Gluten-free puppy food
Gluten-free puppy food is a complete puppy diet made without wheat, barley or rye, the three grains that contain gluten. Genuine gluten intolerance is uncommon in dogs compared with people, but plenty of owners choose a gluten-free recipe anyway for a puppy with a sensitive stomach, and the label tells you exactly what you are getting if you know what to look for.
What gluten actually is
Gluten is a protein found specifically in wheat, barley and rye. It is what gives dough its stretch, which is why it turns up in biscuit-style treats and in some dry foods that use wheat as a cheap source of carbohydrate and binding.
It is not the same thing as grain in general. Rice, oats and maize are grains too, but none of them contain gluten, so a food can be grain-inclusive and gluten-free at the same time, or grain-free and still confusingly labelled as though gluten were the concern.
Why owners choose it for a puppy
True coeliac-type gluten intolerance is well documented in a small number of dog breeds and is otherwise rare, so most puppies do not need a gluten-free diet for medical reasons. Far more commonly, an owner is trying a gluten-free recipe because their puppy has a generally sensitive stomach, and cutting out wheat is one of several changes worth trying.
A gluten-free diet does not cure or treat any digestive condition on its own. If your puppy has ongoing loose stools, vomiting or discomfort, that is worth a vet visit before you start changing foods on your own, since the cause may have nothing to do with gluten at all.
How to check a label
Look at the ingredients list rather than the front-of-pack claims. Wheat, wheat flour, wheaten meal, barley and rye should not appear anywhere on a genuinely gluten-free food, including in small quantities partway down the list.
Watch for wheat turning up under a less obvious name too, such as in a mixed cereal blend. If the label just says cereals without naming them, that is worth ruling out by asking the manufacturer directly if avoiding gluten specifically matters to you.
Switching a puppy's food
Change food gradually over about a week, mixing increasing amounts of the new food into the old, rather than swapping overnight. A sudden change is one of the most common causes of a puppy's stomach upset, whatever the two foods actually contain.
If your puppy's stools stay consistently loose for more than a couple of days after a full switch, that is worth mentioning to your vet rather than trying yet another food straight away.
Without it, and in stock
Everything below is in stock with us, priced with delivery worked out, and packed and posted by hand in the UK.
Naturo Adult Dog Grain & Gluten Free Poultry Selection in Herb Gravy 12pk
Twelve 390G cans of grain-free wet food, each recipe half chicken, duck or turkey
£17.99
Pedigree Tasty Minis Puppy Treats Chewy Cubes with Chicken
Soft chewy puppy training treats with 13% chicken and added calcium, 125g
£2.25
Forthglade Complete Puppy Chicken with Liver Grain Free — 18 x 395g Trays
Sold as a case: 18 x 395g trays. A complete grain-free wet food for puppies, built on 71% chicken and 4% chicken liver
£35.89
Bakers Puppy Superfoods Chicken with Vegetables
Bakers Puppy Chicken & Vegetables dry dog food, 12.5kg, complete food for puppies from 6 weeks to 24 months
£39.15
Harringtons Puppy Turkey & Rice
Complete turkey puppy food with 30% protein and feeding bands by adult weight
£6.49
James Wellbeloved Grain Free Puppy/Junior Dry Dog Food Turkey & Veg
Grain-free turkey and potato kibble for puppies and junior dogs, evenly balanced recipe
£12.75
Wagg Puppy Treats
Puppy Treats in a 120G pack, with 23.2% protein and 7% fat and full label detail
£1.49
Burns Puppy Junior Original Chicken Rice
A complete puppy and junior food with dried chicken 31% and controlled fat at 15%
From£14.99
Lily's Kitchen Puppy Chicken Recipe — 6 x 400g Tins
Sold as a case: 6 x 400g tins. Complete 400G wet puppy chicken recipe with 67% fresh chicken
£22.79
Pooch & Mutt Puppy Bite Size Beef Jerky
Bite-size beef jerky training treats for puppies, scaled by dog size
£3.99
Whimzees Puppy
Softer dental chews for puppies over three months old, grain free and gluten free
£7.99
Burns Grain Free Puppy Duck Potato
Grain-free duck and potato puppy food with a prebiotic, for starting a new litter on a novel protein
From£16.49
Common questions
- Is gluten-free the same as grain-free?
- No. Grain-free excludes all cereal grains, including ones that never contained gluten in the first place, such as rice and oats. Gluten-free only rules out wheat, barley and rye specifically, so a food can be one without being the other.
- Can a gluten-free diet help a puppy's itchy skin?
- It might, if wheat happens to be the specific trigger, but skin problems have many possible causes and gluten is one of the less common ones in dogs. A vet can help work out what is actually going on rather than guessing through food changes alone.
- Do all puppy foods list gluten sources clearly?
- Reputable brands list every ingredient by name, so wheat, barley or rye should be visible if they are present. If a label uses a vague term like cereals without saying which ones, contact the manufacturer directly if avoiding gluten matters to you.
- Will a gluten-free food upset my puppy's stomach less generally?
- Not necessarily. A recipe can be gluten-free and still contain other ingredients your particular puppy does not tolerate well. The absence of gluten is not a guarantee of an easier stomach, and any new food is still worth introducing gradually.
Related
Written by Matt Garnett, who runs Giddy Pets and is a lifelong pet owner — not a vet. This is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your animal. How we write these guides.