# Grain Inclusive v. Grain Free?



## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

Have you tried both? Did your dog do better on one v. the other?


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## rambone (Nov 16, 2010)

I've tried both and have seen no difference but I stuck with grain free since the protein and quality of the food was better


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## BRT (Dec 1, 2010)

I´ve tried both, orijen LBP and Acana LBP. my dog get´s crazy about orijen, and just likes acana. from 2 months old with 7,5kg of bodywheight, he went up to 15kg at 3 months old. Then i changed to acana because he was having horrible gas and now at 4 months it has 20kg. This is what i have to say, but i will never know for sure which one is best because i haven´t got a clue if a BRT grows up faster from 2 months to 3 months then it does from 3 months to 4 months.


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## Serendipity (Aug 13, 2010)

I feed grain-free, because of the higher protein and meat content, but I know some dogs that usually don't do well on it; although this is just a minority, higher protein foods are sometimes too rich for some dogs even after a lengthy transition so they get loose stools. Generally, grain-free foods have higher protein. Overall, I think grain-free is better, and that's what you should try first.


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## ann g (May 6, 2010)

Mine has always done better on grain inclusive. We tried Wellness Core (didn't like taste,low energy levels and quickly gained weight) and Orijen (wouldn't eat) and Acana which he ate but had lower energy and coat got dull looking. I was really hoping for great things on Acana but just didn't work out. He gets a lot of canned 95% meat varieties and also cooked chicken or beef. We might possibly try raw one of these days (still doing some research).


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## SamWu1 (Oct 15, 2010)

ann g said:


> We might possibly try raw one of these days (still doing some research).


Come visit us in the raw section. To me dog food is dog food. Grain free may not contain grains but unlike natural foods, still contain plenty of inappropiate ingredients like potato, peas and other "booster" ingredients. 

The only advantage to grainfree is it may have a higher meat content. Raw is not difficult and worlds more healthly. You would never feed yourself dried pellets everyday so why your dog? Fresh wholesome food is the way to go.


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

My dog does horrible on grain inclusive. Dull coat, upset digestive system, huge piles. 

My sisters lab just recently started TOTW. We saw a huge difference in a 2 week period. Coat went from dull to shiny and small piles. I couldn't believe how fast we saw results. His coat looks like black gloss. He's about ready to try the next TOTW formula;0)


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## ann g (May 6, 2010)

SamWu1 said:


> Come visit us in the raw section. To me dog food is dog food. Grain free may not contain grains but unlike natural foods, still contain plenty of inappropiate ingredients like potato, peas and other "booster" ingredients.
> 
> The only advantage to grainfree is it may have a higher meat content. Raw is not difficult and worlds more healthly. You would never feed yourself dried pellets everyday so why your dog? Fresh wholesome food is the way to go.


I visit the raw section every day, I'm know I'll get there, just not quite ready yet.


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

My Boxer is allergic to gluten so he requires a grain free diet. My GSD can eat grains but does better on a grain free. For him though I do bounce between 2 brands...one is grain free the other is grain inclusive.


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## Guest (Dec 14, 2010)

I like grain-free better because my dogs can do without all the unnecessary carbs. But at the same time I don't want my dogs getting a lot of potatoes or tapioca either. Most grain-free kibbles contain potatoes. So when Dogswell came out with NUTRISCA I was thrilled. It does not contain any grains or any potatoes. Instead it uses chickpeas which is a good protein source. No fillers. I have two 15 pound bags of NUTRISCA - one in the chicken recipe and the other in Lamb. I had bought those online, on sale and with discounted shipping, at Heartypet. Then yesterday I discovered that the feed store near me will start carrying this brand in January. The manager tells me that she thinks it will sell well.


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

LabbieMama said:


> I like grain-free better because my dogs can do without all the unnecessary carbs. But at the same time I don't want my dogs getting a lot of potatoes or tapioca either. Most grain-free kibbles contain potatoes. So when Dogswell came out with NUTRISCA I was thrilled. It does not contain any grains or any potatoes. Instead it uses chickpeas which is a good protein source. No fillers. I have two 15 pound bags of NUTRISCA - one in the chicken recipe and the other in Lamb. I had bought those online, on sale and with discounted shipping, at Heartypet. Then yesterday I discovered that the feed store near me will start carrying this brand in January. The manager tells me that she thinks it will sell well.


Nutrisca looks good:smile: I might have to give it a try as well:biggrin: FYI: The chicken formula contains all ingredients from the USA, the lamb formula contains ingredients from New Zealand, the treats have ingredients from china


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

I think a few people here have tried it, including RC and Uno. Any word on the Ca/Ph levels? I'd probably continue to recommend Acana for a chicken-based food, but their lamb formula might be better than TOTW.

Found a review on DFA - ethoxyquin free, but uses tomato pumace.
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/dogswell-nutrisca-dog-food/


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

SpooOwner said:


> I think a few people here have tried it, including RC and Uno. Any word on the Ca/Ph levels? I'd probably continue to recommend Acana for a chicken-based food, but their lamb formula might be better than TOTW.
> 
> Found a review on DFA - ethoxyquin free, but uses tomato pumace.
> Dogswell Nutrisca Dog Food | Review and Rating


That's funny, I thought of the ca/ph levels also and emailed them to find out. It might be ok for LBP's. It has more protein than the TOTW lamb formula, but I noticed a few controversial ingredients. The lamb formula has flaxseed in it. Alot of dogs do not do well on it. Both formulas have citric acid as a preservative. I think I heard that it can cause bloat In large chested breeds???


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## Guest (Dec 14, 2010)

cast71 said:


> Nutrisca looks good:smile: I might have to give it a try as well:biggrin: FYI: The chicken formula contains all ingredients from the USA, the lamb formula contains ingredients from New Zealand, the treats have ingredients from china


I'm fine with lamb from New Zealand. Ziwi Peak is made in New Zealand and there's never been a question about the quality of New Zealand's lamb.


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

LabbieMama said:


> I'm fine with lamb from New Zealand. Ziwi Peak is made in New Zealand and there's never been a question about the quality of New Zealand's lamb.


Good point, I wasn't sure about outsourcing meat from New Zealand. Stay away from the treats though:wink: At least until they stop outsourcing from china The dog food ingredients look good, but I'm not sure about them having citric acid in them. Why did they have to go and do that for


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## Guest (Dec 14, 2010)

I don't feed Dogswell treats. I knew their chicken jerky treats came from China. I like True Chews and Kona's Chips both of which are made in the good ol' USA!


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## Serendipity (Aug 13, 2010)

Some Acana formulas use New Zealand lamb as well, and that's where TOTW gets their lamb, too...I've noticed that they're USUALLY grass-fed, which is a very good sign.


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

TOTW: ethoxyquin-free and possibly grain-fed lamb ... I may have to move Diamond off of my "avoid" list.


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

When I fed kibble, I preferred grain-free. My dog did better on Orijen puppy than he did on Innova puppy. Solid and smaller poops!


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## vigornj (Nov 4, 2010)

When I rescued my current Dobe, he was on kibbles and bits (obviously no good), moved him over to a higher quality food (grain inclusive) significant improvements in coat etc. 

However his poop was pretty consistently a pile of mush which makes picking it up a difficult task! He would also often have issues vomiting once or twice a month.

I switched him to a grain free diet (TOTW) and he's doing much better now, poops are small and solid, have not seen him vomit since the switch either. Overall I'm guessing that grains don't sit well with this boy.


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## Serendipity (Aug 13, 2010)

SpooOwner said:


> TOTW: ethoxyquin-free and possibly grain-fed lamb ... I may have to move Diamond off of my "avoid" list.


An email response from TOTW customer service was posted on another forum; not possibly, but definitely grass-fed New Zealand lamb. The email is a bit outdated, but I don't think that could have changed; Diamond is really cleaning up.


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## SaltyDog (Mar 10, 2010)

SamWu1 said:


> Grain free may not contain grains but unlike natural foods, still contain plenty of inappropiate ingredients like potato, peas and other "booster" ingredients.
> 
> The only advantage to grainfree is it may have a higher meat content.



Couldn't agree more with this statement! :smile:


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

LabbieMama said:


> I like grain-free better because my dogs can do without all the unnecessary carbs. But at the same time I don't want my dogs getting a lot of potatoes or tapioca either. Most grain-free kibbles contain potatoes. So when Dogswell came out with NUTRISCA I was thrilled. It does not contain any grains or any potatoes. Instead it uses chickpeas which is a good protein source. No fillers. I have two 15 pound bags of NUTRISCA - one in the chicken recipe and the other in Lamb. I had bought those online, on sale and with discounted shipping, at Heartypet. Then yesterday I discovered that the feed store near me will start carrying this brand in January. The manager tells me that she thinks it will sell well.


dogs cant use protein from any non meats. the advantage to potatoes over chickpeas, is you know that potaters have no protein, so the protein from the food is from meat.

also..grain inclusive foods contain potaters also....just look at canidae for instance.

nutrisca is decent, although it doesnt look meat heavy, and uses low quality fish meal!


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

grass fed not grain fed for totw.


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