15 Best Legume Free Dog Foods

Enjoy whole body health from this high-protein food option with the help of omega fatty acids, antioxidants, glucosamine, hydrochloride and probiotics.

Key Features

• Deboned turkey and turkey meal
• Chicken meal recipe
• Available in three sizes (4 pounds, 12 pounds, 26 pounds)

This grain-free meal has no meat by-products, fillers, artificial preservatives or flavors. Improve your dog’s healthy coat with omega fatty acids (flaxseed and salmon oil).

This protein-rich, nutrient-dense and grain-free meal has multiple health benefits: optimum fat and calorie levels, and living food with acticoats. The coated kibble has probiotics to support the dog’s digestive health, which are infused with superfoods (spinach, broccoli, kale).

Pros

• Leaner body mass and muscle tone
• Supports a healthy coat

Cons

• Several dogs won’t eat the food
• One reviewer reported a Lab with acid reflux from eating this

Made with antioxidants, omega fatty acids, glucosamine and probiotics, this nutrient-dense food is an ideally balanced diet for adult dogs.

15. Amazon Brand – Wag Dry

Amazon Brand – Wag Dry

$23.99

Check on Amazon

Amazon.com

as of 27 September 2022 6:28

Within the past two years, Amazon has decided to dive into its own private label dog food market. Made in California, a U.S.-based family-owned facility brings this high-quality meal.

Key Features

• Available in three sizes (5 pounds, 15 pounds, 30 pounds)
• Real American beef (number one ingredient)
• Omega 3 fatty acids (salmon oil and flaxseed)

Nutritious vegetables in this dry dog food include lentils and peas, which provide vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients. This dry dog food contains no added grains, corn or wheat. Made with an optimal blend of nutrients and fat, each serving contains 35 percent of protein.

Pros

• No added artificial colors, flavors or chemical preservatives
• Formulated with veterinarians’ help

Cons

• Unclear who the manufacturer is; just listed under an Amazon address
• One reviewer reported loose poop and bad gas

If this dog food option does not suit your dog’s needs, you can receive a full refund without returning the remaining food.

Key Information about Legumes Free Diets

Are peas, potatoes, legumes and lentils bad for dogs?

Between January 1, 2014 and April 30, 2019, the Federal Drug Administration received 524 reports of canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), which consisted of 515 dogs and nine cats.

According to the American Kennel Club, most of the reports were submitted after the FDA’s first public alert in July 2018 (1).

The total number of pets affected is almost certainly more than 524 because the reports came from multi-pet households. Certain grain-free dog foods were particularly of interest, such as dog food containing legumes, peas, lentils, legume seeds, and potatoes as primary ingredients.

So what exactly is DCM? It’s a type of canine heart disease that affects the heart muscle. Dogs with DCM may be at risk of heart problems that result in a decreased ability to pump blood. In the worst-case scenarios, this can result in congestive heart failure.

Larger breed dogs are already at higher risk of DCM, mainly Doberman Pinschers, Great Danes,  Irish Wolfhounds, Newfoundlands, and Saint Bernards.

Looking into grain-free foods (meaning ones with no corn, soy, wheat, rice, barley or other grains)–or foods that contained beans, chickpeas, lentils, peas or potatoes (including sweet potatoes)–there appeared to be a higher risk of DCM related to them.

AKC confirms that 90 percent of foods reported in DCM cases were grain-free. For dog food containing peas and/or lentils, that number increased to 93 percent.

The number significantly dropped to 42 percent for dog food with potatoes and/or sweet potatoes.

While raw, semi-wet and wet dog food were involved in some cases, dry dog food took the brunt of the blame.

The problem with banning these foods from your dog’s dietary needs is it may not always be the food. It could be other ingredients commonly found in dog food such as exotic meats, vegetables, and fruits as substitutes for grains.

But as with any dog food, and with varying breeds, some dogs may have an issue with it while others won’t.

When trying out new dog foods, pay close attention to any physical or mental changes in your dog’s behavior. If anything alarming happens, seek veterinary help immediately.

Is this the Right diet for my dog?

As with any healthy dog option, there will be some dogs who will have an adverse effect to eating these meals.

Some may have absolutely no problem with grains, peas, carrots, legumes, potatoes, brown rice, and other ingredients found within the meals.

Others will have an immediate reaction to a high-fiber diet, just as human beings do.

For obvious reasons, a dog’s digestive system may react differently. But no matter the diet (human or dog), it will take a while for the dog to get used to the new taste of these meals. This is why it is so imperative to slowly transition, according to the directions, from one old food to another.

Changing the meal just to change the meal may not work successfully. If you’re worried about your dog putting on weight, changing the food and making him sicker is not the right move.

It may be a matter of the owner getting more active with the dog, allowing the dog to play in larger spaces or invest in active toys, or simply not leaving the dog in the basement or house all day long.

The breed’s activity needs will matter as much, if not more, than the diet. But unlike the more obvious observations that can be made from seeing a dog tire out while walking or running, food transitions may take a little longer.

It can be as unpleasant as bad gas, burping or panting. Or, a bit quieter, such as feeling lethargic or opting out of certain foods.

Pay very close attention before changing your dog’s diet from what he is used to eating. For every dog that loves a certain type of meal, there will be dogs who hate it.

For every dog who transitions without a problem, there may be one who has a tough go at it. Keep a food record of how the dog’s behavior matches up with the food transition.

Hopefully, your dog gets the healthier diet he needs without any long-term health scares. Keep your veterinarian aware of any alarming changes immediately.

How do I handle picky eaters?

There’s only so much you can do to make your dog eat the new legume-free dog food meal. You can try sneaking it into snacks or mixing it in with other food.

But if you get to the point where your dog refuses to eat altogether, especially for more than a day, you may have to bow out and try another food option.

Just because one legume-free option isn’t his most desired choice doesn’t mean another one won’t.

For a multi-dog home, it’s not uncommon for one dog to like a meal while the other one doesn’t. If one likes a meal that the other one doesn’t, pay special attention to what ingredients are in one versus a second option.

Knowing what the pickier dog eats around could solve the mystery pretty quickly. Are peas the problem? Is it sweet potatoes? Then just buy a similar meal without this ingredient, or feed it to the less-picky dog.

If the dog will not eat the entire meal altogether but will eat other options, don’t put your dog at risk of eating that or nothing. Some refused meals aren’t just a matter of not tasting as good as dog “junk” food or treats.

They could be making the dog sick. If you find that your dog eats a meal (because he feels he has no other choice) but reacts poorly to it, remove it immediately.

Ask a veterinarian if his reaction is normal. If it is, maybe try a few more times but watch him closely. If not, move on to another option or return to a previous diet.

Incorporating food and vegetables into a dog’s diet

As mentioned in the 15 options above, there are plenty of fruits and vegetables (either dried or fresh) in the meal. But can dog owners just feed the dog the same fruits and veggies without the dry food? Yes, but there should be a few warnings before doing so.

For example, the fruit that get a thumbs up from AKC include apples, bananas, blueberries, cantaloupe, cranberries, cucumbers, mango, oranges, peaches, pears, pineapples, raspberries, strawberries and watermelon.

The vegetables that get a thumbs up are broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots, celery, green beans, peas, and spinach. There are quite a few meals above that include cranberries, raspberries, broccoli, carrots, spinach, and peas. There are also many that do not include any of the above.

Should legume-free dog food meals skip out on them? It depends. There are pros and cons for a few. Seeds and the core should be removed before giving a dog apples, and treat oranges the same by removing the peels and seeds.

Bananas, mango, strawberries, and cantaloupe have a high sugar count, so overweight and/or diabetic dogs should get these treats in moderate doses. If your dog can handle the tart, cranberries should be good. But as with all sour snacks, it can lead to an upset stomach if too many are given out.

Peaches are absolutely great summer treats, but skip the pit and leave the canned versions on the shelf. Pears follow the same rules as peaches. 

Raspberries are great for digestion. However, they also include xylitol (a sugar substitute) and can lead to liver problems if a dog is given too many and too often (2).

As far as vegetables, dogs tend to have the same smelly problems that people do when it comes to too many of them: gas. Broccoli, brussels sprouts, are high on the culprit list.

Carrots, celery, and (unsalted) green beans are better options. Peas are rich in protein and fiber, but as with green beans, the canned versions can be too salty.

Generally speaking, both dogs and human beings may want to consider fresh produce as opposed to grabbing the can opener for all veggies. The same goes for spinach.

So if your dog can eat all of the above, would it make more sense to take a sweeping arm around the produce aisle? Yes and no. This can get really expensive, really fast. And dry dog food options often have the meat they’re looking for, along with the fruits and vegetables.

If you really want to know which veggies and which fruits your dog likes, try these a little at a time to figure out which get high marks and which upturned noses.This may make the dog food shopping a little bit easier and way less of a hassle for online returns.

Bottom Line

Why would legumes, lentils, peas, and/or potatoes be bad for dogs when they’re so often good for human beings? The same reason why human beings can use toothpaste, but it’s toxic for dogs.

No matter how much some may dress their dogs up like little toddlers, their diet should always take into consideration who they are—fur dogs, not fur babies.

As much as we’d like to believe that we can feed dogs all kinds of organic meals and raw products, it simply comes down to each dog’s reaction (including in that breed).

You’ll notice that of the 16 dog food brands included in the DCM report, these are pretty popular dog food brands sold in stores and online.

While dog health professionals emphasize that “there is no proof that these ingredients are the cause of DCM in a broader range of dogs,” dog owners should always be aware of the potential risks in any new product that they give their dog. This includes everything from dog food to dog treats to medication to toys.

Additionally, there are some fruits and vegetables that dogs shouldn’t be eating anyway. Some of the favorite ones in your refrigerator that are a bad idea for dogs include asparagus, avocados, cherries, grapes, mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes.

Interestingly, although health cases with peas were involved in the heart risk stories, the American Kennel Club still finds perks of eating garden or English peas, green peas, snow peas, and sugar snap peas (3).

Canned peas with sodium get a bad reputation though. And as mentioned above, sometimes the produce aisle is the way to go instead of dried food options.

Whether you want to take the suggestion above and test the foods out one at a time or try small versions of the dog food, is totally up to you. Hopefully one (or more) of the 15 options above are a happy medium for your dog’s specific health needs.

References

1. Anna Burke, 2019. What Dog Owners Need to Know About the FDA’s Grain-Free Diet Alert and DCM https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/fda-grain-free-diet-alert-dcm/
2. Mary Robins. 2019. What is Xylitol? The Dangers Of Xylitol for Dogs
   https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/dangers-of-xylitol/
3. AKC Staff, 2019. Fruits and Vegetables Dogs Can or Can’t Eat
   https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/fruits-vegetables-dogs-can-and-cant-eat/