Hypoallergenic grain free dog food is different from hypoallergenic dog food. While hypoallergenic dog food eliminates grains, soy, eggs, and several other ingredients, hypoallergenic grain free dog food is mainly concerned with eliminating grains. This is a good option for a dog with ONLY grain sensitivity because it’s cheaper than other hypoallergenic dog foods.
Hypoallergenic Grain Free Dog Food – An Affordable Option for Some
While some dogs have a wide range of food sensitivities and allergies, there is a substantial percentage that are only allergic to grain. That makes hypoallergenic grain free dog food a great choice for these dogs. Rather than having to limit a wide range of ingredients, this type of food only has to change the carbohydrate source to improve a dog’s health.
Grain sensitive dogs can have a variety of uncomfortable, and quite often gross, ailments associated with their inability to properly digest grains. Chief among these is diarrhea. Dogs with grain sensitivities often experience overall GI distress including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and hideous, hideous gas. While it’s gross for us, it’s painful for them, so it should be addressed right away.
Many times, all it takes in these cases is finding a hypoallergenic grain free dog food. Remember it’s not just wheat, it’s all grains. So foods with wheat, corn, barley, or ANY other grain source can be a potential source of GI distress to a dog. Hypoallergenic grain free dog food addresses all of the possibilities by doing away with ALL grain types.
In addition to that, most grain free foods also use a variety of protein sources which are not commonly associate with GI distress. While this makes the food more expensive that regular food, it is still a cheaper option that hypoallergenic foods which also have to factor in dozens of other allergen causing ingredients.
Varieties of Hypoallergenic Grain Free Dog Food
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There are dozens of varieties of grain free dog foods out there. They all use different protein and carb combinations to try to address the needs of every grain sensitive or allergic dog. For the purposes of this article, I’ll be addressing the different types of carb sources. You can learn more about other hypoallergenic dog foods in this article.
Potato
Potato is a commonly used carb source in hypoallergenic grain free dog food. It’s exceedingly easy to digest, and has a low likelihood of causing GI distress in dogs with grain allergies. This starchy carb source has the benefits of offering great energy potential and an easily digestible, bland nature which makes it a popular choice among grain free foods.
Sweet Potato
Sweet potato is another carb source used in grain free food. Just like the regular potato, the sweet potato is easy to digest and offers a great source of energy. Sweet potato has become more and more popular in hypoallergenic grain free dog food as a more flavorful option to standard potato.
Green Pea
Green Pea is another relatively recent addition to the hypoallergenic grain freed dog food pool. Sweet peas are another good carb source for dogs with grain allergies because of their starchy nature. It has become more and more popular because the frequent use of potato has led to some dogs developing allergies to it.
Brown Rice Meal
While technically a grain, brown rice meal has gained popularity as a hypoallergenic grain free dog food ingredient because of its complex carbs and easy digestibility. For some reason that I don’t entirely understand, many dogs with grain allergies take to brown rice meal perfectly fine.
These are the most commonly used carb sources used in hypoallergenic grain free dog food. Because of their easy digestibility and starchy nature, they make an excellent substitute for grain. You may have noticed that all of these carb sources offer the same benefits. That’s because even when using the best ingredients, dealing with food sensitivities and allergies in dogs is a crap shoot at best. Even though a dog may be primarily grain sensitive, it could still be sensitive to other carb sources as well. With a variety of carb sources companies which manufacture hypoallergenic grain free dog food can more easily meet the needs of their customers.
If your dog has chronic GI distress, I highly encourage you to take it to the vet immediately and determine if it would benefit from a hypoallergenic grain free dog food. Often times, all it takes is a diet change to drastically improve your dog’s health.
Have you used any of these types of grain-free hypoallergenic dog foods? Tell us about it in the comments.
