A dog’s pancreas is able to produce enzymes that break down carbs but dogs don’t necessarily need starchy foods for a healthy lifestyle.
In fact just like humans, the over consumption of refined carbs over a long period of time will have adverse health consequences.
It’s not to say that they can’t enjoy a few carbs here and there but if our goal is to increase the lifespan of our dogs we must be mindful of the amount of starch our dogs are consuming.
The appropriate amount of starchy carbs found in our dog’s kibble should be around 10%. Super active dogs can tolerate up to 20%. But feeding anything higher than that on a daily basis, when 0% is actually required, will have major consequences on your dog‘s health.
The kind of carbs I am referring to is not ones from healthy fiber, which is sugar free, but the “bad” carbs that are from starchy foods that turn into sugar (ex: potatoes & rice)
So here is a little trick you can use in order to determine the amount of carbs in your dog’s kibble:
Look at the back of the bag of kibble or go to a website like Chewy and search the food and click on nutritional information.
Add up the protein + crude fat + fiber + moisture + ash (some companies do not list this percentage so go with 6% if you don’t see it). Then subtract your total from 100. This is the percentage of starch in your dog’s food.
Does it fall in the 10% and under allowance? 20% and under? Mine didn’t. And it is difficult to find ones that do that aren’t super expensive. I am still searching and thinking of changing our kibble but that’s why I like to replace some of their kibble with fresh food when I can. (See comments for kibble that meets this requirement)
The quality of these dog treats is second to none. I feel so good knowing I’m feeding my dog 100% grass fed beef! He deserves only the best and Patriot Pup delivers!
