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10 Best Grain Free Dog Food (Review)

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Grain Free Dog Kibble Thrown on the Black Board with a White Chalk WordsLike humans, dogs need to eat nutritious meals, the same way that we do. But now, do you know the best grain free dog food for your animals, or you need help in determining that? Taking proper care for your animal is one other thing that many people assume today. As such, most people find that they don’t get what they expect from their animals. The health of an animal is one thing that we should never assume, even if it might be tedious to manage.

Every person must be responsible for taking care of their animals by providing all the basic needs. For instance, they should eat and have shelter as well. Apart from that, we should maintain the cleanliness of our animals, no matter what the situation. Now, how can you manage that? Are there any challenges that people face when taking care of their dogs? Are there remedies for such problems?

With this article, you will come across the best grain free dog food options that you can consider for your animal. To know more, you can continue reading through this article.

Hill's Science Diet Sensitive Stomach & Skin Grain Free Chicken & Potato Recipe Adult Dry Dog Food

Our Top Choice:

For those seeking for great quality for the money, we recommend the Hill’s Science Diet Dry Dog Food. Its recipe is balanced to provide proteins and healthy fats needed for your dog’s wellbeing. This food is free from grains, thus is perfect for pups with allergies to them.

Comparison Table

Features:
Our Rating:
Buy from:
Hill's Science Diet Sensitive Stomach & Skin Grain Free Chicken & Potato Recipe Adult Dry Dog Food
Hill’s Science Diet Dry Dog Food
  • Dry foods
  • Grain-free foods
  • Contains vitamin E and Omega 3 for healthy skin and fur
  • Consists of natural ingredients
  • Contains fiber to balance the gut microbiome in the animal
4.9
Diamond Naturals Skin & Coat Real Meat Recipe Dry Dog Food with Wild Caught Salmon
Diamond Naturals Skin & Coat Real Meat Recipe
  • Dry dog foods with minerals and vitamins
  • High-quality protein
  • Grain-free foods
  • Rich in salmon
4.8
Purina Beneful Adult Dry Dog Food
Purina Beneful Adult Dry Dog Food
  • Real farm-raised chicken
  • Contains pumpkin, spinach, and blueberries
  • No animal by-product meal
  • No filters present
4.5
Supreme Source Premium Dry Dog Food Grain Free, USDA Organic Seaweed, Protein, Salmon and Sweet Potato Recipe for All Life Stages
Supreme Source Premium Dry Dog Food
  • Grain-free foods
  • Higher protein content
  • Omega 3 acids
4.6
Diamond Naturals Grain Free Real Meat Recipe Premium Dry Dog Food
Diamond Naturals Grain-Free Real Meat Recipe
  • High-quality proteins
  • Rich in proprietary probiotics
  • Contains vegetables for enhanced vitamin supply
4.7
Merrick Grain Free Dry Dog Food - Variety Flavors
Merrick Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
  • High protein levels
  • Fatty acids present
  • Whole foods like potatoes, berries, and blueberries for nutrition
4.8
Wellness Complete Health Natural Grain Free Dry Dog Food Chicken
Wellness Complete Health Natural Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
  • Contains vitamins
  • Presence of minerals
  • High protein content
4.7
Nutro MAX Adult Dry Dog Food, Regular & Large Breed
Nutro MAX Senior Recipe
  • No chicken by-products
  • Farm-raised chickens
  • Rich in nutrients
4.6
Nature's Recipe Easy to Digest Wet Dog Food, Chicken & Venison in Broth Recipe
Nature’s Recipe Easy to Digest
  • Healthy carbohydrates from green beans and sweet potatoes
  • Additional nutrients
  • Presence of vitamins and minerals
4.6
Merrick Grain Free Small Dog All Life Stages Lil Plates Wet Dog Food Tubs
Merrick Lil’ Plates Small Breed Grain-Free
  • Grain-free foods
  • Contains chicken or deboned beef
  • Contains vegetables and fruits
4.7

Does a Dog Need a Grain-Free Dog Food?

short coated tan and white dogThe choice of the type of foods for your dog will depend on various factors. For instance, many people will say that the cost of the foods is a significant determinant in such cases. However, they forget that it’s not about the price but the constituents in the foods that you purchase for your pet.

Sometimes, you might want to buy the cheapest foods from the stores. But will your dog receive the recommended amounts of nutrients that it is supposed to have? Thus, it is always recommended to analyze the best grain free dry dog food before buying something.

Note that puppies need to consume a lot of foods with carbohydrates in them. At that age, the dog is very active, and it also needs nutrients to grow. Without enough energy in the body, the animal might experience slow growth rates.

Weak and sick dogs would prefer more carbohydrates to get the energy to fight the infections in their bodies. As such, you might want to consider grain foods for such animals.

Are All Dogs Allergic to Grains?

A small percentage of dogs have allergies to grains. As such, they get affected when they consume foods that constitute grain components. Having health records for your dogs can help to determine the feeding program that you should adapt. As such, it is crucial to visit your vet for such bits of advice.

Commonly, most dogs are allergic to beef as compared to grains. When you want to switch to a grain-free diet, you need to consider the health of your pet first.

Some Tips on Feeding a Dog with Food Allergies

It helps when you understand the proper feeding program that you should adopt. Commonly, people would feed dogs only because they have to eat something. But is it right for one to do so? What if your dog has an allergy, is there a probability that you are putting its health to risk?

With proper guidelines from a vet, you can manage all the feeding issues for your pet, without placing it at risk. Now, what is the best grain free dog food that you can consider for your dog? Check the recommendations below.

Our Favorite

Our Top Pick: Hill’s Science Diet Dry Dog Food

One of the best foods that we can recommend to your dog is Hill’s option. It is the best food for dogs with a sensitive stomach. Another good thing about this food is that it falls into the dry dog food category. Because of that, it is suitable for digestion for any pet.

Hill's Science Diet Sensitive Stomach & Skin Grain Free Chicken & Potato Recipe Adult Dry Dog Food

Features

  • Dry foods
  • Grain-free foods
  • Contains vitamin E and Omega 3 for healthy skin and fur
  • Consists of natural ingredients
  • Contains fiber to balance the gut microbiome in the animal

Buy on Amazon

The taste of this food will make your pet ask for more. Apart from offering stomach satisfaction, this option will also help your animal to have healthy fur. You can also consider this food because it is highly digestible, thus, preventing any stomach discomforts. It is made of natural ingredients to boost the immune system so that you can consider this product for any dog type.

Diamond Naturals Skin & Coat Real Meat Recipe Dry Dog Food with Wild Caught Salmon

Features

  • Dry dog foods with minerals and vitamins
  • High-quality protein
  • Grain-free foods
  • Rich in salmon

Buy on Amazon

Good grain-free food should contain vitamins and minerals to help boost the health of a dog. In this product, poultry, real meat, and fish are the main ingredients. Your dog gets a guarantee of enough proteins with each consumption, and with vegetables in this food, you get a boost on the vitamins consumed by your pet. If you seek to provide balanced nutrition to your dog, this dog food could be your choice.

Purina Beneful Adult Dry Dog Food

Features

  • Real farm-raised chicken
  • Contains pumpkin, spinach, and blueberries
  • No animal by-product meal
  • No filters present

Buy on Amazon

Do you want foods that can support every other dog, whether a puppy or an adult? Are you looking for foods that are suitable for dogs with carbohydrates allergies? Here is more than just a delicious option. This dog food contains salmon as a source of protein. The fatty acids present helps to maintain the dog’s skin. In addition, this food helps to boost the immunity of your pet and encourages digestion.

Supreme Source Premium Dry Dog Food Grain Free, USDA Organic Seaweed, Protein, Salmon and Sweet Potato Recipe for All Life Stages.

Features

  • Grain-free foods
  • Higher protein content
  • Omega 3 acids

Buy on Amazon

Another product to consider for high-quality proteins that aid in strong muscles is this dog food. It’s good for animals with allergic to carbohydrates, as it contains no grains. Apart from that, it has antioxidants to boost the health of your pet. Don’t forget about the importance of good health for your pet. With this product, you have a guarantee to that.

Diamond Naturals Grain Free Real Meat Recipe Premium Dry Dog Food

Features

  • High-quality proteins
  • Rich in proprietary probiotics
  • Contains vegetables for enhanced vitamin supply

Buy on Amazon

This food helps to build the body organs of your dog. Besides, the omega 3 content helps to improve skin quality. With all that, your dog will be healthier than before. The good thing about this product is that it doesn’t have any preservatives.

Merrick Grain Free Dry Dog Food - Variety Flavors

Features

  • High protein levels
  • Fatty acids present
  • Whole foods like potatoes, berries, and blueberries for nutrition

Buy on Amazon

As the name suggests, your dog has a guarantee of excellent health by eating this product. Here is another grain-free dog food to consider for your pet. You won’t see any preservatives on its label. When you consider this food, you have an assurance of better health and improved dog immunity.

Wellness Complete Health Natural Grain Free Dry Dog Food Chicken

Features

  • Contains vitamins
  • Presence of minerals
  • High protein content

Buy on Amazon

Do you find it hard to balance the nutritional diet for your adult dog? Here is food with a proper formulation to fulfill the nutritional requirements of your dog. The best part is that it contains no artificial preservatives. Commonly, you can use this product for adult dogs. It helps in boosting the immunity of your pet.

Nutro MAX Adult Dry Dog Food, Regular & Large Breed

Features

  • No chicken by-products
  • Farm-raised chickens
  • Rich in nutrients

Buy on Amazon

Here is a high-quality protein dog food that you can’t miss to purchase for your pet. The reason for that is because real chicken is the number-one ingredient in this product. Besides, the product gives enough energy source due to its components. With such qualities, this food is always among the safest for your dog. Are you looking for the best dog food for boxers that are easy to digest? If yes, check this option out.

Nature's Recipe Easy to Digest Wet Dog Food, Chicken & Venison in Broth Recipe

Features

  • Healthy carbohydrates from green beans and sweet potatoes
  • Additional nutrients
  • Presence of vitamins and minerals

Buy on Amazon

Here is the food you can pick for young dogs. Its constituents will meet the necessary dietary needs of your pups. With poultry, real meat, or fish as the major ingredient, you are sure that all the protein needs are catered. Besides, it’s designed to provide recommended amounts of other nutrients to your pet.

Merrick Grain Free Small Dog All Life Stages Lil Plates Wet Dog Food Tubs

Features

  • Grain-free foods
  • Contains chicken or deboned beef
  • Contains vegetables and fruits

Buy on Amazon

Things to Consider Before You Switch to a Grain-Free Diet

A grain-free diet is foods without rice, corn, or any other grain components. However, you must remember that your dogs need energy. If you switch entirely to a grain-free diet, you can affect the levels of carbohydrates that you feed to your dog. As such, you might increase or reduce the levels of sugars in your pet without knowing it. So, it would help if you can analyze the foods that you want to introduce to your animal.

Commonly, it would take a proper plan for you to manage that. Changing from a regular diet that contains grain components doesn’t necessarily mean that you will stop giving foods with carbohydrates. But also, there are special factors that you must consider for that.

For instance, how much are you going to pay when you change from a regular diet? Are you in a position to purchase the best affordable grain-free dog food? Foods with no grains cost much more compared to regular ones. With proper calculations, you can determine if you will manage to supply your dog with those foods continually.

When changing a regular diet, you must be ready for some consequences. If you provide foods with low levels of carbohydrates, you will affect the animal’s wellness. So, what source of energy can you recommend for your dog? Also, you might end up giving your animal foods that have higher carbohydrates levels, for instance, potatoes. However, when a dog consumes a lot of foods with carbohydrates, it might become fat.

For example, it would help if you can consult with your vet to get guidelines on the proper meal program for your dog. Doing so will help to ensure that you provide the proper meal with the right nutrient amounts for your pet.

Note that animals can have allergies, as well. If you have a dog that is allergic to foods that lack grain components, you should consider the regular diet. Thus, you will minimize any chances of health problems that might arise during the transition period. The age of your animal also determines the food type.

Before you can switch to a new meal plan, it is good to remember that pups are always very active. So, they require a lot of energy. With that, you can determine the proper foods to contemplate.

The Best Grain Free Dog Food Buying Guide for Starters

Where can you get helpful tips for the best affordable grain free dog food? Here, we have reviewed ten high-quality dog products to consider. Reading through these reviews will place you in a position to select the finest foods among all options for your pet. But first, let us look at some factors that might hinder the type of foods that you acquire for your dog.

Dogs Are Naturally Carnivorous, So Do They Eat Grains?

black and white dalmatian dog eating fruitsSome people might think that dogs don’t eat grain foods. But is that true? Commonly, people would categorize every dog as carnivorous. Because of that, they often think that they shouldn’t feed their dogs with food that contains grains. Remember, animals need energy from food. Now, where can they get such energy, if they don’t consume foods with grains?

It is crucial to ensure that you balance all the nutrients for your dog. As such, you must have carbohydrates and proteins included in all meals. By so doing, you will ensure that the dog doesn’t suffer from malnutrition.

Cereal Grains Often Cause Food Allergies in Dogs

Before you change the diet of your dog, you must understand its health status first. Commonly, some dogs have allergies for various products. For instance, a dog might be allergic to cereals. As such, it won’t be recommendable to give foods that contain grains to such a dog.

Cute dog and list of allergies symptoms on white background

Taking your dog for check-ups can help to determine if the dog is suffering from any allergies. From there, you can request a feeding program from the vet for your pet. Remember, some allergies might even lead to deaths. Ensure that you check the health of your dog before changing its diet.

Dogs Don’t Have Amylase in Their Saliva to Break Down the Carbs in Grains

Digestion of carbohydrates always starts in the mouth of a human being. But for dogs, the case is very different. The reason here is that dogs don’t have amylase in their saliva to initiate the digestion process.

Such a thing is not that good because of various reasons. First, the dog might consume a lot of carbohydrates in their foods. Because the digestion process will start only in the stomach, there will be some portions that won’t get digested. As such, there will be a loss in the amounts of nutrients utilized by the dog.

What Makes a Good Grain-Free Dog Food?

different dog food and snack, chicken filet, antlers, lung, ear on black, flat layUnexperienced dog owners are not always in a position to define the components that should be present in a grain-free diet. As such, most of them aren’t able to purchase the optimal foods for their animals. Thus, one must determine the vital components of dog foods.

For instance, grain-free foods would contain proteins, fiber, and fats, among others. One must remember that such elements help to boost the wellness of any animal. As such, your dog diet must supply each one of them in the correct proportions.

Other components in the grain-free diet will help to improve the immunity, among other things. With a robust health system, the dog can fight any disease-causing organisms present in its body. Remember, the animal is also growing at that time. As such, the foods must provide supplements for healthy growth, as well. Checking through various reviews, you will get to determine the best rated grain free dog food that you can consider.

Whole Animal Protein Should Be a Principal Ingredient

For grain-free foods, you need to consider ones with whole animal protein components. As such, the animal can benefit from all the essential amino acids that its body requires. You need to check this before you can purchase any food for your dog.

Should Dog Foods Contain Healthier and More Wholesome Carbs?

Like humans, dogs should be of good health to enjoy their lives, as well. Proper foods function in improving the health of your dog by boosting its immunity system. A healthy dog will always show sighs to prove that. For instance, it will be active all through the day without showing symptoms of any diseases.

It is always crucial to understand the health of your animal to be in a position to detect when they fall sick. With good health records, you can manage that without any difficulties. Your pet foods should relate to a balanced diet of all the nutrients that the dog needs.

No Artificial or Harmful Ingredients

Your dog should always be safe, and you need to protect your pet from any external factors that might pose threats to its healthy life. Commonly, most people forget that animals can get sick, as well. Because of that, many of us won’t be that cautious when handling our animals.

Acquiring the best dry grain free dog food is the right way to go. Many times, microorganisms lead to food spoilage. So, you must consider dry foods that don’t favor the growth of disease-causing organisms such as fungus. Besides, it’s always good to check on the label to determine the components in dog food. Doing so helps to prevent your pet from harmful substances that might even cause death.

Money-Saving Grain Free Dog Food Tips That Can Help

People get themselves pets because of various reasons. All in all, we should remember that these animals need tender care and loving. To prove your responsibility as a pet owner, you should always provide all the necessary services for your dog. The common one that most people struggle with is the type of food to give to such animals. Because of that, most people fail to choose the best grain free dog food for their dogs.

Portrait of mid adult saleswoman carrying heavy food package in pet storeThe cost of feeding your pet can vary a lot. Bur, first of all, you need to check not only the price but mostly the components present in the foods. Commonly, the price of the foods for animals always determines what people select. So, one must be careful to pick the best grain free dog food for the money that they plan to spend.

There are various things you must put into consideration to ensure that you manage your dog in the recommended way. With such info, you can always save that extra cost for other necessities.

First, it would help if you can go through the labels on various dog foods. You need to understand the type of foods to deliver to your pet. When you have that info at hand, you can go through various stores to check on the foods that contain such constituents. By doing so, you won’t miss an option that has all the recommended nutrients for your dog at an affordable price.

Training your dog to follow a particular feeding program can also save you the cost of buying more foods for your dog. Make sure that the dog adheres to the program. But, first of all, you must consider the proportion of the nutrients present in the foods. Make sure that the dog doesn’t lack crucial nutrition. A dog owner must do a thorough analysis of the components present in the foods. By that, you will have the correct data for what you must reduce or add to the feeding program.

Final Thoughts on Feeding Dogs

The food that we give to our dogs has consequences. As such, we should ensure that we provide them with the best natural grain free dog food. By doing so, we can boost the immunity of our dogs and help them live a healthy life. Therefore, ensure that you purchase the right grain-free food for your pet and take care of it well.

Images credits: Amazon.com & photo stocks

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Author

Max Gordon

Dr. Gordon has been a contributor to a range of pet media since his study at Drexel University in Philadelphia. He does not miss a chance to do in-depth research backed by his own examinations. Along with writing his own pieces, Dr. Gordon does fact-checking of the articles.

View all posts by Max Gordon | DogsRecommend.com