Why do some vets warn about grain free?
This is the most searched question on the subject and it deserves a proper answer rather than silence. The concern comes from an American investigation into a possible link between grain free complete diets and a heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy. The suspicion fell on diets where grain had been replaced with large amounts of peas, lentils and other legumes. It has never been shown to be a cause, and the picture is still unsettled.
What matters here is that it is a question about complete food, eaten every day, where the replacement ingredient makes up a large share of the diet. It is not about treats, and it has nothing at all to do with a dried piece of beef. If your dog is on a grain free complete food, that is a conversation worth having with your vet. Their treats are not the part to worry about.
So are grain free treats good or bad?
Neither, on their own. Grain free is not a health claim, it is a statement about what is absent. The useful question is what is present instead. A biscuit where the wheat was swapped for potato flour is grain free and still mostly flour. A dried cow ear is grain free because it is an ear.
Does my dog need grain free?
Probably not, and we would rather tell you that than sell you a label. True grain allergies in dogs are uncommon. Protein is the far more likely culprit, usually chicken or beef, which is why our hypoallergenic range is organised by meat rather than by what has been left out. If your dog is itchy or unsettled and you are working through it, start there.
That said, plenty of people simply prefer their dog eating meat rather than filler, and that is a perfectly good reason on its own.
What replaces the grain in yours?
Nothing, because nothing was taken out. These are not recipes with an ingredient removed. They are parts of an animal, air-dried. There is no potato, no pea flour, no glycerin and no binder, with the single exception of our meat sticks, which use 3% tapioca and say so in the table above.
Is grain free the same as gluten free?
Not quite, though everything here is both. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. Grain free is broader and rules out rice, maize and oats too, none of which contain gluten. Since our treats contain no plant material at all beyond the sweet potato slices, the distinction does not really arise.
Is grain free the same as hypoallergenic?
No, and the two get muddled constantly. Grain free is about what is absent. Hypoallergenic is about choosing a protein your dog has not reacted to, which usually means a novel meat like rabbit or venison. A grain free chicken treat is still chicken, and chicken is one of the most common things dogs react to.
How do I check a treat is really grain free?
Read the composition rather than the front of the pack, and look for what comes after the meat. Potato, pea, tapioca, glycerin and maize starch are all common in formed chews, and none of them are grain, so the claim on the front is accurate while the chew is still mostly not meat. If a composition runs to more than a line or two, that is your answer.
