As facultative carnivores, dogs can digest and obtain nutrients from various sources, including animal protein. grains, fruits, vegetables, and even some root-based ingredients. Dogs require a range of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients for optimum health, some of which, such as carbohydrates, can be obtained from grains and vegetables.
Grains deliver valuable canine health benefits, including fiber for healthy digestion and carbohydrates to maintain your pet’s energy. Rice, wheat, barley, and other cereals also provide essential vitamins and minerals that contribute to overall canine health. While some pets have food allergies, avoiding grain may not solve the problem, as most canine food allergies involve proteins. Recent evidence suggests a link between certain grain-free diets and canine dilated cardiomyopathy, particularly those high in legumes or potatoes, but until more tests are run, the results do not show that grain-free meals are unhealthy for dogs. It’s always best to speak with your veterinarian before switching your dog to a grain-free diet.
What Do You Mean By Grains?
Grains are edible seeds of grasses and grass-like plants called cereals. They’re members of the Gramineae family and include barley, corn, wheat, oats, sorghum, millet, and rice. Grains are often ground and made into staples such as bread, oatmeal, pasta, and tortillas. They also form the basis of sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup and rice syrup. Rice, barley, sorghum, rye, oats, corn, and wheat are often included in commercial dog food formulations, and many balanced grain-free options are also produced.
So How Much Grain Does My Dog Need?
There’s no one simple answer to that question, as each grain has a different nutritional profile and level of bioavailability. The best way to ensure your dog is eating a balanced diet that includes all the protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and other important nutrients your pet requires is to feed them high-quality commercial pet food that meets American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) nutritional requirements1. The AAFCO doesn’t certify food it, provides nutrient profiles and feeding trial standards that manufacturers use to formulate complete and balanced diets..
Each state uses the nutritional guidelines set by AAFCO to regulate pet food products. Pet foods that meet AAFCO nutritional guidelines provide all the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients dogs require to stay happy and healthy.
What About Allergies?
While dogs sometimes develop sensitivities, true food allergies are relatively uncommon. Serious itching, skin lesions, and recurrent ear infections are the most common signs of a canine food allergy. But these reactions are most often linked to animal-based proteins, although grain proteins can also trigger reactions in some dogs. Beef, chicken, and dairy products tend to be the biggest offenders. Most veterinarians recommend switching dogs with suspected food allergies to a high-quality commercial formulation featuring a single source of protein or a hydrolyzed protein diet to reduce the chance that your pet will have an allergic reaction.
You’ll most likely need to put your pet on an elimination diet to determine what’s sending their immune system into overdrive. But keep in mind that there’s a difference between food allergies and sensitivities. Food allergies trigger your pet’s immune system, while food sensitivities often result in vomiting and diarrhea after consuming a problematic food.
What About High-Protein Diets?
Dogs do best when they get just the right amount of protein. The AAFCO recommends that healthy adult dogs consume a diet of at least 18% protein. Requirements for puppies and nursing dogs are a bit higher. But giving your pet too much of a good thing can be counterproductive if they’re getting low-quality protein that’s not readily bioavailable and digestible.
Dogs that eat more protein than their bodies can efficiently handle may gain weight and have stinky feces. Serving high-protein dog food doesn’t necessarily mean your pet won’t be eating grain, as many of these formulations include cereals that contribute additional nutrients, including plant-based proteins and carbohydrates.
Can Eating a Grain-Free Diet Harm My Dog?
There’s evidence that some dogs that consume certain grain-free, may not get all the nutrients they need for a healthy heart. One nutrient we pay close attention to is taurine, an amino acid that helps the heart function normally. Dogs can make their own taurine only if their food gives them enough of the right “building block” amino acids. If those building blocks are too low or not very digestible, a dog may not make enough taurine, and this can affect heart health over time.
Some grain-free diets use large amounts of peas, lentils, or potatoes. These ingredients are not harmful on their own, but when they make up too much of the recipe, they can change how the body absorbs or uses important nutrients, including the ones needed to make taurine. This may play a role in some cases of dilated cardiomyopathy, which is a heart condition. Research is still ongoing, and not all grain-free diets cause problems, but the possible link is strong enough that veterinarians recommend choosing these diets with care.
Grains themselves are not required in a dog’s diet, but they are safe, digestible sources of carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They can also help round out a balanced amino acid profile in commercial foods. Most importantly, any dog food, whether grain-free or grain-inclusive, should meet established nutritional standards and be made by a company with strong quality control, nutrition expertise, and feeding trial data.
- Optimize the benefits of your dog’s diet with our calorie calculator here.
Conclusion
As facultative carnivores, dogs can consume, digest, and absorb nutrients from both animal and plant sources, including grains. Grains are nutritious ingredients that can provide essential vitamins and minerals, as well as carbohydrates and fiber that support overall health. Canine grain allergies are rare and usually caused by beef or chicken, not grain. Before switching to a grain-free diet or changing your dog’s pet food, talk to your veterinarian to ensure the new diet meets your pet’s nutritional needs and is appropriate for their individual health status.
- Related Read: Grain-Free vs Grain Dog Food: Comparison, Pros & Cons
Featured Image Credit: RossHelen, Shutterstock
What Do You Mean By Grains?
