Best Limited Ingredient Dog Food in 2024 | Review of Top 5

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Our canines deserve the best care, attention, and of course, food. However, while you may mean well for your dog and try to buy the "best" dog foods in pet stores, you may not be getting the type appropriate for your dog.

Now you may wonder, isn't any good quality food supposed to be suitable for my dog? Not really. And this is true if your dog has any known allergy or you're simply looking to only provide him with just the nutrients he needs. Many commercially produced dog foods contain fillers that are both worthless and unhealthy nutritionally and easily trigger several allergic reactions.

While pet owners are generally advised to avoid such foods, you want to be careful if you own dogs that frequently suffer from allergies, old dogs, and young puppies. You want the best limited ingredient dog food that is free of fillers, excess carbohydrates, and with adequate protein content

The Best Limited Ingredient Dog Food

Please continue reading for more in-depth reviews 

Outlined below are our top five selections of the best limited ingredient dog food. We followed the buying guidelines discussed in the end of this article to help you make the right choice quickly.

1. Rachael Ray Nutrish Just 6 Limited Ingredient Diet Dry Dog Food

Overview

A very popular brand known for producing high-quality meals, Rachel Ray Just 6 Limited Dog Food is exactly what the label indicates. Frequently high on the list of premium quality dog meals, it is one limited ingredient meal you can be 100% certain your pooch will love. It is free of harmful fillers, well-priced, and completely hypoallergenic.

Texture-wise, the Just 6 limited ingredient meal ranks high; combined with its great taste and smell, the meal beats many other limited ingredient foods hands down.

The main protein source is lamb meal, and for carbs, they used brown starch rice in this recipe. It is free of wheat, corn, soy, gluten, artificial flavors and colors, fillers, and poultry by-products.

It is also enriched with chelated minerals and essential vitamins found in the main ingredients, and these are highly important for boosting your canine’s immunity and overall performance.  

We like that this food is…………….

• Free of harmful fillers common in many other commercially produced meals
• High in essential nutrients 
• Has a great taste and a nice smell
• High-quality at an affordable cost

2. CANIDAE PURE Real Salmon, Limited Ingredient, Grain Free Premium Dry Dog Food

Overview

Perfect for canines with sensitive stomachs and food allergies, the recipe from Canidae is high on our list of limited ingredients dog food for reasons you’ll soon discover.

Unlike many brands that cannot live up to customers’ expectations of a truly limited ingredient dog food, the product focuses strictly on a few ingredients. This helps in no small measure to decrease the chances of an allergic reaction, especially in sensitive dogs.

While this particular recipe is salmon-based, it comes in several other flavors and recipes, including duck, boar, buffalo, lamb, and chicken. You can pick any recipe you prefer as they are equally nutritious. They are all genuinely grain-free, with none of them containing corn, wheat, or soy.

This limited ingredient dog food has animal protein (salmon in this case) as its major protein source, sweet potatoes for carbs and vitamins, menhaden fish meal, salmon meal, and peas for vitamins and fiber, among other beneficial nutrients.

It is specifically formulated for adult dogs and should not be fed to puppies. If you’re looking to switch your pooch to something healthier and friendlier to his sensitive stomach, we highly recommend this product, just like so many other pet parents who feed this to their dogs.

The food is also free of fillers, artificial colors, and flavors.

3. Blue Buffalo Basics Limited Ingredient Diet, Grain Free Natural Adult Dry Dog Food

Overview

Another well-known and reputable brand on our list, you’re probably already familiar with the makers (Blue Buffalo). Their limited ingredient dog food comes in several varieties, including the salmon and potato recipe, grain-free turkey and potato recipe, lamb and potato recipe.

The best part? They are all gluten and grain-free, easy to digest, and rich in essential nutrients such as protein and vitamins.

If you have dogs with sensitive stomachs and allergies, you want to feed them only with carbs that are easily digested. And this is what Blue Basics Turkey and the other varieties provide you with.

They all contain peas and potatoes apart from the primary protein source and are easily digested. The food is also rich in pea and pumpkin fiber, a combination that enhances gentle digestion and overall gut health.

Just like the others on our list, but this time with more “green” than most, Blue Basic Turkey is a perfect and authentic limited ingredient dog food that provides your fur baby with all the nutrients he needs to thrive.

The meal also contains omega-3 and 6 for healthy fur health and skin, thus; a complete package for your adult dog. It is also free of additives like artificial sweeteners, colors, and flavors.

Overview

Made with real deboned salmon, the American Journey Limited Ingredient Grain-Free Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe boasts quality protein, omega 3 fatty acids, and a rich natural flavor that canines love.

The meal provides your pooch with beneficial nutrients from ingredients such as sweet potatoes and peas without the worthless additives found in most commercially-produced dog meals. Also completely free of grains like wheat, soy, corn, and even poultry by-products, you can rest assured that your dog has all the essentials for healthy growth and development.

The omega 3 fatty acids and the omega 6 fatty acids from the salmon, flaxseeds, and the sunflower oil are beneficial for your dog's skin and fur health.

You want the best for your pet, and the American Journey Limited Ingredient Grain-Free Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe provides all of that and even more with its limited premium ingredients. Now, your pet will have quality fuel for strength, growth, and development.

Key features of the meal

• A limited ingredient with one animal protein source and other known quality ingredients
• Perfect for dogs prone to skin problems and stomach sensitivity
• Beneficial ingredients such as peas and sweet potatoes to provide your pooch with digestible carbs for easier and better absorption
• Quality protein for lean muscle maintenance, among other benefits
• High in beneficial omega fatty acids required for healthy skin and coat, all of which are derived from natural ingredients.
• Completely free of grains like corn, soy, wheat, animal by-products, and additives, including flavors, preservatives, and colors

5.  Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Grain-Free Chicken & Sweet Potato Recipe Dry Dog Food

Overview

The limited ingredient dry dog food has farm-raised chicken as its first ingredient and major protein source. The meal also contains sweet potatoes, one primary source of digestible carbohydrates.

Formulated by a team of vets, animal nutritionists, research scientists, and design engineers with decades of combined experience, you can be confident that your pooch's health is the main priority here.

The meal is designed to provide your pooch with the nutrition, quality, and taste he needs to grow and thrive.

All of the ingredients are locally sourced (U.S) for maximum safety and optimum nutrition. It is also completely free of grains such as corn, wheat, and soy.

Key features of the meal

• Made with known locally-sourced ingredients
• Has chicken as its major ingredient and protein source
• Free of added peas, grains, and artificial ingredients such as taste enhancers and coloring.
• Formulated to provide quality nutrition in every kibble

Why a Limited Ingredient Meal?

Why do I need to feed my dog with a limited ingredient meal? What makes this meal different from all others on the market? We’ll find out soon.

Our dogs should only be fed food with ingredients containing real and required nutrients instead of those containing empty fillers. However, as stated before, you want to be extra cautious with meals when dealing with dogs suffering from certain known health issues. 

With a limited food ingredient, you’re provided with an effective way to curb several food-related allergy issues. When regular “dog foods” are fed to your sensitive pooch, it could impede his health and overall performance. 

If your dog suffers from food-related issues such as diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy, and even weight loss, you should consider switching to a food with limited ingredients. 

Making a switch to a limited ingredient food is one of the simplest ways to diagnose a dog’s allergies. With the fillers removed and your dog closely monitored, finding out precisely what they are allergic to becomes a lot easier.

Summary of the Benefits of a Limited Ingredient Dog Food

• Limited ingredient dog foods are filler-free
• Hypoallergenic and do not trigger allergies
• Health-improving/immune-boosting
• They are helpful for pinpointing and eliminating allergens

Things to Look out for When Picking a Limited Ingredient Dog Food

Before you settle for a particular brand, it is crucial that you know exactly what to look for.

Just like regular commercially produced dog meals, not all limited ingredients meals live up to expectations or are truly what the manufacturers claim they are on their labels. So, in this section, we'll discuss some things you should look out for when picking a limited ingredient meal.

1. The first thing you want to do is ensure that the meal truly contains only five to ten ingredients.  Some companies wrongly label their product as “limited ingredient” when it isn't. 
2. When reading the label, check that the ingredients contain only a single protein source. It may include several carbohydrate sources. You should also check the guaranteed analysis panel to make sure that the product has all the nutrients your dog needs.
3. Read the reviews from past buyers and stick to products from a reputable manufacturer. 
4. Brand reputation. Well-known brands try to live up to the expectations of their buyers with every product, and their limited dog food is very much unlikely to be the exception.

Final Words

Caring for a dog with food allergies can be a daunting task. Even without the food allergies, you still want to give your pooch the best nutrition possible. The best limited ingredient dog foods helps to ensure that you do not worsen your dog’s condition even with your good intentions and also helps to ensure that your dog stays as healthy as possible. 

That said, we must mention it that even with a  dog food limited in ingredients, you need to know exactly what ingredients your dog is allergic to. You want to avoid buying foods containing such. You can always opt for any other meal on our list if you discover that your dog is allergic to any ingredient in any of the meals on our list. 

Finally, with allergies, you want to make sure your vet is involved in the food changes and also on standby for consultation and assessment if required after transitioning to a new meal.