Glutened By Dog Food?

[ShannonA]

I think I may have been glutened by the dog, is this possible? We just got a new inside puppy and I never thought of his dog food or dog treats being a gluten problem. Well last night I woke up at midnight in terrible pain and it's lasted throughout the day today and a canker sore. I have been gluten free since June and I am currently on the GAPS intro diet for the last 3 weeks. So I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what happened then I thought of the dog food and the puppy licking my hand. It seems logical just crazy. I thought I washed my hands good enough but I guess not. Has this happened to anyone? Now to start looking for gluten free dog food........does it ever end?

[kareng]

The good news is that there are many grain fee dog foods.

A thing to remember with pet food is that gluten free does not mean what we think of as gluten-free. You will probably need to look for " grain free". gluten-free pet food can still have whole grains of barley or wheat. It doesn't contain a junk pet food additive called gluten which can be made of corn, wheat, even a plastic like stuff at one time.

[eatmeat4good]

Yes, this has happened to many people. Pet food is a common source of cross contamination. They do make pet foods that are gluten free. It seems crazy but it's true...you will probably want your pet to be gluten free too. For their health and yours.

[eatmeat4good]

The good news is that there are many grain fee dog foods.

A thing to remember with pet food is that gluten free does not mean what we think of as gluten-free. You will probably need to look for " grain free". gluten-free pet food can still have whole grains of barley or wheat. It doesn't contain a junk pet food additive called gluten which can be made of corn, wheat, even a plastic like stuff at one time.

Wow, I did not know that part. Thanks for that information.

[tarnalberry]

To top it off, most dogs do better on a grain free diet.

[ShannonA]

Yes great info thanks!

[Takala]

For treats, the gluten - free dog really likes pieces of rice cakes or pure corn tortillas.

We have a very large dog with a wheat/barley/cc'd oats allergy. (I call this serendipity that he was at the pound, waiting for somebody who would show up who could deal with it ) Anyone who had ever seen him sitting expectantly in the kitchen doorway, drooling, when I open certain types of foods he likes, would be running, screaming, towards the nearest pet food vendor with those "special" limited diet type brands of dog foods. (Natural Balance is one ) He is tall enough that he can stand next to the desk or table and get his head over it without trying. ( I don't let him do this, but you can see how accidents could happen He's only tried to sneak unwatched food off the table a few times, but good thing it was gluten free )

He is a doll, but his reactions to the wrong food are more severe than mine, so we have every animal here off of wheat family products so we don't have cross contamination issues. We have one horse with the barley/rye problem, and the dog drinking out of the horse's water tank, and vice versa, could make a chain reaction.

The funny part was when the vet said to try a homemade limited diet, that he immediately responded so well to the first 3 ingredients she suggested, the rice/cooked poultry/cottage cheese mix. The dog is absolutely entranced when we cook a pot of rice, or open up a tub of cottage cheese or yogurt. He can be sound asleep in another room and if the yogurt container lid comes off, here he comes to check it out. Same if I get a rice cake out for a snack. So I can guess that somewhere in his previous life before he was lost, that not only was he well cared for, somebody was also cooking for him.

[kareng]

We use Rice Chex sometimes for a training treat. Unfortunately for him, he is so well behaved, he doesn't need them much. He loves the Blue buffalo grain free duck biscuits.

[cap6]

We also use Rice Chex for snack/treats and feed grain free Natrual Balance. Also, watch their chew toys. A lot of the chew bones have wehat startch in them. There are some gluten-free brands out there but you have to look hard. We also don't buy any treats made in China.

[GFinDC]

I get Beyond Grain (BG) cat food. I suppose they6 make dog food also but never checked.

[come dance with me]

My dog has been grain free since he was a little puppy, he had awful problems with food for a long time and I had him on liquid food for quite some time. He is 3 now, so there has been no issue with that. The cat food is not gluten-free, but I get around that by only feeding him in the laundry (mainly to avoid the dog eating it) and feed it to him in the single serve tins. He eats from the tin so no utensils or bowls are used. I also cook for them, but as a vegan I find it pretty gross. What I make is what the vet put us onto for my dog, also suitable for puppies, cats and kittens. It's roo mince, turkey mince, tuna, grated carrots, grated zucchini, all cooked up together. Totally safe for the gluten free. I have one of those little freezers just for their food, and use a pot bought from an op shop that gets cleaned in the laundry, and the smell is atrocious, but I cook up a big lot of it at once to freeze so I don't have to make it too often.