how a limited ingredient diet can benefit your dog #NaturalBalance #sponsored

As we continue to understand the toll conventional dog foods are taking on our canines, better alternatives become available. I, for one, am sick and tired of our dogs being sick and tired from eating sub-par food full of artificial ingredients, artificial colors, and harmful chemicals. What you feed your dog is arguably the most important contributor to his well-being, so it's important to choose a high-quality, natural food. Limited ingredient diets are becoming increasingly popular and increasingly necessary for the health of our pets. Natural Balance® Pet Foods are at the forefront of the movement.

How a Limited Ingredient Diet Can Benefit Your Dog–wellmindedpets.com

How a Limited Ingredient Diet Can Benefit Your Dog–wellmindedpets.com

This post is sponsored by Natural Balance and the BlogPaws® Pet Influencer Network™. I am being compensated to help spread the word about Natural Balance available at PetSmart, but Well Minded only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Natural Balance and PetSmart are not responsible for the content of this article.

what is a limited ingredient diet?

A limited ingredient diet is exactly what it sounds like–a food with limited ingredients. You know how you've been taught to go straight to the ingredient list when you choose a food for yourself or your family? The same is true for your pooch, except he can't read and likely doesn't care, anyway, so you'll have to do that for him. A limited ingredient diet is a simplified dog food that typically contains a single-source, unique animal protein, limited carbohydrate sources, and is offered in grain-free formulas.

what are the benefits of a limited ingredient diet?

As our dogs become sensitive to the many ingredients and fillers found in lower-quality food, it is sometimes tough to determine the culprit ingredient(s). By switching to a limited ingredient diet, you can more easily isolate what your dog is sensitive to and avoid that food moving forward. Limited ingredient diets may help dogs with food sensitivity issues, including:

• general food sensitivity issues including low energy and low performance

• stomach sensitivity issues including bowel upset

• food allergies to meats and fillers including skin allergies, stomach upset, weight gain, and anal gland issues

Several of my clients have had success with Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets.

Several of my clients have had success with Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets.

As a professional pet sitter for over ten years, I am witnessing a trend. Pet parents are seeking out higher-quality, natural foods for their dogs. Many of my clients-dogs and cats alike–have switched to Natural Balance® L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets and have been very pleased with the results. I saw a huge change in my client, Clifford*, an adult mixed shepherd. He began to develop skin allergies, and, over time, his symptoms became unbearable. He would constantly scratch, and he began to lose fur, revealing dry, red patches of skin. The poor guy seemed miserable, so his parents switched him over to Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets, specifically the Sweet Potato and Fish Formula. Within a few weeks, Clifford's skin allergies showed tremendous improvement, and within three months, he was symptom-free. Though I can't guarantee you'd achieve the same results, it sure as heck is worth a try!

natural balance l.i.d. limited ingredient diets at petsmart®

I love going into my local Ahwatukee PetSmart® here in Phoenix, Arizona. Everyone is always super friendly and helpful. I often go in just to check out the latest and greatest, even if I don't plan to make a purchase (we all know how those plans go). Natural Balance offers a huge variety of foods for dogs and cats, but since I'd seen such success with my clients who switched to Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets, I wanted to check out what they had to offer in that arena. PetSmart carries a complete line of Natural Balance dry, canned, and treat formulas for cats and dogs.

Natural Balance is easy to find at your local PetSmart!

Natural Balance is easy to find at your local PetSmart!

Since N.A.S.H.A. has such a wispy, dry coat and is getting on in years, I like to make sure I'm feeding her the highest-quality foods I can, so I was excited to check out Natural Balance as a possible addition to our feeding rotation. I decided we'd try the same formula Clifford had success with, the Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Sweet Potato and Fish Formula.

why we love natural balance l.i.d. limited ingredient diets

Aside from the fact that N.A.S.H.A. thinks the food I brought home tastes great, there are lots of reasons we love Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Sweet Potato and Fish Formula:

N.A.S.H.A. has really taken to Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Sweet Potato and Fish Formula.

N.A.S.H.A. has really taken to Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Sweet Potato and Fish Formula.

• single, high-quality protein source: salmon, which provides essential amino acids that help maintain strong muscle tone and a healthy, shiny coat

• grain-free formula helps with digestive health

• works for all breeds and life stages

• can help you systematically specify your dog's source of protein

• balanced Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty acids help to maintain healthy skin and a shiny coat

• no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives

We love to be active outside with N.A.S.H.A., so we hike on a regular basis with her. She takes little steps and skips, and she is getting older, but keeping her on a high-quality, natural diet has allowed her to continue to keep up with the family. She's still a feisty one!

buy with confidence

Buying a new pet food can be scary. It seems that something is being recalled on a daily basis, so we worry that what we're feeding our pets today might be recalled tomorrow. With Natural Balance, we don't have to worry. No, really! They offer a "Buy with Confidence" guarantee:

The health and safety of your pet is our first priority. Every production run of Natural Balance pet food is tested before distribution so that you can "Buy with Confidence." Not only do we test all products in our state-of-the-art in-house laboratory for nine known contaminants before they reach store shelves, but simply enter the product date code (on our web site) to find actual laboratory results posted in real-time. 

How awesome is that?

Have you tried Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets? How has transitioning to a limited ingredient diet helped your pet?

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*names have been changed in the interest of privacy