9 Best Non Grain Free Dog Food Brands

You really need to work with a vet on a prescription hydrolized protein elimination diet for 8-12 weeks. If your dog doesn’t improve on that diet, then it almost certainly isn’t food related.

Jumping around novel protein retail diets won’t help and could make things harder down the line.

This sounds like you need prescription food and vet care. Either a hydrolyzed diet or something like biome which is designed to mitigate some stomach issues.

The fact that you've tried 7 foods and he's not a year old is crazy. No offense but it takes a lot of time to change food and let their bodies settle.

Hi! This isn't really the way one should go about testing foods, unfortunately. You're introducing too many variables, and the reality is that a single ingredient may not be the cause at all. There may be no intolerance, but rather a GI disorder or something else going on.

You need to speak to a vet about a prescription diet at this point. Throwing up and severe diarrhea indicate an underlying condition you're going to need to work with them to figure out. I recommend asking about a hydrolyzed diet trial to start. Retail diets aren't cutting it, so it's time to turn to a therapeutic one.

 I don't think there's any WSAVA grain free AND chicken free diets.

In North America there are several; Pro Plan SSS in three flavors, Hills lamb and rice, and Hills Pollock and Insect. Plus, of course, a huge variety of prescription diets.

This has been discussed in this subreddit many times in recent months. Here is the megathread we had shortly after the most recent FDA announcement. You'll find more threads if you want to search for them.

The tl;dr is that your best bet is to feed a brand that meets WSAVA guidelines. If you're in the US, those brands are Purina, Hills, Royal Canin, Eukanuba, and Iams. Given that we don't know the exact link between grain-free and DCM, it is recommended to avoid grain free options even from the WSAVA compliant brands.

If you're looking for an option that is a good balance of budget friendly while still meeting high nutritional standards, Purina ONE might be a good line for you to look into.

Is there a reason you're not a fan of PPP? I know a lot of people are weary of Purina but a lot of dogs get really excellent results on it.

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Other options: Victor, Farmina Ancestral Grain

With more research leading to grain free diets causing heart disease in dogs, I've been struggling to find a diet that isn't grain free but is high quality. The vet I work at recommends Purina Pro Plan, Science Diet, and Royal Canin, but my dogs won't eat Science Diet, and I'm not really a fan of Purina Pro Plan.

My dog has developed spots on her skin that flake like dandruff and has an issue with ear problems from yeast. I am trying to find a food that I can afford without any chicken but that also has grains. Her vet suspects a chicken allergy. He said it's very common with her breed. My financial circumstances have gotten worse and I am having trouble finding something. Any suggestions would be great.

Food allergy tests are a scam and based on junk science. However the only way to test for and treat a food allergy is by doing a hydrolyzed protein diet for 12 weeks and seeing whether your dog's symptoms have improved. You cannot do this with a commercial diet, the rate of cross contamination is just too high, and brands like natural balance do not have any science backing them. The likelihood that it's actually food related is low, it's more likely to be environmental in nature. However you need to do the food trial first before you can diagnose environmental allergies. There are very effective treatments for environmental allergies, so it's really important to do the hydrolyzed diet first before doing anything else.

Edit: Your dog should also not be on a grain free diet, please look at the article on DCM in this sub's wiki. Grain allergies are one of the most rare food allergies so there is absolutely no reason to be feeding a grain free diet.

I’ve been feeding my 2 year old golden retriever the acana red meat dog food but I’m concerned since I’ve read it’s a brand that may cause heart issues. I can’t seem to find any dog food that doesn’t contain chicken AND contains grain in my area. The closes I’ve found is purina pro plan salmon but it has hydrolized chicken, the other option I’ve found was chicken soup for the souls (the beef, lamb and salmon versions have no chicken but they’re grain free) and the Kirkland brand salmon food. Does anyone have any suggestions? I’d greatly appreciate it 💗

Keep in mind that all OTC diets will face cross contamination. If your dog is truly allergic to chicken, he may still have reactions. The only way to diagnose food allergies is to use a Hydrolyzed diet.

Purina pro plan has a salmon and rice formula that may work!

You need to try a hydrolyzed diet, that is the only way to correctly diagnose and treat food allergies.

What makes you not a fan of ProPlan?

You’re causing more issues by feeding diets like this and not working with your vet. Grain free is incredibly dangerous.

Fromm Gold has a good word-of-mouth reputation. The company's been around for a long time and has a good track record.

I firmly believe that Royal Canin is the best food you can buy. I’ve worked at Petsmart and a vet clinic for years, and I never recommend anything else unless you literally can’t afford it.

My girl had heart worms when we got her so I’m also very against feeding her anything grain-free, in fact I flat out refuse to do so. I had to switch her off RC tho cuz she’s sensitive to chicken (and there isn’t a non-chicken option from RC that’s not prescription and insanely expensive... ugh...). Natural Balance has limited ingredient formulas that still have grain and they are a good brand. Nutro is also semi-decent.

We have a border collie with a suspected chicken allergy (plus beef, most grains, and egg). The ONLY food to deal with her skin and GI issues is Hills Z/D. Yes, it is pricey but we make it work because she is finally not miserable.

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The following brands have been associated with weak hearts in dogs.

The brands are ordered by the number of cases linked to them, which ranged from a high of 67 to 10:

• Acana
• Zignature
• Taste of the Wild
• 4Health
• Earthborn Holistic
• Blue Buffalo
• Nature’s Domain
• Fromm
• Merrick
• California Natural
• Natural Balance
• Orijen
• Nature’s Variety
• NutriSource
• Nutro
• Rachael Ray Nutrish

I'm looking for something that isn't too expensive, but is still nutritious.

i have a 2 year old female german shepherd, and like any other shepherd, her belly is sensitive to pretty much everything. she doesn’t tolerate wheat at all, venison gives her the runs, beef is a no. chicken is ok. currently she’s on a grain free, duck & potato recipe by natural balance. the problem is, she is so ITCHY to the point she makes herself bleed. i feel so bad. my vets only recommendation is trial and error with her food or allergy testing (which i was warned could cost a lot). this protein and food brand i have her on now has been the best. there is the least amount of itching and bleeding (but consistently still there). when she was on a beef based dog food, she lost a lot of hair on her back from itching. so i’m thankful im not to that point yet. but even with allergy medicine, poor girl still is so itchy.

i understand it could potentially be other factors. but given she’s itchy year round, i suspect it’s her food. what other brands do you recommend or other protein bases i could try? natural balance is 80$ every two weeks for 20lbs of food… not that price is a problem because i love my girl… but holy cow. i’m not asking for medical advice! just other food brands or proteins i could explore. she’s been on this food for 3 months with minimal improvement to her itching!

i would like to add: i come from a very small town with one vet and this is what they recommended: trial and error on limited ingredient dog food and then allergy testing. she gave me some allergy medicine for my dog (benadryl) but this was all that i was told to do & she encouraged me to try grain free food. she said only after allergy testing will they so prescription dog food. i am working with what i have🙃

Not what you are immediately thinking. My pup was having some issues and me and the vet confirmed chicken is an issue. We thought that was the only issue so we tried the ppp sensitive skin and stomachs (both) and he still kept having diarrhea and vomiting on them. There's something else he can't have but we don't know what it is. I got permission to put him on an old food he had no issues on for awhile so his stomach gets better but it's a very cheap grain free food (pure balance wild and free Salmon and Pea) he has no throwing up or diarrhea on this. I'm starting to think it's one of the grains but IDK which one and don't wanna mess him up by testing grains. The old vet ignored his issues for months to the point his stomach was swollen. I moved and gained access to another vet and immediately took him in. The new vet immediately started helping me resolve it and his stomach isn't swollen anymore.(I had transportation issues before now I don't.)

I just need food suggestions to try later on and avoiding grains and chicken seems to be the answer here. especially because idk what it is bothering him.

Is there ANY grain free that are decent for when I restart trying new foods again? Please don't get mad at me for wanting the grain free ones. I just have no idea what the second allergy or intolerance is.

He has a known fiber issue but this is different; the fiber is manageable with a supplement which is expensive and cuts A LOT into his food budget(considering switching to a different one to cut the cost more than 50% trying Psyllium husk as an alternative soon). I have 3 animals(2 cats and this pup) so I set a portion aside for meals throughout the month. what doesn't get used on food goes to other things for them or put aside as extra for vet visits.

I knew the first two worked because they were used when I was basically broke but didn't want to use the cheapest food in the store.

Foods I tried:

Pure balance lamb and fava bean(grain free)/ was used for one week during the same time as the salmon due to supply issues from snow did not finish transition and went back to salmon: no issues

Pure balance salmon and pea(grain free)/ was on the first couple months I had him: no issues

Pedigree puppy/ about a month(not counting transition week): throwing up and loose stool

Iams puppy chicken and rice/attempted but did not use: wouldn't eat it at all (felt like I should mention this one it failed but it was attempted)

Hills small and mini puppy chicken and rice/about 3 months: throwing up and severe diarrhea

PPP salmon and rice/ attempted about a month: throwing up and severe diarrhea

PPP lamb and oat/tried for about a month: throwing up and severe diarrhea

sorry for the probably controversial question. I don't think there's any WSAVA grain free AND chicken free diets. pure balance doesn't seem to be linked to DCM but it's literally the store brand so probably not best long term. he's doing better now but idk how that will be later. he's under a year old (age is Abit finicky rn long story there) again I'm sorry. if this isn't allowed I'm also VERY sorry.

Edit: adding time on each food

I’ve been seeing a lot of people asking whether grain-free or grain-inclusive dog food is better, and honestly, this used to confuse me a lot too.

At first, I totally believe that grain-free automatically meant healthier or higher quality. It just sounds better, and a lot of marketing pushes it that way. But I don’t really see it as that black and white anymore.

Some dogs do incredibly well on grain-inclusive diets — solid digestion, firm poops, good energy. Other dogs clearly improve on grain-free, especially when it comes to skin or itching problem. Because of that, I’ve stopped judging food based on whether it has grains or not and started paying more attention to how the dog actually does on it.

In my experience, very high-protein, meat-heavy grain-free foods tend to work better for highly active dogs, but they can be a bit much for dogs with sensitive stomachs. On the other side, grain-inclusive foods that use easier-to-digest grains like rice or oats often feel more stable for a lot of dogs.

If a dog seems sensitive to certain proteins or has skin issues, changing the protein source sometimes makes more of a difference than removing grains. And for dogs that get diarrhea every time their food changes, formulation consistency is what matters the most.

I also see people asking if dogs with allergies should automatically go grain-free, but true grain allergies are actually pretty rare. Most issues seem to be protein-related.

If my dog has good energy, normal stools, and a healthy-looking coat, the food is probably working. I'm curious about what everyone else feeds? grain-free or grain-inclusive? or how you will choose what is suitable for your dogs?

I've noticed that most grain free options I’ve come across and tried are still dry foods like Farmina or Orijen. They seem popular, but I don't really want to feed dry food for every single meal. We recently switched to fresh grain free food by Sara's Wholesome and he's been having the turkey recipe. It's a very underrated grain free option imo. My dog has been devouring it everyday

They also have about 60% protein as well so it makes me at ease giving him this everyday he stays full for longer too.

This is not an ad lol just a genuine concern along with a recommendation

What grain free food do you give your dog?

Edited: Thanks guys, fair points from a lot of you. Didn't think this post would get this much pushback 😅, so just wanted to add a bit more context.

I would like to clarify that im not a fan of feeding dry food as my dog's main diet. I've tried a few well known kibble brands over the years, but my dog always had digestion issues and it just never seemed to suit him. I spoke to my vet about it and because of his stomach issues we decided to try a fresh grain free diet instead. Fresh food just seems to agree with him a lot more and Sara's happened to be one of the options my vet was okay with trying.

Also, I messed up in my original post. It's 60% meat, not 60% protein.

I'm not saying grain free is better for every dog or that everyone should switch. I know there are valid concerns around grain free diets, and I'd never tell someone to change their dog's diet without speaking to their vet first. I was just sharing something that's genuinely worked well for my dog after trying a lot of different foods. 🙏

For the second time in a row I have bought a grain-free food without knowing it was grain-free. There are so many options of dog food I get completely overwhelmed and I cannot afford to buy a THIRD bag of food in the span of a month at the moment.

I bought my dog a grain-free food by accident after her food (Purina Beyond) was discontinued and Chewy sent me my cats food instead of any kind of notification that they were out.

And my dog was also out of food.

So, I bought True Acres Chicken & Veg in a bit of a panic because it was a big bag for not too much money. "Grain-free" is written almost all over it but I didn't catch on until we were nearly done with bag #1.

My dog has since developed a rash on her belly that she scratches at a ton.

So I found Purina Pro Plan Adult Sensitive Skin & Stomach. The picture had nothing with grain-free listed, but I didn't scroll through all 8 photos listed, I just bought it. I had been working through the pages on Chewy for about an hour trying to find something that seemed within my budget for the price and weight and that was what I kept landing on.

Today I looked at the bag and right on the front it says "no corn, wheat or soy." I cannot explain how much I want to absolutely lose it right now. I had transitioned her and was feeling good, but since the rash persisted, I had made a vet appointment for fear that it was the mower chemicals and cut grass inflaming her belly.

NOW? IDK.

I'm so upset. I have like two bags of very full dog food, just paid rent and am trying to save for this vet appt. I do not have funds, or space, or spoons to get yet another bag of food and transition her AGAIN.

Why is grain-free food so readily available? It shouldn't be given to a dog unless expressly determined by a vet, yet it's everywhere!

And now I'm so exhausted from looking for food the first time, I don't want to look again. I already feel exhausted, overwhelmed and burnt out at the thought which in turn makes me feel like a terrible dog owner that I keep putting my baby through this.

Thanks for listening to me vent and if anyone has recommendations for a NOT grain-free dog food good for a 45lb Treeing Hound mix (budget of about $60/mo) I am so open to it.