Best Grain-Free Dog Food - Pet Food Reviewer (2023)

The rise of grain-free dog food

For decades, grain ingredients were a staple of the dog food industry, and there was little or no resistance to their use. However, about twenty years ago, many smaller dog food brands began promoting the ideagrain free dog food.

Instead of using grain ingredients, these brands have opted to use alternative carbohydrate ingredients like peas, lentils and potatoes.

They theorized that this was more like a dog's "natural" diet and that the grains had a detrimental effect on the dog's health.

While this trend was small at first, nearly all major dog food brands now make some form of grain-free food, and many have incorporated it into their core product lines.

Why some dog owners disagree with grain-free dog food

Many believe that grain-free food is a fad and a marketing tool used by dog ​​food brands. Based on our research, there is no conclusive evidence that grain ingredients such as rice or corn have a negative impact on a dog's health.

Grain ingredients are a reliable source of nutrition for dogs and can provide a mix of carbohydrates, plant proteins, fiber and select vitamins and minerals.

As previously mentioned, most grain-free dog foods contain ingredients like peas, lentils, and potatoes.

However, some of the dog food brands that offer grain-free foods have chosen to use vegetable by-products instead of whole vegetables as an alternative to grains.

These ingredients are widely considered a bad addition to a dog's diet and their use is ironic.

Learn more about these ingredients in our articlesPeas, pea protein, pea flour and pea fiber in dog food&.

This extensive use of legumes, potatoes and vegetable by-products has been brought to light by the recent discovery of a link between their extensive use in dog food and an increased rate of heart disease in dogs.

This call is of concern and is being investigated by the relevant authorities.

Read more about this link in our articleBest dog food without peas.

Finally, most dog owners who are strongly opposed to grain-free dog food are users and advocates of "big" pet food brands like Purina,Hills Scientific Diet, zRoyal Canin.

Supporters of these fans will point out the extensive testing and research behind their products.

While these brands offer some grain-free products, their core lines contain and use a variety of grain-based ingredients.

The best grain free dog food

Victor - Hi-Pro Plus Review

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winneris a successful brand that will be presented in this article and that many of you will be familiar with. Victor is commonly available at major pet food stores as well as a variety of online retailers.

One of Victor's biggest advantages is that they sell their product line in very large quantities. This approach allows Victor to leverage economies of scale, resulting in more affordable prices, which can be attractive to large dog or multiple dog owners.

Victor makes a range of high-quality, nutrient-dense formulas that use partially grain-free ingredients like peas and legumes.

However, there are others that contain some of the most popular grain ingredients like brown rice or millet.

A notable example of such a formula is Hi-Pro Plus. It contains a wide range of meat and fish ingredients, which are strictly meat dishes. Many consumers find meat dishes intimidating, but they are actually very nutritious.

This density is due to the fact that they have been deprived of moisture (water). Where meat meal is mentioned, we consider it to be a satisfactory and high-quality intake.

Examples of meat dishes used in Hi-Pro Plus are beef meal, chicken meal, pork meal, etcMenhaden Fishmeal.

The formula uses two carbohydrate sources: sorghum and corn. The sum of carbohydrates provided by one serving of these two ingredients is modest and satisfactory for most dogs.

Price evaluation for Nom Nom Türkiye

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For a variety of foods that just didn't exist a few years ago, Fresh Home Delivered dog food is gaining popularity.

This type of dog food is drastically different from traditional dry or canned food. It is prepared in small batches from fresh ingredients, pre-portioned and then delivered straight to the customer's door.

Nom Nom, formerly NomNomNow, is one of the most popular providers of this service and is available in all 48 contiguous states.

Potential dog owners enter a number of key pieces of information during the application process, and Nom Nom then interprets that information to create a customized diet and determine the dog's nutritional needs. You can see an excerpt hereapplication processunder.

We encourage you to check yoursFAQ-Sevenfor a complete overview of how the service works.

Nom Nom currently offers four fresh dog food recipes, and one of those recipes contains grain.

The recipe uses brown rice and some unusual vegetable ingredients like carrots and spinach. This mix of ingredients shows that Nom Nom believes grains are a perfectly acceptable addition to a dog's diet.

However, brown rice and veggies aren't the only ingredients, with a large portion of turkey taking center stage.

This turkey is accompanied by a generous proportion of eggs, which are one of the most bioavailable sources of protein available and are underutilized by many dog ​​food manufacturers.

These ingredients ensure that the nutritional profile of the formula is well balanced, offering a higher than average protein to fat ratio.

If you want to learn more about Nom Nom, including ingredient choices, nutritional profile and recall history, check out ourName Name Brand Rating.

If Nom Now doesn't appeal to you, we recommend checking out some of Fresh Home Delivered's other dog food brands that use grains, such as:.

Taste of the Wild Wetlands Ancient Wetlands Receita Canina

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i like natureis a brand that needs no introduction. They're an established powerhouse that many North American consumers are used to at their local pet food stores and chains.

In the past, many would not have believed that Taste of the Wild would use grains in their recipes, as consumers would likely have reacted negatively.

However, given the recent links between legumes such as peas and lentils and canine dilated cardiomyopathy, they have responded intelligently to changes in the market and knowledge.

Her new With Ancient Grains recipes are broadly similar to her traditional grain-free recipes, at least as far as the main meat ingredients are concerned, but differ greatly in the plant-based ingredients and feature a variety of less grain-based ingredients.

This recent introduction of "Ancient Grains" is widely available among brands similar to Taste of the Wild, such as:Holistic Earthborn,Stamp, and evenAcana. Learn more in our articleWhat are ancient grains in dog food?

One such recipe uses duck as the main ingredient. This recipe is based on the original grain-free Wetlands recipe that you can findHere.

A combination of duck, duck meal and chicken meal provides an extremely healthy serving of meat ingredients that provide an active dog with a rich protein to fat ratio.

The grain selection in Taste of the Wild's new grain-based recipes is quite large compared to other grain-based varieties.

It includes millet, sorghum, barley and brown rice. Check out our articles to learn more about some of these other niche beans.Millet in dog food,Sorghum in dog food&Barley in dog food.

Review of American Journey with Chicken and Brown Rice

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american dayis a brand of growing online pet food retailer Chewy. Until recently, American Journey products were only available on Chewy's website, but since PetSmart's acquisition of Chewy, they have recently become available in PetSmart stores as well.

American Journey duplicates the low shipping rates offered by Chewy and makes the formulas they manufacture very affordable, much cheaper than many of the others highlighted in this article.

The brand offers a range of mid-level products including dry dog ​​food, canned dog food and limited ingredient dog food.

His chicken and brown rice recipe is one of the most popular due to its simplicity and reliability.

A mixture of chicken and chicken meal are the key ingredients in the recipe, and the combination provides a satisfying protein-to-fat ratio.

Brown rice is the main vegetable ingredient and can provide carbohydrates and fiber.

However, there is a significant proportion of peas, which offer similar nutritional value to brown rice. The presence of peas means this isn't the right choice for you if you're looking for a recipe that uses only grain ingredients.

Unfortunately, this formula uses rice bran and rice for beer, which we believe are lower-quality rice-based ingredients.

We would have preferred to have seen a larger portion of brown rice. However, this is the reality with budget dog food.

Rezension von Earthborn Holistic Unrefined – Smoked Turkey

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Holistic Earthbornis another staple in the premium dog food market that will be familiar to many. In the past, like most other brands, the brand relied heavily on legumes as its main carbohydrate ingredients.

However, they recently launched a new line of products called Unrefined that also includes grains.

Although they never specifically said so, this publication was almost certainly in response to the links between legumes and heart disease in dogs.

The smoked turkey recipe above is one of four available recipes and the main meat ingredients include turkey, turkey flour and eggs. This blend offers a satisfactory ratio of protein and animal fat.

Earthborn Holistic have made the decision not to use some of the more controversial grains in their new range and instead use some less common ones.

Examples include quinoa, buckwheat, oats and chia. This broad spectrum of grain ingredients can provide a modest amount of selected carbohydrates, fiber and micronutrients.

Buckwheat is a particularly unusual ingredient. You can read more about buckwheat in our articleBuckwheat in dog food.

Dog-N-Flake Solid Gold Recipe Review

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An established brand in the US, Solid Gold is best known for the whimsical and unusual names they give their recipes. examples for this arebarks at the moon,love at first sight, zwilder Bock.

Solid Gold makes a wide variety of dog foods, including grain-free and grain-based recipes.

However, what sets them apart is that they offer some grain-based wet/canned formulas, which is rather unusual for premium brands.

The Dog-N-Flake above is an excellent example of a solid gold grain wet food recipe and uses a small serving of brown rice and barley. These two grain ingredients provide a modest amount of carbohydrates and fiber.

However, the main ingredients in this recipe are a large portion of lamb, lamb liver and white fish. This combination provides a significant protein to fat ratio that would be extremely appealing and nutritious.

If you are interested in learning more about the Solid Gold brand, we encourage you to visit usSolid Gold Review.

Rezension zu Nature's Logic Canine Pork Meal Feast

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The logic of natureis a lesser-known brand, but their recipes fill an important niche in the premium, hypoallergenic dog food market.

Nature's Logic dry dog ​​food recipes use millet grains. While we don't consider millet to be as beneficial as other grains like brown rice and oats, it's still far superior to inferior, filling grains like wheat and corn.

From a nutritional point of view, millet provides carbohydrates, some fiber and a limited range of vitamins and minerals.

The above pork formula contains a mixture of whole pork and pork liver. This combination provides a very satisfying ratio of protein and fat to boost your dog's activity.

Pork liver can provide some minerals and vitamins that traditional cuts of meat cannot. The protein to fat ratio is very satisfying and suitable for dogs of all activity levels.

There are several other formulas that use a wide range of meat and fish ingredients. Be sure to check out our comments on yoursand Canine Rabbit Meal Feast, some of her other recipes that we're big fans of.

BoxNature's Logic brand pageFor more information.

Review of the Victor Chicken & Rice Formula

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Victor is the only brand that appears twice in this article, but its second inclusion is fully justified. In addition to their wide range of grain-based dry dog ​​food, Victor also offers a small number of grain-based wet/canned recipes.

While economies of scale are not as effective with wet/canned dog food compared to dry dog ​​food, Victor's wet/canned dog food recipes are still very cost effective compared to other brands. They are usually sold in large cans and grouped in large 12-can trays.

The chicken and rice above is extremely simple, containing just five main ingredients. The two most common are chicken and chicken liver, which provide most of the recipe's protein and fat.

As we regularly mention, offal, like liver, is an excellent addition to dog food recipes, can enhance flavor and provide beneficial vitamins and minerals.

Along with these two chicken ingredients, the recipe includes a small serving of brown rice and barley, which provide a mix of carbs and fiber.

Health Extension's Chicken and Brown Rice Review

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Health Extension is a family company based in the United States. Health Extension offers impressive transparency on where its ingredients come from, including an interactive map for site visitors to explore.

This level of transparency is unprecedented in the pet food industry and is something many brands could learn from.

Health Extension has a medium range of products that includes some very common recipes like Chicken & Rice, but also some less common ones.

You can learn more about Health Extension and its transparency in ourHealth Extension Brand Rating.

Health Extensions Chicken Rice Recipe uses a mix of chicken ingredients, including chicken, chicken meal, and chicken fat.

The main vegetable ingredient in the recipe is brown rice. Most people believe that brown rice is preferable to white rice or cheaper rice-based ingredients.

However, for those willing to look further down the ingredients list, Health Extensions Chicken & Brown Rice includes a few other meat and non-meat ingredients in large servings.

Examples of these ingredients are lamb meal, menhaden fishmeal, and oatmeal. These ingredients are welcome additions and can provide additional protein, fat, and other nutrients.