Can you recommend a grain-free legume-free dog food please?

[stampsurprise]

I am currently feeding my terrier on Arden Grange as he reacts badly to wheat. I think he could be doing better though and Arden Grange has a lot of maize in it.

The vet told us he is a few pounds overweight. He will be 6 this year and gets walked about 2 to 2.5 miles a day and we play games too. We wfh and are always together.

I have been reading how a lot of grain-free foods are full of legumes - peas,lentils, chickpeas... apparently they can cause cardiac issues

I read on another forum that someone’s vet recommended sticking to the big manufacturers as the small boutique companies don’t use nutritional bets or feeding trials.

I would be okay with only rice and some potato though. I am struggling to find this however.

On a tight budget but would cut back on something else to buy DDog whatever he needs.

Tbh I am overwhelmed with it all and didn’t realise how many brands were on the market!

Hills. 36% rating on all about dog food
Broadly similar nutritional profile, better provision of micronutrient vitamins with many fewer additives

In addition to @Veterinari thoughts it is worth reading WSAVA statement on choosing a pet food. It gives you the questions to ask and thoughts to consider about each pet food.

Can I ask -veterinari whether butternutbox.com is a decent food?

@LimitIsUp

Can I ask -veterinari whether butternutbox.com is a decent food?

I don't have any direct experience of them. I believe they do use a nutritionist but as lonecat suggests use the WSAVA guidance to ask question that check the quality of a pet food if you're concerned. It's a much better, evidence based resource than a random website

Also a correction to a previous post. I've rechecked the literature
I should have said

dogs are not complete carnivores and naturally consume fairly low protein diets - around 20-30%

Information with link about 'boutique' diets and cardiomyopathy in dogs www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-investigation-potential-link-between-certain-diets-and-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy

With regard to the above link I should have said potential link.

I'm guessing they are crude protein levels vs by weight or calories, as lots of meat is around 25% protein (by weight). Obviously some variation by meat animal and cut.

Wanders off to find out...

FFS potential link between boutique diets and cardiomyopathy!

@Veterinari

Example: 83% rating from all about dog food

Grain freed, lots of legume fillers
Linked to cardiac disease
Look at the list of nutritional additives needed to make this a complete diet

Yes that’s what I’ve been reading too.

I must say I am leaning towards tried and tested like Hill’s who have vet nutritionists working with them and do lots of feeding trials.

We ALL want the best for our pets and I had been looking at a lot of the boutique brands for that magic bullet. I was going to try one only to read about shocking reports of heart trouble increasing in dogs thanks to all the chickpeas, lentils and legumes in their food!

I just don’t feel qualified to think I can cover all the bases the dog needs - all the amino acids and stuff. As it will be what they eat every day it’s so important to get it right. It’s not like humans where we can eat widely and differently every day.

I pretty sure all of Milles Wolfheart recipes are, check their website

p.s. thanks to everyone for the links. I find this stuff really interesting and so am enjoying reading them with my morning coffee!

@loveyouradvice

Definitely look at Allboutdogfood

When not feeding raw, we use Orijin.... full of great stuff and a really helpful helpline. they also have one that is Slim and trim or something like that. Anyway no padding and you know your dog is getting the best - and it is delicious. I confess I tried it - the fish one especially good and I went back for seconds/thirds! Oh and the dog likes it too....

Don’t want to cause alarm but I’ve looked at the composition of “Fit Trim” and it’s loaded with chickpeas, peas, pinto beans and navy beans. These are used a lot in “grain-free” diets.

Please read about dogs and legumes and cardiac trouble.

Here’s a video:

Bounce and Bella. Brilliant customer service and 50% off first order.

Millie’s Wolfheart has pea fibre and chickpea flour in some of their varieties. Aargh!

Yes I was just looking at Millies. My dog is on countryside which doesn't have legumes but some of them do. I think Millies are supposed to be very helpful if you ring them up. I think you can speak to a nutritionist if it's the right company I'm thinking of.

From my reading it's very rare but best to avoid legumes while the link is being investigated by the FDA. Why I've switched my dog from Eden

@Letsrunabath

Bounce and Bella. Brilliant customer service and 50% off first order.

I have Bounce & Bella treats for my boy but I see that their food contains peas (7%). Whether this is enough to cause cardiac issues I don’t know. it is the food he’ll be eating day in day out so it all adds up I suppose.

The food is also 26% sweet potato - is that a good thing? I just don’t know.

Some of the Hill’s varieties have peas but they are the last ingredient listed unlike a lot of the boutique brands so I assume that’s a safe level?

What a minefield!

I’ve read that a small amount of green peas can be okay.

I quite like the all about dog food site. It allows comparison between brands with low effort. I don't really agree with their percentage ratings but find the carbs, protien, fat and ingredients info useful. Also you can sort by requirements. Like most sources of information it has its uses.

Many makers sites are so full of promotional material that they are awkward to access.
Dogs don't need prime cuts, it is not what they choose if given access to a carcass.

The video above suggests avoiding potato and sweet potato too which I hadn't heard before. Which Millies Countryside does. Arg!
When I was choosing I'm sure I saw a potato free one.

Have just looked at the composition of the food I've been feeding my young dog for the last 3months - thought I'd made a good choice! I will be returning the new enormous bag I just bought, and change it as soon as I can.

If anyone finds a few good makes for young active breeds, and can share here, I'd be really grateful x

Sweet potatoe is listed as one of the ingredients potentially linked to heart issues in the link I posted.

@DoubleTweenQueen

If anyone finds a few good makes for young active breeds, and can share here, I'd be really grateful x

What I find does work for a young very active dog is mixed feeding. Half kibble, half wet. I don't think there is a perfect kibble, not keen on raw so we found the compromise that works for our dog. She has a cast iron stomach so I am lucky.

Wet food faves; Butchers (some dogs don't do well on tripe though), Forthglade or Harringtons.
Dry food: Fish4dogs (but quite a bit of pea and potato) or Autarky (quite a bit of maize)
Plus cold weather payments of occasional sardines, bone marrow soup etc. She does water retrieving.