Grain Free Foods.

[Guest AbbyH]

Two girls that are two years old.

 

We just switched to a Victor Active Grain Free food because of our two greys having digestive problems. They are doing greyt on this food and their digestive problems (that I've posted about in the health forum) have corrected. I'm just concerned about the 33% protein in this food. I am concerned that that much protein will cause undue stress on their kidneys.

 

I'm now considering another food called 4health that is grain free and 28% protein.

 

Here is the ingredients list:

Turkey, Turkey Meal, Whole Potato, Poultry Meal, Dried Peas, Tapioca, Pea Protein, Poultry Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Whole Flaxseed, Natural Flavor, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Choline Chloride, Manganese Proteinate, L-Carnitine, Copper Proteinate, Niacin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Folic Acid..

 

This food is $38 for 30 lbs. We just can't afford the likes of Blue Buffalo.

 

Any opinions of this food?

 

Edit: I just found that this food is made by Diamond which uses some Chinese ingredients. Maybe a cause for concern?

Edited October 19, 2014 by AbbyH

[JohnF]

Protein comes from different sources and some are harder to digest than others.

This little article may help.

 

Known additives to dog food from China? My default position is to reject it and try something made from local ingredients.

[Hubcitypam]

Look into Pure Balance salmon and pea or bison. Amazingly good food for the price. I believe Petsmart has a grain free version of their house brand Authority, but I'm not positive.

[BellaBean]

Victor is a great food and if your dogs are doing well on it then I wouldn't switch. Like the above mentioned article, it's all about the quality of the protein.

[RedHead]

As far as I know, there is no current research that shows that higher protein will cause kidney problems in a healthy dog (it does affect dogs who already have later stage kidney problems). The early studies on protein were done using rats, not dogs, which is why there is more controversy and disagreement with protein levels now. The newer studies (done on dogs, not rodents) have actually shown that high protein benefits dogs, particularly senior dogs. If your dogs are having success with Victor, I personally see no reason to switch simply because of the protein. The "lower" protein grain free foods are usually made up of mostly potato/pea starches which defeats the purpose of wanting to feed a lower carb diet.

 

With the exception of Acana/Orijien, I don't think there is any dog food out there that does not source some ingredients from China. Unfortunately, it is just something you can't get away from with commercial foods.

 

 

[Guest sireltonsmom]

My MINDY has early kidney disease. I switched her to Rachel Ray grain free lamb. The vet said not to get beef or chicken. It's 18% protein. Also, IAMS green bag is good for bad poos. Good luck.