Grain free dog treats have no grain on the ingredient list. That rules out wheat, corn, rice, oats, barley, and rye. Ingredients made from grain, such as rice flour and corn gluten meal, count as grain. In the store aisle or on a product page, read the ingredient list to the last word before you trust the front of the bag.
Our Thin Chips and our Sweet Potato Chews, Fries, and Bones each list one ingredient and pass that check. Our Prime Chews do not, because rice flour is the first ingredient in each Prime Chew.
Checking a treat label for grain
Companies list ingredients by weight, heaviest first. A grain near the bottom makes up less of the treat. Any grain on the list means the treat is not grain free.
A label names the grain and the form it takes. One grain can show up under several names.
- Wheat. Wheat flour, whole wheat, wheat gluten, wheat middlings.
- Corn. Ground corn, corn meal, corn gluten meal, corn starch.
- Rice. Rice flour, brown rice, brewers rice, rice bran.
- Oats. Oatmeal, oat flour, oat fiber.
- Barley and rye. Pearled barley, barley flour, rye flour.
- Sorghum and millet. Some brands call these ancient grains, and both count as grain.
Potatoes and peas are not grains, and neither is the starch or protein made from them.
Some labels leave out where an ingredient came from. A plain starch or a natural flavor can come from grain or from something else. If the list does not say which, ask the company before you buy.
Claims that sound close to grain free
No wheat, corn, or soy. Wheat and corn are grains, and soy is a legume. The claim leaves room for rice and oats.
Gluten free. Gluten is a protein in wheat, barley, and rye. Rice has no gluten. A gluten free treat can contain rice flour, which counts as grain.
Grain by treat type
Baked biscuits start from a flour. Grain free biscuits use one made from something other than grain, such as chickpea or potato flour.
Makers of many pressed chews use a starch or flour to hold the shape. Read past the name on the front, because a treat named for a meat can list a flour first.
Dried meat and dried sweet potato can hold together without a binder, which lets an ingredient list stop at one item.
Our grain free dog treats
Thin Chips. The chips break apart into training rewards. Each bag lists one ingredient, the one named on the front. The flavors include Beef, Elk, Pork, Turkey, and Turkey Tendon. The ingredient list for Turkey Thin Chips reads turkey. Our guide to the best dog training treats covers how many to give in a day.
Sweet Potato Chews, Fries, and Bones. For a treat with no meat in it, these three each list one ingredient, dehydrated sweet potatoes. Your dog takes a while to work through a Sweet Potato Chew, because each one is thick cut and firm. You will find all three in our single ingredient dog treats collection.
Prime Chews are not grain free
Beef, Pork, Salmon, Dental, and Peanut Butter Prime Chews give your dog a long lasting chew with a jerky or peanut butter center. We name each one for that center, but rice flour comes first on its ingredient list. Rice flour and potato starch form the body of the chew.
Grain free diets and your vet
Ask your vet whether your dog should eat grain free food. Bring the ingredient lists from your dog's treats to the visit.
Picking your first bag
If you want a grain free treat with one ingredient on the label, start with Thin Chips. Pick a flavor your dog knows.
One ingredient on every bag
Pick the protein your dog already loves. Each bag of Thin Chips lists that one ingredient.
Shop all Thin Chips
