WHY IS A GLUTEN FREE DIET BENEFICIAL TO YOUR DOG'S HEALTH?
By nature, dogs are not obligate carnivores (meaning that they can only eat and digest meat), but too some extent slightly more omnivorous as they would naturally ingest plant material when consuming a kill or prey animal during their wild ancestral days, but their digestive tracts is made and designed to digest and utilise a predominantly meat-based diet.
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Fast forward a couple of thousand years to your pampered pooch snuggling away on the couch in front of the fireplace …… a huge outcry from their wild ancestral trails from their wolf forefathers from years gone by. They might bare no resemblance to their former wild days anymore, but certain aspects have not changed at all over the years.
Your pampered pooch, as cute and affectionate as it might be, is a still an animal that is designed to live of a predominantly meat-based diet.
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Gluten is a plant-based protein, that is used in almost all commercial dry dog foods available, as it is an economical way to boost the protein content of the formula. Dogs are by nature, not designed to cope or digest such a huge proportion of plant proteins in their diet, and gluten tends to come with its own source of problems.
Some other dry dog food brands also tend use wheat and/or -by products in their formula, which just adds more fuel to the already strained digestive system of your dog.
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Gluten and wheat are extremely high in Omega 6 oils, which in itself is not the problem, but when the digestive system is bombarded with such a high concentration of omega 6 oils, the imbalance leads to the inflammatory qualities of omega 6 oils being brought to light. That then sets of a whole chain reaction of inflammatory reactions in the dog’s body, that manifests itself in several manners.
Some of which people would normally not even associate with a gluten intolerance. Allergies that are not directly linked to gluten sensitivity (e.g. contact dermatitis, ear infections, hot spots etc) are also prone to rearing their heads, as the whole body of the dog is in an inflammatory state.
There is also a huge spectrum of how much gluten a dog can handle in their diet. Some dogs are seemingly unaffected, while others are highly sensitive to it. There seems to be certain breeds that are more prone to gluten sensitivity, with the majority of the breeds in the terrier group of dogs which includes your Bull-, Yorkshire-, Staffordshire-, American pit bull terriers etc.
What sets Breeder’s Recipe Gluten Free apart from other brands?
At Breeder’s Recipe, we believe in returning back to the basics of balanced and complete dog nutrition, and providing what is good for your dog’s health, without taking economical shortcuts for profit gains.
First and foremost, our gluten free range contains no added gluten, nor any wheat and/or wheat by-products or -derivatives of any sort. We also do not adjust our recipes according to seasonal supply changes in raw materials. We stick to our formula that we have, as we know that it works!
We rely on meat-based proteins to meet the protein demand of the dog’s diet, and not more economical substitutes. We also do not use wheat to bulk our formula or provide roughage, nor do we use any wheat-based oils to coat our pellets or in our formula to help with coat condition.
This might mean that our formula is more expensive than your run of the mill dogfood brands out there, but at the end of the day you end up saving on vet bills without compromising on your dog’s health.
Our food is also completely free of soya and fish meal which is sometimes used as economical protein sources, and we also do not use added sugars as palatability enhancers in our dry foods.
Free of gluten, wheat or any -derivatives, fishmeal, soya & artificial ingredients.
Prevention is better than cure
The biggest misconception encountered, is that people think Breeder’s Recipe Gluten Free range is only for dogs with gluten sensitivity issues which is not the case at all!
As the English saying goes “An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure”, and never is it more applicable when it comes to the health of your pets.
Gluten sensitivity is not always evident from a dog’s young age, as an intolerance to gluten can sometimes develop over time as well.
Another issue is that a lot of times people are not aware of what symptoms to look out for, or that the apparent symptoms is linked with a gluten sensitivity issue.
As mentioned previously, if people are not aware that the digestive tract is being affected as the signs can be subtle or overlooked sometimes, or diagnosed too late, it can lead to serious health issues when the dog gets older.
By the time that a gluten intolerance is noted or diagnosed, the owner most likely has incurred medical expenses and/or the dog’s health has been affected.
Breeder’s Recipe Gluten Free is safe, and actually even better for all dogs no matter if they have a gluten sensitivity issue or not.
How do I know if my dog is GLUTEN INTOLERANT?
There are several ways to spot a suspected gluten sensitivity issue in a dog, that can be seen with the naked eye, but there are also other silent killers that could easily be overlooked if the pet’s owner is not educated, that is the most dangerous as they can cause severe and even permanent damage unnoticed and left untreated over an extended period of time.
The main symptoms that we encounter, that the owner notices first is usually the following:
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Continuous scratching and licking or chewing of the paws
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Chronic yeast ear infections
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Regular occurrence of hotspots
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Red Inflamed skin areas
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Red and itchy paws
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Excessive hair loss
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Frequent runny stools
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Dull and poor coat condition
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Regular skin lesions due to constant scratching
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The other and more dangerous characteristic, that is often overlooked, is irregular bowel movements while consistently on the same brand of dog food, and no other outside factors involved (incompatible treats or garbage bin diving)
That is usually a sign that the gluten intolerance, has manifested as an inflammatory reaction in the digestive tract. If left untreated, the constant inflammatory state of the digestive tract, can lead to permanent damage of the digestive tract, and end up preventing the dog of properly digesting the food and the uptake of nutrients, especially as the dog gets older when it is more needed.
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Older dogs sometimes develop a condition called leaky gut syndrome, where the digestive tract is unable to absorb the nutrients well enough to maintain the dog’s bodily functions and -condition.
There have no studies been done to directly link leaky gut syndrome to gluten intolerance, but if a dog’s digestive tract is left in an inflammatory state for an extended period (if not most of their life), it is sure to cause digestive issues especially in an older dog, when proper nutrition absorption is at its most crucial.
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If a dog has gluten sensitivity issues, dog owners should be more careful with regards to what treats they offer their dogs, as there is a lot of treats out there containing hidden gluten. Feeding this while the dog is on Breeder’s Recipe Gluten Free, will be counterproductive, as it will only prevent the relief from gluten sensitivity that the Breeder’s Recipe Gluten Free is supposed to be bringing.
