I was just reading on the Great Dane Lady's website that grain free dog foods are not good for large breeds or dogs that have systemic yeast overgrowth, because they use potatoes for carbs.

I was wondering if anyone knew why they shouldnt be used for large breeds and are they just as bad as foods with grain in them then?

In the last month or so I have taken one of my Boerboels off a cheaper dry food that had cereal in because he had this specific problem, I used James Wellbeloved for a week and then switched to Burns Brown Rice and Chicken.

I consulted here and among other BB owners, and while ideally he should be on a completely grain free diet, (raw would be the best) I have noticed a marked change in Kaiser's ears; they are clean, pink and nowhere near as hot, and he hasn't scratched them in weeks, he has also lost some blubber as I am religously weighing it!

Whether or not this is size specific?? I will leave it to the more experienced members to answer!

yes Im really curious to get my info straight because I had thought any kind of grain was undesirable but its also mentioned on the website that there was misinformation going around about all grains being bad- that whole grains dont break down as fast and therefore arent bad- so it seems like something with whole grains is preferable to somehting with potatoes?
I am feeding Orijen puppy to my dog but it has potatoes. does that mean I should change? I believe she does struggle with yeast, so I changed several things and she hasnt had a problem recently.

I looked at Orijen and Anacan stockists over here in the UK, but the price per month was more than my mortgage, and I'm not kidding!

Not sure about potatoes?? They are starchy carbs, but as for the effect on a dog with yeast problems, I really don't know...

Sorry, I'm not being much help!!

My opinion (well researched by by NO MEANS universal) is that a meat-based kibble with a low amount of whole grain or perhaps part whole grain and part sweet potato beats both grain fractions and white potato all hollow.

White potato is extremely high on the G.I.. So, in fact, are just about all grain fractions. I consider these fillers to be crap (and sometimes worse).

I see no advantage to going from a lot of grain fractions to a lot of white potato, and I think that much of the "grain-free" dog food hype, with certain manufacturers, is strictly a marketing tool.

The big point, IMO, is how much is there (and then, what quality is it) of the starch component the food contains.

Kibble cannot become kibble (so far) without some kind of starch-like component to make it extrusion-able.

IMO, I would not feed white potato every day. If I fed kibble, it would contain a small amount of quality whole grains, and I would avoid gluten. I would prefer rice, quinoa, millet, and oats. Again, I would also prefer that there not be much of them.

Now, more than ever, the I.L. is crucial. The number of ways to hide a starch-based diet gets bigger all the time.

 Quote: Mary Roach

.... so it seems like something with whole grains is preferable to somehting with potatoes?

I agree, if you mean white potatoes.

Orijen says it has russet potatoe and sweet potatoe- are those considered white potatoes?

I would feed Honest Kitchen but she doesnt seem to like to mush like consistency of it- any ideas about that?

Russets (white potatoes, yes) are the highest G.I.-ranking potatoes, meaning highest on the glycemic index (not a good thing). They are the big "baking" potatoes.

Sweet potatoes are not really potatoes; they are not even botanical relatives.

 Quote: Mary Roach

I would feed Honest Kitchen but she doesnt seem to like to mush like consistency of it- any ideas about that?

There are many threads here about THK with RMBs added. Lots of dogs are suspicious of the texture at first. I start slow, using it thin (like a "gravy") at first.

They salivate now when they smell it. (I use it for occasional travel, with RMBs.)

ok thanks!