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## GoldensGirl (Aug 2, 2010)

We are trying a new grain free food for Joker, who needs a diet low in oxalates to help prevent formation of calcium oxalate bladder stones. The current one is the fish formula from the Horizon Pulsar line, which uses peas and red lentils for the starches. The food has a low glycemic index, which should help with weight control and making his urine less acid. :crossfing


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## English Gracie (Aug 6, 2013)

We have had great luck with Diamond Chicken and Sweet Potato and just recently switched over to Halo. I would recommend both.


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