# Benefits of Grain Free diet?



## spindledreams (Aug 7, 2012)

TOW has a very good reputation unlike some the vets can and do push. The grain free foods lower or eliminate some of the carbs from the dogs diet and can eliminate some allergens. Many folks are finding that they seem to help with yeast infections in poodle ears and to stop the itchies. I know for my old mixie she seems to be in much better health over all and no longer scratches as much since we started her on a grain free diet at our vets recommendation. Last month DH grabbed the wrong food and she is back to scratching sigh so when I get paid we will be grabbing more of the grain free she has been on for a bit over a year now.


----------



## Caniche (Jun 10, 2013)

I know Cash's coat has never been better since I switched to grain free for him. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Constance (Jun 4, 2013)

Caniche said:


> I know Cash's coat has never been better since I switched to grain free for him.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


thank you both! good to know. The breeder said just to leave food out which we do and Coco just goes and eats when she wants to. she doesn't bolt her food at all but eats bites throughout the day. My sister, on the other hand, feeds her (many) dogs twice a day and I think they gobble it down.


----------



## treehugr55 (Oct 4, 2013)

Mine love Taste of the Wild too, the fowl flavor in particular. I did notice a decrease in the itchies with Clyde, and if you google "grain free benefits" I'm sure you'll get a whole slew of other resources that will tell you the kind of health benefits it claims to have. I figured it was worth a try, and it seems to have helped him. It hasn't had much of an effect on Bonnie's eye discharge though, I was hoping it would help a wee bit. But perhaps that takes longer to remedy itself, or it's something unrelated to diet. She hasn't had another ear infection since she switched, so I'll take that as a good sign too . 

Did you speak to your vet about the feeding schedule? I've always been told free feeding like that can lead to serious weight gain. But I guess it could depend on the dog.


----------



## Constance (Jun 4, 2013)

I told the vet I left the food out. he said that's fine if she doesn't gobble. She rarely empties the bowl.Infact, I wish she would eat a little more


----------



## SilverSpoo (Jan 15, 2014)

Grain free works for some very well, and for some it doesn't - like every food. It is definitely worth a try to eliminate different things from the diet. Lamb was also a good choice to try, rather than the standard chicken/turkey.

Just note that it may be much higher in calories than what you are currently feeding, so she may need to eat a much smaller amount to get her daily intake. If you are free feeding you should still be measuring out her daily amount by the bags guidelines in the morning and not refilling the bowl until the next morning.


----------



## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

I just switched to grain free because of yeast problems. Rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc are converted to sugar. Sugar feeds yeast. Get rid of the sugar, starve the yeast. Lets hope it works.


----------



## treehugr55 (Oct 4, 2013)

SilverSpoo-- interesting that you mention following the bag's guidelines-- my vet told me the exact opposite! He said that many companies will give inflated amounts for a particular weight class (like 1-3 cups for dogs under 25 pounds). And he said that they tend to inflate the amounts on the bags in an effort to get you to buy more frequently. I went by the bag guidelines on Fromm's for a while and Clyde went from 15 to 20 pounds within a month!! We've since switched to Taste of the Wild, like I said, but the calorie content between the two are similar. 

Our vet did give me a good guideline, if we notice unhealthy weight gain then the food should be cut by 1/4. We've followed that advice and his weight is stable at a healthy 17 pounds now. He's not a puppy and he will eat everything in sight, so it's probably different depending on life stage and the dog's eating habits.


----------

