Do Dogs Need Grains in Their Diet?

No, dogs do not need grains in their diet. Canines are biologically adapted to thrive on nutrient-dense animal proteins, healthy fats, and essential minerals from meat, organs, and bone, with zero nutritional requirement for grain-based carbohydrates.

While conventional pet food marketing often promotes grains or starchy grain substitutes as necessary energy sources, many pet parents discover that raw is the healthiest dog food option for long-term vitality.

At We Feed Raw, we make it effortless to feed your dog a naturally grain-free diet by delivering pre-portioned, cold-pasteurized meals straight to your door. You can start your dog's meal plan today to see the difference real food makes.

Why Do Dogs Not Need Grains in Their Diet?

Dogs do not need grains in their diet because their bodies have no biological requirement for dietary carbohydrates. Canines naturally produce all the blood glucose they need through gluconeogenesis, an internal metabolic process that converts proteins and fats into clean energy.

According to PhD animal nutritionist Dr. Richard Patton: "Dogs don't need grain of any kind. They do require small amounts of soluble carbohydrate, which can be found in meat in the form of muscle glycogen."

He also explains: "There are eight known enzymes that raise blood sugar. There is only one, insulin, that lowers it. This should tell us something. Nature made carbohydrates very hard to find. Man made it very easy."

Canine biology confirms that dogs evolved to process meat rather than grains:

• •No Salivary Amylase: Dogs do not produce salivary amylase, meaning they cannot begin breaking down starches in their mouth like omnivores and herbivores do.

• •Short Digestive Tract: A dog's digestive tract is short and acidic, designed to process unheated meats and fats quickly rather than fermenting complex grain fibers.

• •Carnivorous Dentition: Sharp teeth and vertical jaw mechanics are built for tearing muscle meat, not grinding grain kernels.

At We Feed Raw, our recipes honor this evolutionary design by delivering pure, unheated animal nutrition with zero grains.

What Is the Difference Between Naturally Grain-Free Food and Grain-Free Kibble?

Naturally grain-free food consists of whole animal proteins, organs, and bone without starchy fillers, whereas grain-free kibble replaces grains with high-glycemic legumes, peas, and potatoes to bind dry ingredients into crunchy pellets.

Because kibble manufacturing requires heavy starch binders to hold its shape, many grain-free dry foods actually contain just as many (or more) carbohydrates than standard grain-inclusive formulas.

Grain-free kibble often introduces problematic ingredients to your dog's bowl:

• •Lectins: Plant proteins found in legumes and beans that can bind to the intestinal lining, causing chronic gut inflammation and blocking the absorption of calcium, iron, and zinc

• •Glyphosate Exposure: Herbicide residues commonly found on commercially grown legumes and soy, which studies have found to be carcinogenic to animals

• •Phytic Acid: An anti-nutrient in peas and lentils that binds to essential minerals like manganese, iron, and zinc, inhibiting their absorption

• •Low-Quality Plant Proteins: Pea and potato proteins boost the overall protein percentage on a kibble label without providing the complete amino acid profile found in real animal meat

Dr. Patton emphasizes: "Avoid any diet with excess carbohydrates, which would be most kibble diets."

Unlike processed dry food, We Feed Raw provides a genuinely grain-free meal made without peas, lentils, potatoes, or filler starches.

Did Grain-Free Diets Cause the Canine DCM Heart Disease Alert?

No, the FDA found no causal link between grain-free diets and canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Instead, the FDA's investigation focused on processed kibbles that relied heavily on pulse ingredients (like peas and lentils) to replace animal meat.

As the FDA states: "Most of the diets associated with the reports of non-hereditary DCM have legume seed ingredients, also called ‘pulses’ (e.g., peas, lentils, etc.), high in their ingredient lists…These include both ‘grain-free’ and grain-containing formulations."

Cardiovascular health is closely linked to essential amino acids found in fresh meat:

• •Natural Dietary Taurine: Fresh muscle meat and organ tissue naturally supply abundant taurine and its precursor amino acids (methionine and cysteine), which are critical for cardiac muscle function.

• •Absence in Grains and Legumes: Grains and legumes contain zero natural taurine. When dry pet foods replace real meat with pea protein or grain fillers, dogs can become deficient in the essential building blocks needed to support heart health.

• •Bioavailable Nutrition: Unheated, species-appropriate animal proteins provide intact amino acids that protect heart tissue.

We Feed Raw’s frozen raw meals contain approximately 80% muscle meat, 10% organ tissue, and 10% finely ground bone, providing naturally rich levels of taurine without synthetic substitutes or pulse fillers.

What Are the Health Risks of Feeding Grains and Excess Carbohydrates to Dogs?

Feeding grains and excess carbohydrates to dogs increases their risk of obesity, chronic inflammation, insulin resistance, yeast infections, and digestive distress. When dogs consume grain-heavy diets, their digestive systems quickly convert starches into simple sugars.

According to Dr. Richard Patton: "Excess carbohydrates are one of the biggest problems in modern pet diets. A raw diet aligns far more closely with a dog’s natural nutritional needs."

Excess carbohydrates trigger several long-term health concerns:

• •Blood Sugar and Insulin Spikes: Grains break down into glucose, forcing the pancreas to produce excess insulin, which promotes fat storage and increases the risk of canine diabetes.

• •Systemic Inflammation: Grain starches disrupt healthy gut flora, creating chronic inflammation that can manifest as itchy skin, hot spots, and joint stiffness.

• •Yeast Overgrowth: Sugar from digested starches feeds yeast in the gut, often leading to foul-smelling ear infections and red, irritated paws.

• •Digestive Inefficiency: High-grain diets result in large, voluminous, smelly stools because dogs cannot fully digest processed plant fibers.

By removing grains and simple starches from your dog's bowl, We Feed Raw restores gut balance and supports lean body mass.

What Is the Best Diet for Dogs Seeking a Grain-Free Lifestyle?

The best diet for dogs seeking a grain-free lifestyle is a species-appropriate raw or fresh dog food diet made entirely from high-quality animal proteins, organ meats, and bone. Unlike grain-free kibble, raw food never relies on starchy binders or legumes to maintain structure.

Pet parents can choose between frozen or freeze-dried raw formats depending on their feeding routine:

• •We Feed Raw Frozen Patties: Made from an ancestral 80/10/10 ratio of muscle meat, organ meat, and finely ground bone. High in natural moisture to support kidney health, these recipes are complete and balanced for dogs of all life stages, including puppies.

• •We Feed Raw Freeze-Dried Recipes: Formulated with 85% real animal protein and organs paired with 15% non-GMO produce. This shelf-stable format requires no refrigeration, making it perfect for travel, training treats, or adding raw nutrition for picky eaters (complete and balanced for adult maintenance only).

Every We Feed Raw meal provides 100% complete and balanced nutrition formulated by a PhD animal nutritionist without a single grain, potato, or legume.

How Can You Transition Your Dog to a Naturally Grain-Free Raw Diet?

You can transition your dog to a naturally grain-free raw diet by gradually mixing raw food into their current meals over a 10-day period. Shifting slowly gives your dog's digestive enzymes and gut microbiome time to adapt to nutrient-dense fresh food.

Follow this 10-day transition schedule:

• •Days 1 to 3: Feed 75% of your dog's current food mixed with 25% new raw food.

• •Days 4 to 6: Feed a 50/50 mixture of current food and raw food.

• •Days 7 to 9: Feed 25% current food mixed with 75% raw food.

• •Day 10 and Beyond: Feed 100% complete and balanced raw food.

We Feed Raw provides detailed portioning instructions customized to your dog's exact weight, age, and activity level to ensure a smooth transition.

Why Is We Feed Raw the Ultimate Grain-Free Solution for Your Dog?

We Feed Raw is the ultimate grain-free solution because we deliver complete, balanced raw meals made from USDA-inspected meats without any grains, peas, lentils, or artificial preservatives. We take the hassle out of species-appropriate feeding with pre-portioned patties that thaw and serve in seconds.

Our recipes undergo high-pressure processing (HPP) cold pasteurization, inactivating pathogens while keeping raw nutrients and enzymes intact.

Ready to give your dog the benefits of a genuinely grain-free, ancestral diet? Take our quiz now to build your pup's personalized meal plan today.