Grain Free Dog Food Warning

[hikatz]

Our vet did voice her concern about us switching to only, grain-free dry/moist food for our dog and cats.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-ne...g-n1107791

[loffelkopffl]

our cat is allergic to corn so we switched to grain free cat food about 8 years ago, haven't noticed any symptoms other than he is weird anyway

[terracore]

Dog's aren't carnivores so I've never understood the grain free movement other than it's marketing. Cats usually eat the stomach contents of their prey so even being obligate carnivores they still eat some non-meat items in their diet when self-feeding naturally. There is currently a fad going on trying to redefine dogs as carnivores but it seems to be led by the grain-free dog food marketing efforts. Dogs, even wolves gorge themselves on the stomach contents of herbivores as well as their feces, while their teeth and digestive system isn't well adapted for an omnivorous diet behaviorally they have adapted to eating grains and other vegetative matter that has been partially processed by other animals that do consume only plants. Modern grain-containing dog foods may not process these grains exactly the same as an herbivore does but they are processed. It's not like the dogs are being fed corn off a stalk.

[Chunkster]

Yes, the pure carnivore dog diet is nonsense. The immortal Frank Zappa even sent up the concept in his classic song "Dirty Love" with the line "Not a speck of cereal!" Here's a link to the whole lovely song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nQeYoYn03s

[EightFingers]

If dogs are not carnivores, why do they have carnivores’ teeth?

Puna: Our roosters crow first

[terracore]

Canines don't spend 16 hours a day grazing. They kill and eat the stomach contents of the animals that do. Or they eat their feces. Their teeth are perfectly suited for the type of plant harvesting they perform.

Is a dung beetle a... fecalvore?

[1voyager1]

When we brought our cats home from the pound, I as a good pet owner[servant?] bought them high rated and cost dried cat food from online sources.
M'lady bought various types of canned wet food for them too.
They've eaten very well and have put on weight.

They didn't like the expensive meat based dried foods we tried, and they thought very poorly of the various wet canned meat foods, eventually they stopped eating those too, come up, take a sniff, make faces and walk away.
Now they tackle me and drag me out to fill their bowls with a Purina Happy Meals equivalent every night and morning.

I'm done trying to be a responsible pet owner[servant?].
I just give them what they want.

Remember, these are the cats that won't drink the County drinking water.
They only drink catchment water or from rain puddles.
I'm beginning to think they know something I don't.