Oatmeal in dog food....

I don't necessarily think there are pros and cons it's just a different type of grain. A con would be if your dog is allergic to gluten oatmeal may not be a viable choice, but I'd put it in the same category as rice, barley, etc just a different grain IMO.

GreenDog said:

What are the PRO's and CON's to Oatmeal as an ingredient in dog food?

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Oats are not used in what I am feeding with the classic granular. Here's is what my feed maker has to say in regards to Oats in this article. This goes along the theme I mentioned in another thread about how modern raw diets have followed in some respects down a similar path as kibble in regards to their focus (omnivore).

Some vegetable matter contains plant toxins (saponins) that can wreak havoc with the animal, as is explained further on in this text. This is true of certain grains as well. In Abady’s dry and raw food products such ingredients are never included. There are a number of dry formulas that masquerade as raw meat-based formulas – some contain ingredients such as: soybeans, beet pulp, tomato pomace, alfalfa, sorghum, oats, peas, beans, potatoes, garlic, and yucca, all of which contain saponins. Because their molecules are large, saponins are not absorbed readily from the digestive organs. Nevertheless, when ingested by dogs at sublethal levels on a regular basis, they will corrode the digestive organs, allowing the saponins to enter the bloodstream as if they were injected.

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complete article found here:
http://therobertabadydogfoodcoltd.com/Fresh%20Frozen%20Complete%20Foods.htm

OK, so some will say it's just marketing...he's trying to scare people...it like a cult thing...whatever....but it is their research, their findings, their studies and it is their approach to feeding animals. They avoid certain types of ingredients and have their reasoning. Is that reasoning just to market and sell dog food? I don't think so, I think they do it for the welfare of the dog and avoid the potentially harmful.

The piece I quoted is toward the end of the article

I think the bottom line is, grains are not advised for dogs. I have heard this from many experienced dog trainers.

Big dog man said:

I think the bottom line is, grains are not advised for dogs. I have heard this from many experienced dog trainers.

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Trainers are not nutritionists. I think the bottom line is that this topic is very controversial. Some nutritionists favor some grains and some don't, unfortunately it isn't a black and white topic and is very similar to the high protein low carb diets for humans. Not enough research has been done one way or the other to really give any kind of difinitive answer. But some dogs are allergic to oatmeal so that's something to be aware of too.

There is NO nutritional requirement for any carb source for dogs. Some recommend adding a carb source to balance out nutrition if going by requirements as set forth by NRC or AAFCO but this is not for the sake of the carbs, it is for the sake of nutrients in the particular carbs source. Note, though, that these nutrients can be found in meat sources.

Yes to what LoveNewfies says. :smile: