Wondering if a limited ingredients dog food is right for your lovely Frenchie?
No worries. You’ve come to the right place.
This article will tell you more about limited ingredients dog food and everything you need to know about it.
Let’s get started, shall we?
What Does “Limited Ingredient Dog Food” Mean?
A limited ingredients dog food is a diet that’s formulated with fewer, carefully selected ingredients. Generally, this type of food contains a single protein source such as turkey, and one carbohydrate source like brown rice.
While a limited ingredients dog food may have more than just protein and carbohydrates, the number of ingredients added is limited. This food also avoids fillers, including soy, wheat, and corn.
A limited ingredient diet aims to eliminate multiple protein sources and help identify and eliminate food allergies in dogs. Despite being formulated with a limited number of ingredients, this diet must provide complete and balanced nutrition that contains all the essential nutrients required by dogs.
How Many Ingredients Is “Limited”?
There’s no regulation on the term-limited ingredients, and thus no threshold has been set on the number or type of ingredients that should be included in a limited ingredient dog food. The number is very broadly defined. However, it must have lesser ingredients than the average dog food.
What Problems Can Limited Ingredients Solve?
Since a limited ingredients dog food contains few ingredients and is devoid of any fillers, it can help solve various problems in dogs. These include:
- Food allergies and itchy skin: A limited ingredient diet can be used to diagnose and treat food allergies. Because only a few ingredients are included in this food, it’s easier to identify the cause of itchy skin.
- Stomach sensitivity: Since limited ingredients, dog food does not contain any fillers such as wheat, corn, soy, artificial flavors, and preservatives; it’s easily digestible and thus great for dogs with very sensitive stomachs.
Generally, a limited ingredients diet can help solve health issues such as:
- Hot spots
- Diabetes
- Ear infections
- Obesity
- Unhealthy dull coat
- Bladder stones
- Vomiting, diarrhea, or other digestive problem
- Itchy or flaky skin
What are the benefits of limited ingredient dog food?
The benefits of limited ingredient dog food include:
- Can help with food allergies and sensitivities: A limited ingredient food is great for diagnosing food allergies in dogs. By eliminating all food sources from a diet apart from a limited number of ingredients, it can alleviate adverse reactions in dogs.
- Good for sensitive stomachs: A limited ingredient diet contains no fillers such as corn, soy, or wheat, making it easy on a dog’s stomach.
- Better and higher quality food: This food is made with few but high-quality ingredients making it a high-quality dog food that can help promote the overall health of dogs.
- Has fewer carbohydrates: A limited ingredient in dog food utilizes few high-quality carbohydrates, such as oatmeal, making it ideal for weight management in dogs.
Other benefits of feeding a limited ingredient food:
- Improved digestion, regular bowel movement, fewer and firmer stools.
- Reduced stomach sensitivity and relief for digestive upsets
- Offers relief from skin problems including itching, flaking, and hot spots
- Improved energy levels due to proper nutrition and better nutrient absorption
- Has reduced fat-to-protein ratio
- Has no artificial preservatives, anonymous meat ingredients, colorings, or flavors that can be harmful to dogs.
Risks of limited ingredient dog food
A limited ingredient diet does not automatically translate to a better diet. It won’t be any good if it contains few but low-quality ingredients and it’s nutritionally imbalanced. It’s thus important to ensure that a limited ingredient dog food contains all the essential nutrients that dogs need.
Some limited-ingredients dog foods may contain potentially harmful hidden ingredients. It’s thus important to thoroughly check out the labels when looking for a limited ingredient dog food.
Protein in Limited-Ingredient Dog Food
Limited-ingredient dog food aims to eliminate multiple protein sources and make it easy to diagnose food allergies. As such, limited-ingredient dog food is usually made with novel or exotic protein sources that dogs have not been exposed to before.
Some of the proteins in limited-ingredient dog food:
- Bison
- Kangaroo
- Rabbit
- Venison
- Pork
- Turkey
- Lamb
- Chicken
- Duck
- Alligator
- Fish
- Chicken
However, chicken, lamb, turkey, and fish are among the most popular used in regular dog foods, and hence most the dogs have already been exposed to them.
Carbohydrates in Limited-Ingredient Dog Food
Limited ingredient diets avoid using common sources of carbohydrates such as corn, wheat, or soy but instead opt for unique sources. These carbohydrates are easier to digest and are less likely to cause allergic reactions in dogs.
Some of the carbohydrates used in limited dog foods include;
- Oatmeal
- Sweet potatoes
- Whole brown rice
- Potatoes
- Lentils
- Peas
- Rice
Grain-Free vs LID Dog Food?
LID dog food is different from grain-free dog food.
Grain-free foods do not contain grains such as wheat, rice, barley, rye, quinoa, or corn but use alternative sources of carbohydrates like sweet potatoes. They may also contain more than one protein and carbohydrate. On the other hand, some LID dog food contains specific grains. They also include a single carbohydrate and protein.
Common Causes of Food Sensitivities and Food Allergies
Food sensitivities are reactions in the digestive system which occur due to the lack of the enzymes needed to digest a substance in food. The dog’s body can thus not digest the food resulting in illness or discomfort.
On the other hand, food allergies are immune system reactions to exposure to specific foods or genetic disposition to dogs’ allergies. In this case, a dog’s body perceives a specific protein as a foreign element and produces antigens or antibodies to attack it.
The most common causes of food allergies and sensitivities in dogs are meat proteins, fish, and seafood or plant products. Beef, eggs, wheat, soy, corn, dairy, and chicken are considered the most common food allergens.
Using LID Dog Food to Diagnose Allergies
A limited ingredient is used in hypoallergenic dog food trials to help in diagnosing and treating food allergies in dogs. This is done by feeding dogs foods they have never been exposed to before while observing their reaction to the food.
How does a limited ingredient diet work?
When using a limited ingredient diet to diagnose food allergies, all food sources are eliminated from a dog’s diet leaving only a few ingredients, mostly protein. If the dog indicates clinical signs of getting better, this goes to show that it’s reacting adversely to some ingredients in the previous diet that are not present in the limited ingredient food.
Then, the dog is tested by reintroducing the ingredient to the diet to see if the dog will react. If the symptoms reappear, then it’s a clear indication that the dog is allergic to that particular ingredient. It should then be removed again. This is done for 8-10 weeks.
How to choose a limited ingredient dog food
Just because it’s a limited ingredient diet, it does not mean it’s high-quality nutrition. These are things you must look for in a good limited ingredient dog food:
- High-quality ingredients: While a limited ingredient diet contains few ingredients, these ingredients should be of good quality. A limited ingredient dog food containing a few low-quality ingredients will do no good for your Frenchie.
- No fillers: A good limited ingredient dog food should not contain any filler ingredients, including artificial flavors, preservatives, corn, soy, or colors.
- Few ingredients: A limited ingredient dog food should include just a few ingredients, consisting of a single protein and carbohydrate.
- Check adherence to AAFCO regulations: Before purchasing a limited ingredient dog food, ensure you check out if it’s made according to AAFCO guidelines.
- Identify the ingredients: Read through the food label and get familiar with all the ingredients included. Take note of the nutrient information and quantity.
Best Limited-Ingredient Dog Food Brands
Several dog food companies make limited ingredient food. Some of the best brands include;
Best limited ingredient dog food with grain
Blue Buffalo Basics Skin & Stomach Care Grain-Free Formula Turkey & Potato Recipe Adult Dry Food
This formula contains turkey source as the single protein source and includes pumpkin plus easily digestible carbs, including peas and potatoes. It’s further fortified with Blue buffalo LifeSource bits consisting of essential vitamins and minerals for complete and well-balanced nutrition for your dog.
Best affordable limited ingredient dog food
Rachael Ray Nutrish Just 6 Natural Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Limited Ingredient Recipe Dry Food
This food contains only six ingredients: lamb meal, brown rice, ground rice, dried beet pulp, chicken fat, and natural pork flavor. What’s more, the formula is highly affordable as it comes at a lower price than other options. The ingredients included in this recipe are all of good quality.
Best limited ingredient dog food for skin allergies
Wellness Simple Limited Ingredient Diet Salmon & Potato Formula Dry Food
This is crafted with a single protein source in the form of salmon and is designed for dogs with very sensitive skins and stomachs. This food is devoid of common food allergens, including wheat, grains, and gluten. It’s further enhanced with probiotics and prebiotics to enhance digestion.
Best limited ingredient dog food for allergies
Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Grain-Free Salmon & Sweet Potato Formula Dry Food
This food is made with premium, high-quality ingredients and features salmon as the first ingredient. This is a novel source of protein, making it a good choice for dogs that are sensitive to chicken, turkey, or beef. The food includes healthy grains to aid in digestion and energy provision.
Role of Limited Ingredient Dog Food in an Elimination Diet
A limited ingredient food is recommended for an elimination diet useful in identifying food allergens in dogs. An elimination diet involves feeding a limited ingredient food to dogs to pinpoint the exact food allergen causing adverse reactions in a dog.
While using limited-Ingredient dog food to diagnose food allergies, most food sources are eliminated, leaving a single protein and carbohydrate.
You may need to switch between food components several times as dogs may be allergic to more than one ingredient.
Is Limited Ingredient Dog Food Better?
A limited ingredient in dog food is helpful in the diagnosis and treatment of food allergies in dogs. This is particularly useful for dogs sensitive to some ingredients included in the food. However, if your dog is perfectly healthy and in good condition, a limited ingredient in the food is unnecessary.
You should also note that having limited ingredients is not enough unless the ingredients are high-quality. Before switching to a limited ingredient dog food for your dog, ensure you consult your vet for a proper evaluation on the appropriateness of this diet for your dog. A vet will help determine what food ingredients may be causing allergic reactions or whether these reactions result from other health issues.