[Jessica C]

Hi! I have two German shepherds. I want them to have grain inclusive diets (rice, corn, other safe grains) for their health balance but I’m struggling to find grain inclusive food that is gluten free. I have very severe celiac and gluten needs to stay out of the house for my own health. Does anyone have suggestions for food we can try? Pea and lentil free is a plus!!

[joanne l]

look into Victor, I know Purina pro plan is good. there is a list of grains that are gluten free check it out and then read the dog food ingredients. Merrick Classic with grains maybe good too, What are you feeding right now? They are big dogs so I hope you find something soon.

[joanne l]

Okay I just checked on chewy.com and Victor is gluten free and has grains, also Natures Logic is gluten free. Just check on chewy’s website and select gluten free dog food. You will see grain free but also grain in.

[Jessica C]

Wow! Thank you so much for your help!! I will check out Chewy’s site and will likely be buying so Victor today!

[GSDsForever]

Jessica,

Hi. Cool to hear from another German Shepherd lover. I’m a lifelong owner and really passionate about the breed.

You might consider Annamaet & Holistic Blend (division of Eagle Pack).

A few Annamaet grain-inclusive formulas, without gluten grains, that might work for you are the Extra & Ultra. (Along with Small Breed, these don’t include barley.)

One HS grain inclusive formula that I know, without gluten grains, is Sardine, Anchovy, & Salmon. The carb base is rice (brown & white) & oats for grains, plus pumpkin & flaxseed. No legumes and no potatoes.

Like you, I’ve been trying to find good, safe foods that are grain inclusive and without peas/lentils/chickpeas/legumes in the top 10 ingredients, also not potato heavy. Lamb & rice formulas have also been linked to DCM, as have high fiber diets.

While not needing gluten-free in our case, on my exclusion list for now are the top dog food allergens — beef, chicken, dairy, egg, wheat, corn, and soy. I have a food allergy dog and we haven’t entirely worked out what all her allergies include. So you can probably imagine it’s been challenging as well!

Both Eagle Pack Holistic Blend and Annamaet have long, excellent reputations for high quality foods and safety.

Annamaet, in particular, has been outstanding in their communication with me verbally & in writing, as they’ve fielded Qs about their feeding trials and testing of their products, their research including published peer reviewed, and their nutritionists who’ve formulated and oversee their formulas. (I would stick to their grain-inclusive for now though.) Their website lists online places to purchase their foods.

If I think of or come across any other foods that might work for you, I will pass the info on. Good luck!

• This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by GSDsForever.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by GSDsForever.

[crazy4cats]

Eagle Pack is a division of Well Pet, the makers of Wellness.

[GSDsForever]

Yep, Eagle Pack/Holistic Select is owned by Berwind, under the Wellpet umbrella.

But Eagle Pack brand (and its Holistic Select line) was founded and established in 1970 as a separate company, its foods were created and formulated separately, and continue to be manufactured in its own Mishawaka, IN facility.

Since the merger, ownership acquisition by Berwind 12 years ago, there have been no adverse events involving either Eagle Pack or its line Holistic Select . . . no recalls ever.

While it’s helpful to be aware of ownership, I think it would be a mistake to conflate the Wellness range of formulas or Wellpet with Eagle Pack/Holistic Select. They have different brand histories.

[joanne l]

I like eagle pack and holistic select too, but my GSD didn’t like either of them. Plus he can’t have dog food with chicken in it and the eagle pack lamb and rice has chicken so bummer all the way around.
GSDsForever: I like that you are very knowledgeable on dog food and on top of things, I too research like crazy.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by joanne l.

[GSDsForever]

Jessica,

One German Shepherd show kennel that I know of feeds SportMix Chicken & Rice, a pretty simple formula, without legumes (or potatoes) or gluten. And the dogs have been doing well on it.

It has that very moderate (to moderate high) protein & fat that most GSD show breeders tend to favor, 26/16.

https://www.sportmix.com/dog-food/wholesomes/wholesomes-chicken-meal-rice-formula/

I don’t know much about the line, other than that it is owned by Midwestern Pet Foods (which itself is owned by an old milling company, Nunn) which makes Earthborn, a brand that seems to have much more visibility and promotion.

Earthborn Holistic, with its many grain-free formulas, was heavily implicated among the DCM case reports to the FDA, while Sportmix was not.

[GSDsForever]

joanne,

Thank you; you’re very kind to say that. This is rough, isn’t it? This trying to find a high quality, safe food that is grain inclusive . . . while needing to avoid a major common ingredient like chicken (or in Jessica’s case, gluten grains)?

I know of another line’s formulas that many, many top show people in GSDs have fed for a very long time . . . safely and happily, + dogs doing well and looking great. But it has CHICKEN (and barley, which wouldn’t work for Jessica’s needs either).

Bummer to hear yours didn’t like the EP/HS. Were you feeding it straight up, no additions?

Have you tried Annamaet?

I typically add to dry . . . wet foods (canned or fresh), good oil. I also add warm water most of the year. Do you think that would help yours to eat? I’m currently adding sardines in oil, as I want the protein & fat a bit higher anyway. We’re trying to see if she can handle fish, with her food allergy/allergies.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by GSDsForever.

[GSDsForever]

First Mate’s grain inclusive formulas — carb base is oatmeal & brown rice — might be an option, for either you Jessica or you Joanne.

I just have not had much exposure to this brand, and I personally have not done the research & inquiry with the company that I would wish to do before considering feeding one of their formulas. Options are chicken, fish, or lamb formulas, all limited ingredient, relatively simple formulas.

I appreciate and hate at the same time reading chicken fat as one of the ingredients across formulas, as someone avoiding chicken. Allergy-wise, fat can’t be an allergen, but that chicken fat had better be clarified and tested free of all protein!

Ash and fiber both look too high to me in these formulas. They claim suitable for large breed puppies, but to any large breed puppy people reading this, please do not feed this unless and until confirming the ACTUAL calcium and phosphorous, vs. the % amounts and ratio expressed as minimums here in the guaranteed analysis.

[Jessica C]

@GSDsForever, I am so grateful for all of this knowledge!! I wish I had the words to describe it. Thank you for taking the time to explain everything so well and for being so thorough! I have so much I get to explore now- myself and my pups thank you!!

[joanne l]

You’re quite welcome.

[GSDsForever]

Jessica,

I hope your German Shepherds are doing well & you were able to find a good food that works for them! How are they?

Thank you for your kind words above and you’re welcome. I especially love helping w/other GSDs! What an amazing breed we are blessed to have in our lives.

I was just thinking about our exchange going back a few months, since we were talking specifically about gluten & celiac disease for you. If you are still around or check back here, I’d love to hear your thoughts for my own dog. As it turns out, we’ve recently learned that she may be allergic to wheat. She had a pretty severe allergic flare.

What I know about this in dogs is really just that: wheat is a common food allergen in food allergic dogs, while gluten intolerance in dogs has only been found as a rare inherited condition in Irish Setters (Gluten Sensitive Enteropathy).

[GSDsForever]

Just adding: There is also a condition in dogs, paroxysmal dyskinesia, in which the specific kind affecting Border Terriers (CECS — Canine Epileptoid Cramping Syndrome, aka Spike’s Disease) has been found in a small study to be triggered by gluten, and responsive to gluten-elimination in the diet.

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