Why cereal-free dog food is the better choice
Grain-free dog food is an absolute must for many owners. But at the same time, some dog owners are still of the opinion that dog food without cereals only serves to increase prices and has no advantages whatsoever for the health of their dog.
Whether grain really belongs in the feeding bowl or whether a grain-free dog food is not perhaps the better choice after all, we will explain in the following.
Why does dog food often contain cereals?
If you regularly look at the back of the packaging, you will quickly see that dog food containing cereals is usually the norm. However, this is not because cereals are important for proper dog nutrition.
Instead, it is simply a matter of keeping production costs as low as possible. After all, grain is known to be significantly cheaper than meat. The lower the proportion of meat in dog food, the cheaper it is to produce.
In many cases, cereals are therefore now the main ingredient in dried dog food, although even then, in some cases, not even food-grade raw materials are used, but inferior vegetable by-products.
Dog food suitable for the species does not contain cereals
As you can see, many dog food manufacturers rely on grain for cost reasons. However, this has little to do with a balanced and species-appropriate diet for dogs. This is because dogs originally come from wolves and are so-called semi-carnivores.
Their digestive system is therefore primarily specialized in the utilisation of animal fats and proteins. Vegetable components, however, should only make up a small part of a dog's diet.
Although they are perfectly capable of digesting starchy carbohydrates from cereals, they can also be used as a source of protein. However, the majority of their food should consist of meat and offal as well as animal fats.
Problems caused by grain in dog food
If a dog's food contains too much grain, this can lead to serious health problems. The consumption of wheat can cause, among other things, intolerances and feed allergies, which manifest themselves in the form of digestive problems, itching and hair loss in the dog.
In addition, dogs are not able to digest large quantities of starch. For this reason, the consumption of dog food with a high proportion of cereals very often leads to diarrhoea.
In addition, some breeds of dog are naturally sensitive to gluten. Gluten is a mixture of proteins found in most grains. In affected dogs, gluten intolerance sooner or later leads to intestinal inflammation, diarrhoea and weight loss.
If you want to avoid such complaints in your four-legged friend, you should therefore definitely buy a cereal-free dog food. This is the only way to reliably rule out problems caused by cereals and provide your dog with optimum support for his well-being.
Bellfor dog food without cereals
At Bellfor we have always attached great importance to a species-appropriate and digestible dog nutrition. For this reason, we firmly believe that dog food without cereals is almost always the better choice.
We therefore recommend our Münsterländer Landschmaus. This high-quality, cereal-free dry dog food is available in different varieties. We do not only do without grain in the production of the dry food, but also without artificial additives.
Instead, our cereal-free dry dog food contains easily digestible carbohydrate sources such as potatoes and sweet potatoes as well as a need-based proportion of animal proteins from food-grade ingredients.
You can therefore be sure that the food optimally supplies your dog with all the necessary nutrients. In addition to classic varieties with fish or chicken, you will also find cereal-free dry food with insect protein from the larvae of the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) in our range, which is ideal for nutritionally sensitive quadrupeds and dogs with feed allergies.
Gluten-free cereals as an alternative for dogs
Although cereal-free dog food is the right choice in most cases, some dog owners still prefer cereal-based food for their dog. As long as you give preference to easily digestible varieties with gluten-free cereals, such as corn and rice, this is basically okay.
However, even in this case you should make sure that animal ingredients such as meat, fish or insect protein are the main ingredient in the food of your choice. This is the only way to ensure that your dog is optimally supplied with all important nutrients.
Our food tip for active dogs
A dog food containing cereals can be especially useful for dogs that are active in sports and can help to cover the increased energy requirements caused by physical strain.
We recommend our gluten-free dry dog food from the Bellfor Premium Pur range for this purpose. The food contains rice and corn as a source of easily digestible carbohydrates, which provide your four-legged friend with valuable energy.
In addition, this dog food is of course also characterised by a high content of animal proteins and the absence of artificial additives. With Bellfor Premium Pur, you are therefore relying on a species-appropriate food that your four-legged friend is guaranteed to love, despite the grain it contains.
Our conclusion on the subject of cereal-free dog food
As you can see, dog food without cereals is by no means a short-term trend or even a method of driving up prices unnecessarily. Instead, doing without cereals has health benefits. Because it makes dog food more digestible and significantly reduces the likelihood of problems such as food allergies in dogs.
If your pet does not tolerate grain well anyway, switching to a grain-free dog food is essential. But even if you haven't noticed any problems so far, switching to a dog food without cereals, such as Münsterländer Landschmaus from Bellfor, is a good decision.
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