Dog foods featuring a limited number of ingredients have become quite popular with pet parents, and even some veterinary professionals, during the past five years. For some dog parents, feeding a limited-ingredient dog food helps them manage their canine companion\u2019s finicky digestive system or itchy skin. Still others are committed to following a \u201cclean eating\u201d lifestyle for themselves and want to feed their four-legged family member similarly. Both are valid reasons for choosing a limited-ingredient dog food.<\/p>\n
While the answer may seem obvious \u2014 it\u2019s one with a small number of carefully selected ingredients \u2014 the definition will likely vary depending on whom you ask. But according to Pet MD, there is no regulatory definition<\/a> for \u201climited-ingredient diet,\u201d which is why you\u2019ll find dog foods containing a wide range of ingredients promoted as having a limited number of ingredients.<\/p>\n Historically, veterinarians and veterinary nutritionists consider limited-ingredient dog foods \u2014 or maybe more appropriately, limited-antigen dog foods \u2014 to be made with only one protein source and one carbohydrate source. That\u2019s because veterinary professionals originally used these foods to help identify the causes of their patients\u2019 food allergies.<\/p>\n The definition of a limited-ingredient diet used by pet food companies, however, varies from one company to the next. Some companies\u2019 limited-ingredient foods may contain one to two protein ingredients, such as rabbit, venison or hydrolyzed salmon, and one to two uncommon carbohydrates, such as green peas or sweet potatoes. Still other pet food manufacturers\u2019 limited-ingredient products simply use fewer ingredients compared to their standard kibble formulas. And now some companies are offering foods made from very simple recipes of four to nine ingredients.<\/p>\n Limited-ingredient dog foods may also be grain-free formulations,* with companies replacing grains as a source of carbohydrates with ingredients such as potatoes or peas. Diamond CARE Sensitive Stomach Formula for Adult Dogs<\/a> features egg and potato proteins as its protein-providing ingredients and potatoes as a carbohydrate source. Diamond CARE Sensitive Skin Formula for Adult Dogs<\/a> uses hydrolyzed salmon and peas for its protein and carbohydrate sources, respectively.<\/p>\n Most importantly, limited-ingredient foods provide all of the essential nutrients that dogs require and are formulated to provide complete and balanced nutrition, despite being made from a limited number of ingredients.<\/p>\n If your dog has digestive system or skin issues, they may benefit from a limited-ingredient food. That\u2019s the primary reason why many pet parents turn to this option. However, it\u2019s important to work with your veterinarian to determine whether a limited-ingredient food is right for your furry friend. Your veterinarian can help determine what food ingredient may be causing your dog\u2019s adverse food reactions or if another health issue is the underlying cause.<\/p>\n *The facility in which this food is made also makes food that may contain other ingredients, such as grains. Trace amounts of these other ingredients may be present.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dog foods featuring a limited number of ingredients have become quite popular with pet parents, and even some veterinary professionals, during the past five years. For some dog parents, feeding a limited-ingredient dog food helps them manage their canine companion\u2019s finicky digestive system or itchy skin. Still others are committed to following a \u201cclean eating\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4900,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Limited-Ingredient Dog Food: Is It Right for Your Pet?","_seopress_titles_desc":"Explore the benefits of limited-ingredient dog food for pets with allergies or digestive issues. Find out if this kind of diet is appropriate for your dog's health!","_seopress_robots_index":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[248,28],"tags":[286,128,54,11,152],"class_list":["post-4391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-allergies","category-health","tag-allergies","tag-diamond-pet","tag-dogs","tag-health","tag-sensitive-stomach"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Is a limited-ingredient diet right for your dog?<\/h3>\n