[Peter S]

What is your opinion (if any) on the positive/negative aspects of legumes (lentils, and different forms of peas such as split pea, chickpeas, pea protein etc) being used high-up on the ingredient list of many “high quality” (usually grain-free)dogfoods ?

Recently I read somewhere online that legumes contain or produce something called “phytates” which can be detrimental (possibly inflammatory ?) to some dogs’ health.

The main reason I ask is that a few of the brands that I have been researching lately (to possibly feed to my 2 adult labs) contain what looks to be a fair to significant amount of legumes. The specific brands to which I’m referring are Horizon Legacy & Pulsar , and a couple of Canine Caviar’s formulas.

[theBCnut]

Some legumes have more phytates than others, but of course, we don’t get to pick which ones are in kibble. I personally don’t mind some legumes, but I don’t like kibble to have so much that I’m wondering where the protein in the food is really coming from. Some dogs can’t handle foods with a lot of legumes. Since I feed a rotational diet and half raw, I don’t worry about the legumes in kibble unless my food reaction dog has issues with the food. But if I was feeding straight kibble, that would definitely be a consideration for me, especially if I noticed my dogs having lots of gas.

[DogFoodie]

My 2-1/2 year old Golden with food intolerance issues is fine with peas, but cannot handle chickpeas or lentils. He gets terrible gas and loose stool.

On the other hand, my 3 year old Cavalier is OK, with chickpeas and lentils, but gets constipated after a short period of time.

I like the the products you mentioned, a lot.

I wonder if peas contain fewer phytates than the other legumes, and that’s why my sensitive dog does well on them?

[Nancy C]

I decided this was why my GSD could not transition to ACANA or ORIGEN food….

[Author]

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