There's no reason to exclude grains from the diet of a dog unless it specifically has allergies to grains. This company actually uses grains in the *majority* of its foods -- as 25% of the total weight of the food! Wild canids would regularly chew on wild grasses (eg grains) just as our own chew grass in lawns to aid digestion and also, as wild canids predominantly eat ruminants -- animals that SOLELY eat grain -- and eat the stomach as well -- they regularly get some grain in their diet. This is from Timberwolf's own FAQs section:
Why does your company use whole grains instead of flours?
If the whole grain is used, which include the germ, bran, middling and endosperm, it is an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, phtyonutrients, fiber and oils, not just carbohydrates. That may be why wheat was known as the "staff of life". The problem is when companies use refined flours (white flour, white rice, corn meal etc.). They are almost completely devoid of nutrients or essential fatty acids (for your information, there is no such thing as whole wheat flour. Refined flour with bran added can be labeled as whole wheat. By law grains must be milled and refined into flour before shipping or storage; or left whole. Once the grain is ground the oils are exposed to oxygen and will go rancid. We use only whole grains and seeds ground immediately before going into the extruder). The reason pet food companies use flours is because they are highly digestible. The higher the starch the higher the gelatinization and the higher the digestibility. Most pet foods are grain based and the digestibility of the carbohydrates affects the digestibility of the entire product. However, diets high in refined carbohydrates are seen by the dog's system as sugar. A recent study revealed that within two hours of ingesting a diet high in refined carbohydrates the blood glucose was 50% higher than the basis level. Within four hours it was 50% below the basis level. These wild swings in blood glucose can overtax the pancreas and may possibly lead to hypoglycemia, diabetes or pancreatitis etc. Grains only comprise 25% of total weight in our formulas because of the high levels of meat proteins and fats. We feel that there are not many wolves roaming in corn or wheat fields.
Some other "natural foods" use whole grains as well and spend a lot to advertise that fact. The problem is that their formulas are comprised of a high percentage of grains just as most commercial foods have a high percentage of flours. The WHOLE grains however contain a high level of fiber and other components that are hard to digest, thereby causing large stool volume, dogs that have a hard time maintaining weight, mediocre coat growth and other problems. We still feel that by using whole grains we are providing salubrious benefits to your pet, yet because they comprise a small percentage of the total formula, you avoid the above mentioned problems as well.
Also this food is extremely high in protein -- 36%!! -- and high protein diets are said to cause behavioural problems in many dogs (eg anything over about 25%) -- so be sure you know exactly what your reasoning is in opting for a 36% protein diet. This looks like a diet aimed for high performance dogs -- eg working or competitive sports dogs? eg they say clearly:
and has been designed for dogs who have a need for high levels of nutrients
and this would typically not be the average household dog.
If you talk to any zoologist working in the area of canids, they will argue it is a dubious to state that domestic dogs should be fed a diet that is appropriate to wolves -- domestic dogs have been eating human castoffs and have been domestically fed for hundreds of thousands of years now. Many zoologists and nutritionists would argue their diet has utterly changed (or they wouldn't have such problems switching between foods for example, as wild canids reguarly feed off different food sources). Nor under the 'wild canid' feeding hypothesis, should it bother people to feed roadkill, diseased or elderly animals, or beaks/legs/feathers/brains etc -- as this is exactly what wild canids would be eating in the wild. Outside of rodents, they don't take down healthy animals -- they eat the elderly, the young, and most often, the infirm and the sick.
Just beware the hype used to sell extremely costly premium foods. If people are comfortable spending their money in this way, that's one thing, but no one should feel that necessarily produces a diet that is preferable to what a domestic dog has been fed for aeons now -- domestic dogs are not wolves (indeed if you want to feed like a wolf, then let the dog gorge and don't feed again for a week or two). I prefer a decent but not expensive kibble balanced out with raw and cooked and fresh foods. That averages out to about $5-10 a week max, to feed three dogs.
Dogs that find it interesting to hold out for new foods will keep holding out regularly for new foods -- I would just pick a kibble and feed it. No dog is going to starve itself over the taste of a kibble. instead, add some interesting things to the meal and mix well.
I respect the range of options out there but a lot of companies really work hard to intimidate people into not feeding a good, healthy diet that ISN'T purchased from them (hence see this company's FAQ on feeding raw -- gimme a break). That alone would put me off buying it though the ingredients look very good. I just think there are plenty of good options and I don't like companies that try to dazzle with stats and figures til you are fearful of NOT feeding their expensive product. That said there's lots of interesting ideas in the FAQs and elsewhere on the site if you can wade through all the info and excerpt it.
