The Good News Is Carbs Are Fine

From the September 2019 AVMA Journal, Role of carbohydrates in the health of dogs: 

“Despite the large number of dog owners who are averse to feeding carbohydrates to their pets, there is little evidence to support the contention that any negative health effects result from feeding diets that provide dietary carbohydrates in amounts (30% to 60% DM) commonly found in commercial extruded pet foods. There appears to be no association between dietary carbohydrate and the development of obesity, diabetes mellitus, cancer, or adverse food reactions in dogs. In fact, dogs appear to have evolved so that they can metabolize substantial quantities of carbohydrate. Increasing the amount of complex carbohydrates in diets results in the reduction of dietary protein or fat (or both), which may provide benefits for dogs with certain conditions, such as obesity, diabetes mellitus with concurrent pancreatitis, or adverse food reactions.”