Gluten Free Pet Foods

[lbd]

I wasn't really sure where to put this topic, but I figured this was the best place. I decided to find some sources of gluten-free dog and cat food for my pets after reading the Dogtor J site and just using common sense about what these carnivores should be eating. My cats are farm cats - they spend most of their time outdoors - and most of my felines over the years have lived very long lives. I attribute this to their active lifestyles and the fact that they often supplement their unlimited dry food diets with the local wildlife.

My dogs have always lived long lives too, but are indoors a good bit, and always seem to suffer with various forms of arthritis and tumors in their later years. I never see dogs and cats grazing in nearby wheat or corn fields, no matter how hungry, so logic tells me that they are not supposed to be eating the traditional dog and cat foods which contain mostly grain by-products.

Anyway, to make a long story a bit shorter, I went to the local pet food store today, and looked for grain-free foods. I asked the counter girl in the store first and she pointed me to Chicken Soup for Dogs. Nope, full of grains. That's odd - she says - the rep told us they were grain free. She pointed out several others - all full of grains. Finally, searching on my own, I found two brands - Call of the Wild, which I bought for the dog, and Before Grain (or B.G.) which I bought for the cats. Both sound delicious enough to eat with wonderful non-grain ingredients. I have to say the salmon flavor dry dog food was quite fishy smelling, but the dog seemed to love it. The cats literally dived into theirs.

So there are gluten-free products for dogs and cats too. I think it is slowly becoming a realization that gluten is a toxin to nearly everyone. I even buy non-gluten bird seed for the chickens - the scratch feed I used to buy contained a lot of dusty wheat which they generally avoided eating anyway. They love the bird seed. The horse/ponies get pelleted feed which is not dusty at all and is mostly beet pulp.

I've been gone for a few days - I decided to stick to safe topics on this forum. I enjoy the forum but I certainly don't want to argue with anyone. I figured pet food was a safe topic.

Laurie (waiting for more snow/freezing rain tonight - another school snow day tomorrow?)

[MaryJones2]

This is an interesting topic for me. I am a farm girl too and have dogs, cats and chickens. I am sensitive to inhaled wheat so I don't like it around the house. I am currently the feeder monkey so everything is gluten-free. Our cats have open access to dry food and supplement with whatever they drag in... Our dogs eat rice, beef, beans and eggs. Lots of eggs! We add a vitamin supplement designed for homemade formulas. We also keep kibble around for hetic days. Our chickens eat rice, beans, kitchen scraps, etc. and free range most of the day. They also have open access to supplements like calcium, etc. Fortified pigeon grit is great as is a product by Fertrell called Poultry Nutribalancer.

[disneymom62]

There are several grain free dog foods on the market (mine eats grain free), but Chicken soup is definitely NOT one of them. Natural Balance makes a sweet potato-based food, but I don't feed it because it's first ingredient IS sweet potato, not a meat meal or meat. You might look into the Nature's Variety line - Instinct and their raw formulas (their Prairie is NOT grain-free); Taste of The Wild (mine is currently eating a variety of that now), And Wellness Core. There are other brands out there as well, Orijen, Before Grain, Horizon Legacy, and Canidae Grain Free. the problem is for me, I can't get all of these in my area. I can get some flavors of Instinct, the Wellness Core, and Taste of The Wild, and Nature's Variety raw. Watch for yeast in some of these as well, as some dogs can't tolerate yeast. Both my dog and my cat are on grain free diets and have wonderful coats. If you have any questions, ask away!! I have done a BUNCH of research on this after having spent a LOT of money having a large tumor removed from my dog last summer, and then finding out all of the crap they put in grocery store dog foods. these foods are expensive, but dogs eat less of it because of the higher caloric and nutrient content. Good luck on your search!

[lbd]

Yes, I meant to say "Taste of the Wild" not "call of the wild"

My dog loves this stuff! And the cats wolfed down their Before Grain food. I might have to rethink free choice for them if they get too fat I've always supplemented the dog and cat food with scraps of meat and bones and some veggies from our meals.

It's funny but one thing I noticed is that the chickens come running whenever they hear me pour cat food. Sometimes I throw them a handful and they eat it up. They will NOT be getting the expensive Before Grain stuff! However, I think they liked the store bought stuff because it was basically grain. They are free roamers so they have the run of the place (15 acres) and in the summer, keep the yard and garden bug-free.

Now, I just have to get my husband eating completely gluten-free and the daughter when she is home from college, and we will have a gluten-free household. Husband is almost there because I buy all the food and I think I have daughter convinced (she asked me to send her Tinkyada pasta all the way to London because she is studying abroad there this semester). She also went dairy free several months ago and her acne cleared up immediately.

Laurie