Gluten Free Diet For Dogs

I And You And Love Nude Food

With a very unique name that symbolizes the bond between pet and owner, I and You and Love Nude Food has three dry dog food recipes available: Simply Sea, Poultry Palooza, Red Meat Medley.

The first three ingredients in their Red Meat Medley food are pork, lamb meal, and herring meal. For those looking to move their dog to a more animal-based protein diet this dog food certainly packs a powerful protein punch. The protein percentage for this dog food comes in high at 39%. They also boast that their food includes digestive enzymes to help dogs with already sensitive gastrointestinal tracts. Since their food is dehydrated, you will need to add water to the dog food before feeding your pet. You can add less or more water to suit your pets preference.

Dog Foods That Are Gluten Free

that may be a good fit for you and your dog. These brands include Taste of the Wild, Rachael Ray Nutrish, Diamond Pet Foods, Blue Buffalo and Hills Ideal Balance.

Make sure to read the ingredients to check for components that may contain gluten, especially wheat and barley, since regulations for animal food are lacking in this area, Falini said.

Why Is There A Trend To Feed Dogs Grain

As with their own overall health and wellness, pet parents are now more aware of the importance and impact nutrition plays in our dogs overall wellbeing, and thats a GREAT thing! We are our dogs only advocates, and ensuring they are fed the best diet will certainly help them live long, healthy, and happy lives!

Home-cooked, whole food nutrition, and raw dog food diets are popular for our dogs now more than ever before. All-natural diets with no artificial additives and preservatives are becoming increasingly important when pet parents choose the diets to feed their dogs, and these types of diets can definitely be healthy and fulfilling for our dogs!

However, many pet parents have come to believe that what is healthy for us as humans is also healthy for our dogs. While pets have adapted to eating human food-based diets through hundreds and even thousands of years of living with humans, we should not necessarily make the same nutritional choices for our pets that we make for ourselves.

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Understanding The Gluten Free Dog Food Diet

Many people new to the raw dog food diet or even those new to home cooked meals for their dogs wonder what it is we have against gluten.

It is often misconceived that those of us who believe in raw or home-cooked feeding hate gluten.

This is not at all the case.

There are two reasons behind the promotion of gluten free dog food or a gluten free diet for dogs.

Before discussing both reasons, it is important to understand what gluten is.

Gluten comes from grains, such as barley, wheat, and rye.

Grains are a source of carbohydrates, which dogs need.

They also contain protein.

Because of these properties, grains, especially wheat gluten, are often used as an ingredients in packaged dog food.

Wheat gluten can act as a binder for certain dog foods.

For example, it helps keep dog biscuits and kibble from breaking.

It can also stimulate some of the wet dog foods.

Now that we understand what gluten is, its time to see why it must be approached with caution.

The first reason behind the promotion of gluten free dog food is because contaminated gluten is one of the ingredients that caused the thousands of deaths related to the dog food recalls between 2006-2008.

Since these recalls, gluten in pet food has been scrutinized, and it has been debated whether it is necessary for pets at all.

This debate is related to the second reason behind the promotion of a gluten free dog food diet, which is the discovery that like humans, dogs can have gluten allergies like Celiac disease.

Earthborn Grain Free Holistic Primitive Natural

Midwestern Pet Foods in Indiana owns and makes Earthborn, along with Pro Pac, Pro Pac Ultimates, and Sportmix pet foods. Earthborn makes several very good product lines: Venture , Holistic, and Grain Free Holistic. Their Coastal Catch and Primitive Natural formulas are both very popular. Primitive Natural has no grain or gluten and its high in protein. It also has blueberries, cranberries and other antioxidants L-carnitine for lean muscles a good balance of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids and its easy for dogs to digest. The first five ingredients are: turkey meal, chicken meal, potatoes, chicken fat , and whitefish meal. Primitive Natural has 38 percent crude protein, 20 percent crude fat with only 17.5 percent carbs . It has 445 kcal/cup. This is an all life stage food. Earthborn also has several excellent puppy foods and foods for small breeds, large breeds, and weight control foods. We are happy to recommend their foods.

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Food Allergies & Intolerances

Dogs may develop allergies and intolerances to certain grains and a gluten allergy in dogs can cause many symptoms. Dog gluten allergysymptoms include excessive licking, itchiness, ear infections and an unhealthy skin and coat. Signs of dog allergies also include brownish discolored fur on dogs paws and around their eyes.

Skin And Ear Problems In Dogs With Food Allergies

Skin problems are common in dogs with food allergies. At first glance, this seems kind of odd, but it makes more sense when you think about how people react to food allergies.

Dogs with unchecked food allergies may also have trouble with their ears.

Some of the most common health issues associated with legitimate dog food allergies are:

• Chronic itchiness

Similar symptoms may be caused by environmental allergies to triggers like pollen, mold, and house mites, but these, at least to start with, are often seasonal.

For this reason, its important to track whether your dogs symptoms ebb and flow with the changing of the seasons.

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How Do I Know If My Dog Is Allergic To Gluten

Currently, there are two tests for diagnosing a gluten allergy in dogs. The most effective is a bit scary and is called an intestinal biopsy. Basically, the vet will use a specialized tool to grab a small piece of the dogs intestine and, after reviewing that sample under a microscope, they identify the nature of any irritation. The next test is slightly less effective but less invasive. Your vet may also perform a blood test on your dog, and while the blood test is less invasive, it is also less reliable than the biopsy. Of course, the other alternative is to just not bother with gluten at all, and just give your pup gluten-free dog food and see if their condition improves.

Brothers Complete Advanced Allergy Care

Brothers Complete Advanced Allergy Care has several different product lines each containing a meat meal and eggs. With the first ingredient being meat meal and the second ingredient being dried whole eggs there is a significant amount of protein in this food. However, it should also be noted that the food contains vegetable pomace and cranberry pomace. Although they are gluten-free ingredients some would suggest that they are unnecessary fillers being used to bulk up the dog food. An important thing to note when considering these fillers is where they are listed on the ingredient list. The lower they are listed the less concerning it is to have added fillers. In this particular dog food, the vegetable pomace and cranberry pomace are listed at 27th and 28th respectively which is quite low compared to other brands.

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Treatment Of Gluten Allergies In Dogs

The symptoms your dog is experiencing will determine his course of treatment. If your dog is experiencing any type of dehydration due to the diarrhea and poor body condition, fluids will be started. If your dog has itchy skin, the veterinarian may recommend a bath with mild shampoo to offer him some relief. If your dog has an ear infection, the veterinarian may prescribe an ear cleaner and medication to be used per her instructions.

In regards to the poor body condition and diarrhea, as soon as you remove gluten from your dogs diet, he should begin to gain weight and his stools should return to normal. The veterinarian may recommend a specific food to start with to get his nutrient levels and vitamin levels up to a healthy range. She may also put him on diet supplementation for a while to give his body the extra help and nutrients it needs.

Should My Dog Eat Gluten

As more and more people are ditching gluten and grains when cooking their own meals, a lot are also switching their dogs to a gluten-free / grain-free diet. Despite the rise in popularity, there are still many who dont know what the two terms mean or how they differ. Keeping it very simple, lets take a quick look at these dietary choices:

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What Is The Difference Between Celiac And Gluten Intolerance

Celiac disease and gluten intolerance are not the same things, although they do share very similar symptoms. Serious stomach aches, bloating and diarrhoea are some of the most common signs of both.

Celiac is an autoimmune disease. In humans, this is when the bodys immune system attacks its own healthy tissue. The body’s immune system attacks substances found inside gluten as a threat to the body and destroys them, leaving behind damage to the small intestine.

This inflammation can compromise the absorption of nutrients from food into the bloodstream, leading to anaemia and an increased risk of cancer and other chronic diseases. in which the protein element of a carbohydrate.

Gluten Free Dog Food: Should Dogs Eat Gluten

Weve talked about whether or not your dog should be on a grain-free diet, but what about gluten-free? Is there a difference between gluten and grain? Should dogs eat gluten? CAN they eat it? The simple truth is that many people dont even know how to answer these questions about what THEY eat.

When it comes to dogs and glutenit depends. Like people, dogs have different tolerances for certain foods depending on their health and even their breed. The goal is to find a balanced diet that provides your furry pal with the nutrients they need to be healthy.

To understand what this takes and if gluten plays a role in it, lets break down the relationship between gluten and your pups diet.

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If I Have Celiac Does My Dog Require Gluten

At the 2013 International Celiac Disease Symposium, Melinda Dennis, Nutrition Coordinator at the Celiac Center of Beth Israel, made a presentation on possible sources of gluten exposure for people with celiac. While she spoke about well-known contaminants such as crumbs in condiment jars and nutritional supplements, she also spent time focusing on pet food. She explained that if your dog kisses you on the mouth after eating or if you give your dog treats and put your hands in your mouth without remembering to wash first, you can be exposed to gluten.

For people with celiac and gluten intolerance, a gluten-free lifestyle means more than just the food we put into our bodies. It can mean changing our toothpastes, makeup and hair products, as well as not sharing cutting boards, cooking utensils, toasters, dips and condiments with our families and roommates. It may just be that since we share a household with our pets as well, if their food contains gluten it has the potential to contaminate our surroundings and lead to us accidentally ingesting gluten.

Gluten Free Dog Food Not All Pets Can Digest Wheat Protein

Home » Gluten Free Dog Food Not All Pets Can Digest Wheat Protein

The use of gluten in pet food has been a subject of great controversy since the massive commercial food recalls in early 2007 due to contamination from melamine. Thousands of animals became sick and many died from the invisible toxin, bringing the use of gluten to the forefront of concerned pet owners. Questions about whether pet food should contain gluten and whether is it causing more harm then good have caused heated debates amongst the pet owning public! Many professionals as well as the average pet owner are beginning to wonder whether gluten free dog food would be preferable.

What is Gluten?

Gluten is a unique blend of two proteins, gliadin and glutenin found in wheat, rye, and barley. It is conjoined with the starch molecules and is insoluble in water but can be removed or separated from the grain, making wheat starch. In many countries, gluten is an important source of protein and is often added to other foods that are low in nutritional protein.

On a less academic level, gluten is what gives bread the elastic, kneadable texture and gives bagels their chewy texture.

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Treating Food Allergies In Dogs

The only effective way to treat a food allergy in dogs is to change their diet.

While grain-free foods are often touted as good for food allergies, science tells us that protein sources are more likely to be the culprit. According to a study published in 2016, the top three most common causes of food allergies in dogs are beef, dairy, and chicken.

What Is Gluten Free Dog Food

Gluten is the protein part of carbohydrates. It is found in grains but not all grains. Only cereal grains. You can think of gluten as the gluey stuff that holds a dough or batter together when you mix flour or make a cake. Even if you just mix some wheat flour and water together, you will get a paste like glue. Thats because of the gluten in the flour. If you try to mix a non-gluten flour with water , it wont make the same kind of paste or stick together the same way.

These grains contain gluten:

• Barley
• Rye

*Wheat can have other derivative species known by different names such as spelt. These other species also contain gluten.

Non-gluten grains include:

• Oats *
• Buckwheat

*People with celiac disease are often advised to avoid eating oats because they can be cross-contaminated with wheat or other cereal grains. You probably dont need to be this picky with oats in dog food.

You may see the term corn gluten meal or rice gluten on a dog food label, but this is food industry jargon. These foods do not contain gluten the way that wheat or barley do.

Note that although corn is often blamed for many food-related problems with dogs, it does not contain gluten. In fact, dogs are more likely to be allergic or food-sensitive to many other things than corn: beef, dairy, wheat, egg, chicken, lamb, soy, pork, rabbit, and fish can all be food allergens for dogs before corn.

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