[NAGDU] Dogfood research

Danielle Sykora dsykora29 at gmail.com
Fri Aug 6 15:07:53 UTC 2021


This is likely recycled news, but isn't really surprising when
considering commercial dog food. Traditionally, kibble was based
largely on grains, with high protein plant concentrates like wheat
gluten, corn gluten, and soybean meal added to make it look like the
kibble had a higher protein content. Some carbohydrate plant matter is
necessary to form kibble, but these high protein plant foods allowed
manufacturers to use less of the more expensive quality animal
ingredients, while making it look like the food had more meat.
When grain free changed from an alternative for dogs who legitimately
didn't do well with grain in their diet to being a fad diet, dog food
manufacturers came up with new plant fillers. Instead of corn and
wheat, they used peas and legumes to form a kibble and boost the
protein content of food without actually needing to spend the money on
more good quality animal proteins.
Some dogs can eat food with a huge amount of legumes or primarily
based on grains and have no significant problems for their entire
lives. High legume content can be a contributing factor in causing
dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in some dogs however, while high
grain/potato diets often are a contributing factor in causing
allergies (itching, ear infections, yeast overgrowth, hot spots,
digestive upset, etc) among other inflammatory conditions. It is
similar to how people can eat a poor quality diet, which for humans
means refined grains, fast food, and few fruits and vegetables and
have different results. Some people will never have health problems,
some will have health problems at a young age, and most will be
healthy until they are in their 40s and then develop diabetes and
heart disease.

Personally, I try to choose foods that are based primarily on good
quality meat sources that are specifically named, and have moderate to
high protein contents. I avoid foods with generic animal ingredients,
pea protein, potato protein, corn gluten, wheat gluten, soybean meal,
or peas/legumes in the first five ingredients or so. This means the
food is actually based on good quality meat, not plants and usually
avoids most of the problems of commercial dog food while keeping the
convenience. It takes some research to find, but it is possible. I am
in the process of becoming a (human) dietitian, so I actually enjoy
reading labels. :)

You actually can filter dog food results based on certain categories
on Chewy, though it isn't perfect. I also have one dog with a chicken
allergy. I know for a fact that Farmina, Nature's Logic, Sport Dog,
Victor, and Nature's Select all have chicken free options with little
to no legumes.

Danielle

On 8/6/21, Tracy Carcione via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I read an article in The Guardian last night reporting on an FDA study that
> found that peas and other pulses, like lentils, could cause heart problems
> in dogs.  Peas and lentils are often used in grainfree dogfood.  It's not
> the peas themselves that are the problem; it's the quantities used, the
> article said.
>
> I really wish there was a way to exclude things from a search.  Search
> dogfood, and exclude chicken and peas.  That would make my life a lot
> easier.
>
> Anyway, just passing it on.  Something similar came out a year or two ago,
> and I don't know if this adds to that or if it's just recycled news.
>
> Tracy
>
>
>
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