flour/grains and dogs

[mugatea]

Hi, are grains and especially wheat/flour bad for dogs too? I'm pretty sure they are. I was wondering if they are healthy alternatives to flour that can be used to make liver cake? Liver cake is flour, liver, egg that is mixed in blender and baked. I've been asked by a dog owner who's dog has colitis and as liver is a natural laxative was worried about it affectiing her, but I'm thinking that the flour would probably be a bigger concern than the liver.

Any opinions?

edit: can someone move this to the 'Our 2d friends' category?

 

[mcb]

Hi, are grains and especially wheat/flour bad for dogs too? I'm pretty sure they are. I was wondering if they are healthy alternatives to flour that can be used to make liver cake? Liver cake is flour, liver, egg that is mixed in blender and baked. I've been asked by a dog owner who's dog has colitis and as liver is a natural laxative was worried about it affectiing her, but I'm thinking that the flour would probably be a bigger concern than the liver.

Any opinions?

edit: can someone move this to the 'Our 2d friends' category?

I think the issues are similar to those for humans, including the possibility of a very bad reaction if the dog has eaten grain-containing dog food in the past and then been withdrawn from it for an extended period of time. But I don't actually have any canine-specific data for that, and if someone else here does then never mind. Dogs have adapted for human food, but I wouldn't call wheat/grains human food. It seems to me that the anti-nutrients in wheat could attack a dog's GI tract and impact blood sugar in a manner similar to that of humans.

I don't know what would substitute -- does it need a substitute? Does it need to be baked? If the laxative effect comes from the flour content, I would say find something else, especially if grains have been consumed in the past. The liver and egg sound great.

So, as we like to ask here, how is the dog's diet? Is it sick from eating commercial low-cost dog food? A friend of ours just lost her dog -- the dog pretty much died from eating ordinary dog food combined with being shut in much of the time. I am particularly sad about that, since we were her regular "dog sitters," but while we knew what was happening, there was no way we could find to change it.

 

[Z...]

why would anyone want to feed liver cake if they can feed fresh liver and fresh eggs?

Liver is really not an issue and in my opinion can be fed even daily, as long as it comes from healthy animals. In nature with each kill the alfa predator in the pack always eats first and as a rule goes for liver which means liver is on the menu every day. But as I said if using intensely farmed animals we have to be careful as liver is likely to contain toxic load, as well as antibiotics and hormones.
Regarding grains, there is a stciky thread about pets nutrition, I think you will find most of the answers there.