It’s not just that the Felix has a wicked grain allergy or that raw-fed dogs shouldn’t get treats with grain in them.  It’s not just that she isn’t a big fan of grain in dog food in general and she’s 110% against it for cats, it’s that she really feel encouraged every time she discovers yet another brand that’s embracing the change that is happening in pet foods.

Twenty years ago, not many people questioned if grain belonged in dog food.


It was cheap, it was plentiful and it had protein in it – why not, right? As the years go by and we learn more about the canine digestive tract and how it works, we are realizing that maybe it’s not the best choice after all.  It used to be that the pet food companies held all the studies and gave out all the info and people believed them when they said food A was better than food B.

It’s a whole different ballgame now! This is the information age. 

There is so much information out there – and while that can make t hard to know what information is the truth, it’s also totally empowering! You, YES YOU, have the opportunity to learn more about pet food, right from your own home! (Want the straight goods? Look for information published on .edu sites. You can find and read a whole lot of studies for little or no money.)

As more and more owners become educated about pet food, what goes into it and how it affects our pets, more and more pet owners are making the switch to grain-free, low carbohydrate diets. 


Y’all, you are a part of the pet food revolution. By demanding and buying grain-free food, we’re creating our own sector of the pet food market. Together, we are changing the face of pet food. the Mama loves seeing that.


She gets particularly jazzed up when companies “get it”.


To Mama, every time we can get a company to see that there is an entire market of people out there who WANT grain-free food and treats, we’ve won. Every time the Mama goes into a mainstream, chain pet store and sees the grain-free treats section expanding, she smiles. Every time a company that’s been doing this forever releases their “new and improved” grain-free version of treats, it raises her spirit. It’s progress y’all. Finally, they’re “getting it”!

Then reality comes and slams her between the eyes.


Baby Lu has a queasy tummy. He went to the vet and the vet said he needed to be on a special food. Off he and his Mom went with an expensive bag that when you read the label you realize is pure junk.

That’s just the first 10 ingredients! There’s about 25 more.

Do you know what brewer’s rice is? It sounds fine right? Rice is good! HA! Brewers rice is the small milled fragments of rice kernels that are left over when they’re done milling the “good” rice. Nutritionally? It’s missing many of the nutrients that are found in whole rice and therefore, it’s considered low quality.

Most of us would never ever in a million years toss our dog the fat off a chicken. Table scraps? *gasp* Your dog will get pancreatitis**! And yet, somehow it’s magically safe when it’s in this kibble? (Note – I don’t actually think it’s “safe” at all. Don’t feed your dog chicken fat folks, it’s gross and dangerous.)

What about rice hulls? Rice hulls are the hard outer coating of the grain of rice. Any guesses what those are used for other than as a “nutritious, wholesome” addition to pet food? Building material, fertilizer, insulation  material and fuel production. Seriously. Sounds yummy, right? NO!

Am I the only one tearing out my hair that so many in the veterinary community are just not getting it?


I have no problem if you do all the research and decide you want to feed a food with higher quality grain in it or if you’d like to feed a better product, but you can’t afford it. You’re doing your best. That is awesome. I have such an issue with all the vets out there selling this “tuna taste on a caviar budget” product and claiming it’s the BEST stuff out there. As far as I am concerned, it’s false advertising from the people we should most be able to trust with out pet’s health.

**Gets down off my soapbox**.

Sorry. I just had to get that off my chest. It’s kind of a pet peeve of mine. 


What do you think? How do we get veterinarians everywhere to look at the real information, not what the pet food companies want them to see? How do we get them to embrace new research and high quality products? How can we show them that we as a community want more from their nutritional recommendations?

We would love to hear your thoughts, so leave us a woof below.

This is a blog hop!  Every week, we invite you to link up your Tastiest Post and Hop On to discover all sorts of new treats recipes, great giveaways and more!

To take part, follow your hosts, Kol’s Notes &  Sugar the Golden Retriever, grab the badge from our sidebar and add your link to this week’s hop!