Choosing between the plethora of dog food products in the market can get overwhelming for pet owners—particularly if you’re a new one. After all, the food you’d eventually end up buying will hugely affect your dog’s health and overall well-being, so you need to pick carefully!
A lot of dog food products, however, can contain potentially harmful ingredients. In recent years, wary pet owners have transitioned their pets to limited ingredient diets to avoid these irritants.
Are you also considering transitioning your dog to a limited ingredient diet? Whether you’re mulling it over because of your dog’s sensitive skin or stomach, or because you simply want them to enjoy the benefits of a more holistic diet, here’s what you need to know.
What is a limited ingredient diet?
A lot of dog foods contain harmful fillers, artificial ingredients, and coloring. As the name implies, a limited ingredient diet narrows it down to the essentials. Veterinary professionals often use limited ingredient diets to determine causes of allergies in pets.
What are the usual components of a limited ingredient diet?
The ingredients are carefully selected to accommodate pets with finicky tastes and stomachs. They vary depending on the manufacturer, but limited ingredient diets often contain only one major protein source. It also usually eliminates fillers such as corn. These products aim to provide dogs the nutrients they need, despite carrying a relatively shorter ingredient list.
What are the benefits of a limited ingredient diet?
Over time, dogs can become sensitive to lower-quality pet foods. If you notice your dog exhibiting symptoms of an allergic reaction such as excessive scratching, flaky skin, and diarrhea, try switching over to a gentle, hypoallergenic diet.
Chicken, Beef, and Lamb, while the most popular protein sources in pet foods, are also, unfortunately, common causes of allergies. If your dog develops an allergy to any of these protein sources, try pet foods with novel protein. Novel proteins are types of meat not typically used in pet food, such as kangaroo meat.
Addiction Wild Kangaroo and Apples Recipe contains wild Kangaroo, a premium novel protein; and Apples, fruits rich in fiber and antioxidants. It’s free from common allergens such as Chicken and poultry , wheat, potatoes, corn, soy, and gluten.
It’s also enriched with Coconut Oil, which promotes skin and coat health. It contains Chelated Minerals, which are high-performing minerals that are easier for dogs to absorb. Your pet can make the most of each meal with the nutrients they need.
For other options, you can also check out our wide array of premium limited ingredient diet products here. Our products are specially made for dogs with sensitive skin and stomachs.
How to transition your pet to a limited ingredient diet
Although there are benefits to switching to a limited ingredient diet, don’t just do it all at once—remember to carefully transition the change so as not to upset your pet’s stomach. Over the course of several days, slowly combine a quarter, half, and so on of the new dog food with the old one, until you can finally feed your pet 100% of the new dog food.
A caveat: Before switching products, consult your vet, particularly if your dog is experiencing skin and tummy troubles.
In the long run, it pays off to be a discerning pet owner—you might be initially spending more on higher-quality pet food, but over time, you’ll end up saving cash since you can skip expensive medicines and frequent trips to the vet. And, of course, nothing beats seeing your pet enjoying a higher quality of life. – Addictionpet.com
