A good number of dog owners are now switching their pets to a grain free dog food diet. This popular trend has caught on recently especially now that some pet nutritionist have been attesting to the negative effects of a grain filled diet.
Choosing to switch your dog to a grain free diet may be a bit costly, the cost is a factor you will have to consider because this type of food is relatively expensive compared to the conventional dog food that you are used to buying.
Considering the cost of the meal you will discover that you still do not spend a lot by switching its diet, this is because dogs consume a lot less of this formula in order to feel satisfied. The normal dog formula usually has a lot of grain additives known as fillers so as to add the volume of the dog meal, your pet will have to eat a lot more of this stuff to feel satisfied.
Another important factor to consider while deciding to make the change is the choice between canned foods and dry food formula. The dry kind usually contains a starch based ingredient so that it may remain with its dry shape, canned food types contain moisture and have no carbohydrate base, and this gives your dog the daily water, also while switching your dogs diet.
You also will have to consider the amount of calorie content in the formula this is especially when you have an overweight dog. You will need to look into the protein content of the meal that you feed it, the reason for this is that when the protein ratio is increased, so is the fat content in the meal, hence this might not be a very good choice for your dog.
Also if your dog is over 5 years old, it will be worthwhile to switch its diet to the grain free kind, this is because when a dog grows older, its digestive system begins to have a very hard time digesting food containing a lot of grain fillers, over time your dog will start developing allergies to the grain products contained in the food.
When switching your dog to this diet, be sure to do it gradually, this is because the stomach of a dog contains bacteria that attacks any foreign elements, so switching the food suddenly may cause your dog to suffer diarrhea or stomach upsets.
When switching meal, you need to switch slowly, the first week give the dog three quarters of its old dish and a quarter of its new formula, in the second week, give the dog half and half of the old and new meal, in the third week, give the dog three quarters of the new dish and a quarter of the old, you will finally complete the transition on the fourth week.
Dog owners that have changed their animals diet to the grain free type have all recorded remarkable results especially with the dogs health. Allergies were done away with and skin problems were also improved.
