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If your furry buddy is affected by power pores and skin or digestive points, limited-ingredient pet food could assist resolve your pup’s signs. In some circumstances, veterinarians advocate attempting limited-ingredient weight loss program (LID) for meals allergy signs. But should you can’t afford a vet go to, it’s possible you’ll need to contemplate business LID canine meals by yourself.
Our workforce has researched a whole lot of various canine meals for all types of diets and well being issues, and we’ve decided that The Farmer’s Dog, Ollie, and Zignature are among the many finest limited-ingredient canine meals. However, we offer you much more choices to swimsuit different dietary wants.
At A Glance: Best Dog Food With Limited Ingredients
Why Switch To Limited-Ingredient Dog Food?

Like people, canines might be notably delicate and even allergic to sure components of their weight loss program. And sadly, our furry buddies can develop intolerances to meals components at any level of their lifetime. In these circumstances, veterinarians could advocate a weight loss program change to a business pet food containing restricted components.
“These diets are rightly or wrongly thought to be of better quality, and they’re often used in pets who have skin allergies or digestive issues,” says Dr. Rebecca MacMillan, BVetMed BSAVA PGCertSAM MRCVS, a companion animal veterinarian in Gloucester, United Kingdom. “I usually suggest that an owner try a limited-ingredient dog food (LID) as part of a dietary trial to help diagnose food-related skin allergies.”
“If the dog’s itchiness resolves after a period on this new diet, I would then recommend challenging it to see if their itchiness reoccurs when they eat chicken or beef again,” explains Dr. MacMillan. “First of all, this proves that there is an allergy but also confirms what the dog flares up to. In my experience though, many owners skip this step in the process and just choose to continue feeding their pet its new limited-ingredient diet long term if they are doing well on it. I have several patients that have responded well to their change in diet, where other treatments have failed.”
Common Dog Food Allergens
The commonest culprits embody beef, rooster, dairy merchandise, and wheat. Many canines additionally don’t tolerate soy, corn, eggs, and numerous preservatives. But each canine is completely different, so there’s an extended checklist of components that may very well be inflicting issues. Don’t neglect to keep in mind any treats or desk scraps your pup could also be consuming often, as these may very well be the supply of allergy symptoms.
“Many limited ingredient diets contain novel proteins,” shares Dr. MacMillan. “These are protein sources that aren’t commonly found in other pet foods, such as venison, duck, or salmon. This is because most dogs with allergies react to ingredients like chicken, beef, and pork, which they would encounter frequently in pet foods and treats. Care needs to be taken to read the ingredients when selecting one of these diets to ensure there is nothing ‘hidden’ in this list that might contribute to your dog’s suspected allergies.”
If you’re uncertain which components are inflicting your canine’s signs, you may as well give your pup an at-home canine allergy check. These kits check for sensitivity or intolerance to many meals (and environmental allergens) that develop over time. You ship a saliva or hair pattern to the corporate’s lab and get outcomes inside just a few weeks. You can then share these outcomes together with your vet to assist additional slender down attainable causes.
Best Limited-Ingredient Dog Food
We’ve chosen our high picks primarily based on the general high quality of components, particular components for pores and skin allergy symptoms or digestive points, buyer suggestions, pricing, and different components.
Note: All of the businesses we evaluation right here use all-natural components with no fillers, synthetic preservatives, corn, wheat, or soy and meet the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) necessities for an entire and balanced weight loss program. They’re additionally all made within the USA.
Best Grain-Free Limited-Ingredient Dog Food: The Farmer’s Dog Review

The Farmer’s Dog is our favourite model that gives recent, human-grade pet food delivered proper to your door. Every recipe options whole-food USDA animal protein, greens, and fruits, all fortified with a great mix of nutritional vitamins and minerals and personalised to your pup’s life stage, measurement, breed, exercise stage, and particular wants.
All of The Farmer’s Dog recipes include restricted components and are grain-free, in order that they’re a superb possibility in case your pup suffers from grain sensitivities. For canines with protein allergy symptoms, we advocate their turkey formulation (your different choices are beef, rooster, and pork). All recipes are developed by board-certified American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN) nutritionists and flash-frozen to protect vitamins and freshness. They even pre-portion your canine’s personalised meals for handy feeding.
Food Ingredients In The Farmer’s Dog Turkey Recipe
USDA turkey, chickpeas, carrot, broccoli, parsnip, spinach, and salmon oil
Price
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Full Review Of The Farmer’s Dog
Best Limited-Ingredient Dog Food With Grain: Ollie Review

Another of our favourite fresh-frozen pet food supply providers, Ollie is much like The Farmer’s Dog in that it makes use of solely human-grade, whole-food components rigorously chosen by animal nutritionists for optimum well being in all life levels. Ollie additionally personalizes your pup’s meals primarily based on his profile (age, gender, breed, weight, physique form, exercise stage, allergy symptoms, and different well being points).
For canines with allergy symptoms, we advocate Ollie’s lamb recipe, notably if their different protein choices (rooster, beef, turkey, and pork) don’t sit effectively together with your pup. All recipes however beef embody easy-to-digest grains. The restricted components and recent complete meals in all their recipes may very well be the reply to your furry buddy’s allergy issues.
Food Ingredients In Ollie’s Lamb Dish Recipe
Lamb, butternut squash, lamb liver, chickpeas, kale, rice, cranberries, inexperienced beans, potatoes, chia seeds, and salmon oil
Price
- Full Fresh plans begin at $3.14/day
- Half Fresh plans begin at $1/meal
Our readers can get 50% off their first field. Use this hyperlink to reap the benefits of this provide (no low cost code wanted).
Best Limited-Ingredient Dry Dog Food: Zignature Limited Ingredient Review

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Gluten and grain-free, Zignature’s restricted ingredient formulation function a superb number of novel proteins for pups who’re allergic to widespread pet meals proteins. This whitefish formulation will get the most effective buyer opinions for canines with pores and skin allergy symptoms. Whitefish is excessive in omega-3 fatty acids, which may also help cut back pores and skin irritation and enhance your pup’s immune system.
In addition to whitefish, Zignature provides duck, goat, kangaroo, venison, and a number of other different formulation that every function single novel proteins. All recipes are additionally fortified with probiotics for intestine well being and allergy help and taurine for coronary heart well being. Although this model is expensive for business kibble, we predict it’s value the associated fee for such a high-quality pet food with splendid components for allergy symptoms.
Food Ingredients In Zignature’s Whitefish Formula
Whitefish, whitefish meal, peas, pea flour, chickpeas, sunflower oil, flaxseed, and dehydrated alfalfa meal
Price
Best Limited-Ingredient Wet Dog Food: Natural Balance Reserve Review

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Natural Balance carries all kinds of limited-ingredient canine chow, together with kibble, shreds, and moist (canned) meals. We advocate this grain and pea-free formulation that options bison as the one animal protein ingredient. It additionally contains fiber-rich candy potatoes to assist with digestive well being, fish oil and flaxseed for pores and skin allergy reduction, and taurine for coronary heart well being.
This Natural Balance Reserve limited-ingredient, single-animal-protein line can also be out there in fish, duck, venison, and rooster formulation. They make glorious stand-alone meals or as a meals topper which you could pair with Natural Balance’s Reserve LID kibble.
Food Ingredients In Natural Balance Reserve Bison Wet Recipe
Bison, vegetable broth, potatoes, candy potatoes, potato protein, canola oil, floor flaxseed, and menhaden fish oil
Price
Best With A Novel Protein: SimplyFoodForDogs Venison & Squash Review

One of the primary recent pet food corporations, SimplyFoodForDogs (JFFD) provides 11 fresh-frozen recipes (and a number of other selection packs) that include complete, human-grade meals and domestically sourced produce. Their grain and gluten-free venison and squash formulation is a perfect alternative in case your pup has sensitivities to the same old animal protein suspects. But JFFD additionally has fish, lamb, turkey, and tofu choices (in addition to beef and rooster).
JFFD delivers proper to your door and has a feeding calculator (much like a profile on different websites) that will help you work out how a lot meals to order. It asks you about your canine’s breed, age, weight, physique form, and exercise stage. However, JFFD doesn’t personalize the meals to your canine’s life stage or particular well being issues (except you pay a hefty $250 formulation price). You could make a one-time buy or join auto-shipping and save 5%.
Food Ingredients In JFFD’s Venison & Squash Recipe
Venison, butternut squash, candy potatoes, brussels sprouts, cranberries, safflower oil, and fish oil
Price
- Plans begin at $1.36/day
- Free transport for auto-shipping
Looking for a SimplyFoodForDogs promo code? Click right here for the most effective deal we might discover.
Full Review Of SimplyFoodForDogs
What About Canidae Pure, Wellness Simple & Ziwi Peak?
Although the next merchandise didn’t make our high picks, they’re fashionable, high-quality choices it’s possible you’ll need to contemplate in case your pup wants pet food with restricted components.
Canidae Pure Goodness Salmon & Sweet Potato Review

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Another good selection to discover a novel protein in a LID is Canidae’s Pure Goodness Limited Ingredient line of recipes. You can select from duck, bison, wild boar, lamb, goat & venison, and extra. However, we advocate this salmon formulation as a result of it doesn’t include some other animal merchandise, like rooster fats or turkey meal (lots of the different recipes do). Each formulation is grain-free with no corn, wheat, soy, or fillers and incorporates solely 7-10 whole-food components.
They additionally embody a superb mix of probiotics, antioxidants, and omega-3 and 6 fatty acids in addition to glucosamine and chondroitin for joint well being and taurine for coronary heart well being. Canidae Pure additionally is available in grain-inclusive kibble and moist pet food. It’s extra inexpensive than many different premium canine chow and is made within the USA.
Food Ingredients In Canidae Pure Salmon Recipe
Salmon, salmon meal, menhaden fish meal, lentils, candy potatoes, garbanzo beans, peas, canola oil, potatoes, and flaxseed
Price
Wellness Simple Limited Ingredient Diet Review

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Another fairly priced premium kibble, Wellness Simple is a unbelievable alternative should you’re cautious of grain-free pet food. This LID formulation is available in a single-source protein (both duck or lamb) that’s balanced with simply digestible grains. These two recipes additionally function pure probiotics, antioxidants, omega fatty acids, glucosamine, and taurine. We love the Wellness model, which formulates all of its pet meals with rigorously chosen vitamins to help whole-body well being, together with digestive operate and pores and skin and coat well being, that are so vital for canines with allergy symptoms.
Food Ingredients In Wellness Simple Duck Formula
Duck, oatmeal, peas, floor rice, potato protein, tomato pomace, canola oil, and floor flaxseed
Price
Ziwi Peak Grain-Free Air-Dried Review

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Ziwi Peak’s grain-free, air-dried formulation pack a high-protein punch with restricted however nutrient-dense components. At first look, the meals ingredient checklist for the venison formulation appears to be like for much longer than different manufacturers we evaluation right here, however you’ll see that nearly all of components are meat, organs, and bones — all from a single-source animal protein. If venison isn’t your factor, additionally they provide lamb, mackerel and lamb, beef, and rooster recipes.
In addition to pure sources of glucosamine and chondroitin for joint well being, this formulation additionally contains New Zealand inexperienced mussels, natural kelp, nutritional vitamins, and minerals to promote mobility, vitality, and general well-being. All of Ziwi Peak’s formulation include free-range meats or wild-caught fish, that are ethically and sustainably sourced with out added hormones or antibiotics.
Food Ingredients In Ziwi Peak’s Venison Recipe
Venison, venison tripe, venison coronary heart, venison lung, venison liver, venison kidney, New Zealand inexperienced mussel, venison bone, lecithin, parsley, dried apple pomace, venison cartilage, and dried natural kelp
Price
What Do Elimination Diets Involve? (Video)
In this temporary video by SimplyFoodForDogs, Dr. Laura Wilson, DVM, DACVD, discusses meals elimination diets for canines with meals allergy symptoms. For a $250 formulation price, you may have SimplyFoodForDogs’ vet specialists personalize your pup’s meals for allergy symptoms or different well being issues.
Has Your Vet Recommended Allergy Medicine?
Finding the proper pet food isn’t all the time sufficient to alleviate allergy signs in some circumstances, particularly in case your canine has extreme allergy symptoms. If that is the case, your vet could advocate giving your canine allergy remedy or administering allergy photographs to assist cut back signs.
Tagged With: Allergies, Comparison, Food Delivery