What is Limited Ingredient Dog Food?

As many people have done in their own diets, today more dog owners are turning to limited ingredient dog food as part of a “simple ingredient” approach to their dog’s nutrition. After all, the fewer the ingredients in the recipe, the easier it is to know exactly what your dog is eating. Also, the more recognizable and familiar those ingredients are, the more confident you can be that you’re feeding your dog a meal that is naturally nutritious. The kinds of ingredients you might find on a limited-ingredient list include:

• Real meat, poultry or fish
• Whole grains
• Egg
• Vegetables

This is why dog food brands such as Purina Beyond Natural Pet Foods are providing a way for dogs to eat healthy, with foods featuring short, simple ingredient lists. Beyond Simply, plus vitamins and minerals dog food, for example, offers two blends made from nine natural, recognizable ingredients, with real lamb or white meat chicken as the first ingredient. Other ingredients include brewers rice, whole barley, chicken meal (natural source of glucosamine), canola meal, beef fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols, natural liver flavor, dried egg product and dried spinach. What you won’t find in these Beyond Simply recipes are ingredients such as poultry by-product meal; corn, wheat or soy; or artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.

With a quality, limited ingredient dog food, a recipe with fewer ingredients doesn’t mean less nutrition. In the case of Beyond Simply recipes, each ingredient is thoughtfully selected to work with other ingredients, to provide the nutrition your dog needs. The key is to know your dog’s nutritional needs, and to make sure the food you choose meets those needs.

If you have questions about whether a limited ingredient dog food can benefit your dog’s health, ask your veterinarian.