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9 Best Yeast-Free Dog Foods – 2024 Reviews & Top Picks

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By Nicole Cosgrove

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If your dog has been diagnosed with a health issue that requires them to eat yeast-free food, there is a good chance they also supplied you with a recommendation. However, dogs are picky eaters, and if they don’t eat the recommended brand, you will need to find a replacement. Finding suitable brands is not easy because most companies don’t label the brand as yeast-free.

We’ve selected nine different yeast-free dog foods to help give you more options and a good starting point to help get your dog the nutrition they require while taking care of their health condition. We’ve also included a short buyer’s guide where we go over the ingredients to help you learn what to purchase and what to avoid.

Join us while we look at what yeast-free food is and discuss protein, fruits and vegetables, omega fats, and more to help you make an educated purchase.

Disclaimer: The foods reviewed here were chosen because they have certain characteristics that might help with some of the causes or consequences of this medical condition. However, they are not a medical treatment or a substitute for medical treatment. Keep in mind that each medical case is different and what works for some pets may not work for others. Your veterinarian is the right person to advise you on the best diet for your pet’s individual case.

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A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites in 2024

Rating Image Product Details
Best Overall
Winner
Blue Buffalo Wilderness Grain-Free Dry Dog Food Blue Buffalo Wilderness Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
  • 34% protein
  • Omega fats
  • LifeSource bits
  • Best Value
    Second place
    Purina One True Instinct Turkey & Venison Purina One True Instinct Turkey & Venison
  • High protein
  • Great value
  • Lots of vitamins and minerals
  • Best For Puppies
    Third place
    Iams ProActive Health Smart Puppy Dry Dog Food Iams ProActive Health Smart Puppy Dry Dog Food
  • Chicken first ingredient
  • Contains carrots
  • Fortified with vitamins and minerals
  • Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain Grain-Free Dry Dog Food Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
  • Lamb first ingredient
  • Contains fruits and vegetables
  • Contains omega fats
  • Blue Buffalo Life Protection Recipe Dry Dog Food Blue Buffalo Life Protection Recipe Dry Dog Food
  • Real fruits and vegetables
  • Contains omega fats
  • Chicken first ingredient
  • The 9 Best Yeast-Free Dog Foods

    1. Blue Buffalo Wilderness Grain-Free Dry Dog Food – Best Overall

    Blue Buffalo Wilderness Grain-Free Dry Dog Food – Best Overall

    Check Price on Chewy

    Blue Buffalo Wilderness Grain-Free Dry Dog Food is our pick as the best overall yeast-free dog food. It features high-quality fruits and vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, blueberries, and cranberries, that will help nourish your pet and not the harmful yeast causing the infection. It has chicken listed as its first ingredient, and it’s very high in protein at 34% when many brands keep it in the low to mid-20s. A high protein level will help provide your pet with energy and help them build strong muscle. It’s high in omega fats, which can help produce a shinier coat and helps with brain and eye development. It also contains their special LifeSource Bits, a patented blend of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals intended to boost the immune system.

    The only problem we had with Blue Buffalo Wilderness was that our dogs would leave the bits behind and sometimes scatter them over the floor.

    Pros
    • 34% protein
    • Omega fats
    • LifeSource bits
    • Chicken first ingredient
    • Contains real fruits and vegetables
    Cons
    • Dogs pick out the life bits

    2. Purina ONE Natural True Instinct With Turkey & Venison – Best Value

    Purina One True Instinct Turkey and Venison dog food

    Purina ONE Natural True Instinct With Real Turkey & Venison is another great brand of yeast-free dog food on our list, featuring high-quality turkey and venison as the main ingredients. The reasonable price, plus the excellent ingredients, makes this our best value choice. It’s high in protein and provides your pet with 30% in each serving. It’s packed with vitamins and minerals and contains taurine, which helps with many health issues. There are no harmful chemical preservatives or dyes, and there are no corn, wheat, or soy ingredients.

    The downside to Purina One True Instinct is that some dogs don’t seem to enjoy the flavor. But if your dogs do like this yeast-free dog food, it offers excellent value for your money and great ingredients.

    Pros
    • Turkey first ingredient
    • Great value
    • High protein
    • Fortified with vitamins and minerals
    • Contains taurine
    • No chemical preservatives or dyes
    • No corn, wheat, or soy
    Cons
    • Some dogs don’t like the flavor

    3. Iams ProActive Health Smart Puppy Dry Dog Food – Best for Puppies

    Iams ProActive Health Smart Puppy Dry Dog Food – Best for Puppies

    Iams ProActive Health Smart Puppy Dry Dog Food is our pick as best for puppies. It has chicken listed s the first ingredient, and it high in protein at 27% to provide your puppy with plenty of energy and nutrients to build lean muscle. It also contains carrots, which are an excellent source of vitamin A, fiber, and potassium. It’s fortified with other vitamins and minerals and supplies your puppy with the omega fats it needs for brain and eye development and a shinier coat. Your puppy will also benefit from the prebiotics it contains in the form of fructooligosaccharides that will help feed the probiotics in your pet’s gut to help build a strong digestive system. Glucosamine will help develop your puppy to develop stronger joints. There are no dyes or chemical preservatives listed among the ingredients.

    The downside to Iams ProActive is that it contains corn, and the kibble is a little large for some puppies to eat.

    Pros
    • Chicken first ingredient
    • Fortified with vitamins and minerals
    • High in protein
    • Contains prebiotics
    • Contains omega fats
    • Source of glucosamine
    • No chemical preservatives or dyes
    Cons
    • Contains corn
    • Large kibble

    4. Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain Grain-Free Dry Dog Food

    Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain Grain-Free Dry Dog Food

    Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain Grain-Free Dry Dog Food is another brand that contains lamb as the first ingredient, something many of our dogs enjoy. It also contains real fruits and vegetables, like tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, peas, and sweet potatoes, which will boost the immune system and add healthy fiber to your pes diet. Vitamin and mineral fortification provide all the nutrients your pet needs for a healthy diet. It also contains live probiotics to help boost and balance your pet’s digestive system, which plays a large part in a strong immune system. There are no corn, wheat, or soy fillers and no harmful chemical preservatives or dyes.

    While we were using Taste of the Wild, we noticed that it caused gas in a few of our pets, which could get quite bad. It also contains eggs, a healthy ingredient, but some dogs are allergic, so you will need to be careful and start your pet on this food slowly.

    Pros
    • Lamb first ingredient
    • Contains fruits and vegetables
    • Contains omega fats
    • Vitamin and mineral fortification
    • No corn, wheat, or soy
    • Contains probiotics
    • No artificial chemicals or preservatives
    Cons
    • Can cause gas
    • Contains eggs

    5. Blue Buffalo Life Protection Recipe Dry Dog Food

    Blue Buffalo Life Protection Recipe Dry Dog Food

    Blue Buffalo Wilderness Grain-Free Dry Dog Food is the second dog food from Blue Buffalo on our list. This brand features chicken as its first ingredient and contains peas as a secondary protein source. It contains real fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, apples, spinach, blueberries, and pumpkin, which are excellent sources of antioxidants and will help keep your pet healthy. It’s also fortified with calcium and phosphorus for strong bones and teeth, and there are no harmful chemical preservatives or dyes.

    The only thing that we didn’t like about Blue Buffalo Life Protection is that the kibble is a little large for some of our smaller dogs, and we noticed that a few others wouldn’t eat it.

    Pros
    • Real fruits and vegetables
    • Contains omega fats
    • Chicken first ingredient
    • Fortified with calcium and phosphorus
    • No artificial chemical preservatives.
    Cons
    • Large kibble
    • Some dogs won’t eat it

    6. Natural Balance Grain-Free Dry Dog Food

    Natural Balance Grain-Free Dry Dog Food

    Natural Balance Grain-Free Dry Dog Food is a brand that contains limited ingredients to help reduce the risk of an allergic reaction. It has salmon listed as its first ingredient, which provides high protein and omega fats. It’s fortified with taurine, which fights obesity, helps control diabetes, and protects the liver from oxidation, among several other health benefits. There is no corn, wheat, or soy ingredients that can upset your pet’s digestive system, and there are no chemical preservatives or dyes.

    We felt that Natural Balance is a little expensive compared to similar brands, and it caused a few of our dogs to become constipated after they ate it for a few days. Other dogs would not eat it and would hold out until we offered something different.

    Pros
    • Limited ingredients
    • Salmon first ingredient
    • No chemical preservatives
    • Contains taurine
    • No corn, wheat, or soy
    Cons
    • Expensive
    • Can cause constipation
    • Some dogs won’t eat it

    7. Diamond Naturals All Life Stages Dry Dog Food

    Diamond Naturals All Life Stages Dry Dog Food

    Diamond Naturals All Life Stages Dry Dog Food is a brand that uses free-range chicken as its top ingredient to deliver a high protein count of 25%. It’s fortified with vitamins and minerals and contains plenty of real fruits and vegetables like pumpkin oranges, quinoa, carrots, papaya, coconut, and more to make sure your pet gets all the nutrients needed for a complete and balanced meal. It also contains live probiotics to help balance your pet’s sensitive digestive system and boost the immune system. There are no corn, wheat, or soy ingredients and no chemical preservatives or harmful dyes.

    The biggest problem with Diamond Naturals is that the kibble is quite large and difficult for many smaller dogs to eat. A few of our dogs wouldn’t eat it, and it caused dry skin in one of our pets after a few weeks of eating it.

    Pros
    • Chicken first ingredient
    • High protein
    • Contains omega fats
    • Fortified with vitamins and minerals
    • No corn, wheat, or soy
    • Includes real fruits and vegetables
    • Live probiotics
    Cons
    • Some dogs won’t eat it
    • Large kibble
    • Can cause dry skin

    8. Nutro Wholesome Essentials Natural Dry Dog Food

    Nutro Wholesome Essentials Natural Dry Dog Food

    Nutro Wholesome Essentials Natural Dry Dog Food contains farm-raised chicken as the first ingredient. It’s also fortified with vitamins and minerals to provide a balanced diet and contains omega fats. It also has glucosamine and chondroitin fortification, which will help with joint inflammation, especially in older dogs. It also includes antioxidants to help boost the immune system to help keep your pet healthy. There is no corn, wheat, or soy products that can upset your pet’s digestive system.

    Unfortunately, most of our dogs would not eat it, and several of the ones that did eat it stopped after a few weeks.

    Pros
    • Chicken first ingredient
    • Vitamin and mineral fortification
    • Contains omega fats
    • Contains glucosamine and chondroitin
    • Fortified with antioxidants
    • No corn, wheat, or soy
    Cons
    • Some dogs don’t like it

    9. Nature’s Logic All Life Stages Dry Dog Food

    Nature’s Logic All Life Stages Dry Dog Food

    Nature’s Logic All Life Stages Dry Dog Food is a brand very high in protein at 36%, with beef listed as the first ingredient. It will provide your dog with plenty of energy and will help build strong bones and help them stay full longer. It has plenty of real fruits and vegetables, like apricot, pumpkin, blueberry, spinach, broccoli, apples, and carrots. It also has probiotics to help balance the digestive system and reduce the frequency of gastrointestinal problems. There is also no corn, wheat, or soy, and no chemical preservatives or dyes.

    We liked the ingredients in Nature’s Logic but found the kibble to be very small and may not be suitable for larger breeds. It seemed to soften our pet’s stools, and the level of fiber caused bathroom trip to be much more frequent.

    Pros
    • High in protein
    • Real fruits and vegetables
    • No chemical preservatives or dyes
    • No soy, corn, or wheat
    • Contains probiotics
    Cons
    • Can cause soft stools
    • Tiny kibble
    • More frequent bathroom walks

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    Buyer’s Guide: Finding the Best Yeast-Free Dog Food

    Here is something to look for when choosing a yeast-free food.

    What is a yeast infection in dogs?

    An imbalance in the dog’s gastrointestinal tract can cause a yeast infection in dogs. A poor diet can create the imbalance, but it may also be the result of medication your pet takes for another health problem. As the yeast grows more out of control, you will start to see symptoms like excessive foot licking, red or dark skin, foul odors, and ear infections.

    What is yeast-free dog food?

    Vets often prescribe yeast-free dog food for dogs with a yeast infection. While you certainly don’t want to add to the problem by introducing more into their diet, yeast isn’t the only thing you need to eliminate from their diet. Yeast requires sugar to live, so eliminating it is the best way to clear up the infection quickly.

    • Carbohydrates

    Carbohydrates are the biggest problem because they convert into sugar, and corn is the ingredient to eliminate. While there can be many carbohydrate ingredients in dog food, corn is one of the most popular ones. Many dog foods and dog treats use corn as a cheap filler, and it’s often the primary ingredient. Corn is one of the most genetically modified foods in existence, and it provides no nutritional value for your pet and only serves to feed the yeast infection. The next step is to eliminate other simple carbs like soy, wheat, and potatoes.

    Grain-free foods are great for eliminating carbs, but your dog does require some to function. Complex carbs break down much slower and do not create a large food source for yeast the way simple carbs do. They are also a lot more nutritious for your pet. Complex carbohydrates include sweet potatoes, raspberries, brown rice, and pinto beans.

    • Sugar

    You also want to eliminate any table food, which often has simple carbs and sweeteners. Many dog treats use maple syrup and other sweeteners that may ordinarily be fine to give occasionally but will only help to prolong the condition in a dog with a yeast infection.

    Duschshund Eating_shutterstock_ dogboxstudio
    Image Credit: dogboxstudio, Shutterstock

    Prebiotics and Probiotics

    Probiotics are the helpful bacteria in your pet’s gut, and the harmful bacteria are overrunning them in the yeast infection. Adding probiotics to your pet’s diet can help increase the good bacteria to give them a fighting chance. Many foods contain probiotics, or you can get them as a supplement.

    Prebiotics is food for probiotics. Real vegetables are a great source of natural prebiotics, and many brands on our list have vegetables listed among the ingredients. You can also get prebiotics as a supplement mixed with probiotics.

    High-Quality Ingredients

    A food with high-quality ingredients is essential even though they may not help eliminate the yeast infection. A complete and balanced meal will help make sure your pet remains healthy through this trying time. Ensure the food has real meat like chicken, beef, lamb, or turkey listed as its first ingredient. Avoid food that has a meat meal or meat byproduct listed before the real meat.  Avoid foods that have harmful chemical preservatives like BHA and BHT because they can be hazardous to your pet’s health. Many food dyes can also be dangerous, and you should avoid them, especially while your pet is suffering from a yeast infection.

    Omega Fats

    Omega fats are another essential nutrient that you should include in your pet’s diet. They are responsible for many processes in the body and can help dogs overcome allergies and soothe the skin. Omega fats also help with brain and eye development and help your dog produce a shiny coat.

    Taurine

    Taurine is another nutrient you should look for in the ingredient list. While it is not as essential to dogs as it is for cats, taurine still provides several benefits. It helps strengthen the heart muscles, and a lack of taurine can lead to eye problems and urinary tract issues. Taurine is an ingredient in many of the brands we have listed, and you can also purchase it as a supplement.

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    Conclusion

    When choosing a dog food brand to feed your pet during a yeast infection, keep the carbohydrates as low as possible. Stick to complex carbs like sweet potatoes and raspberries and avoid simple ones like corn and potatoes. Our top choice, Blue Buffalo Wilderness Grain-Free Dry Dog Food, is a perfect example of high-quality food that meets our requirements. It has chicken listed as its first ingredient and includes plenty of fruits and vegetables. It also contains omega fats and LifeSource bits to help boost the immune system. Another smart choice is our pick for the best value. Purina ONE Natural True Instinct With Real Turkey & Venison is less expensive while still including lots of high-quality ingredients. This yeast-free dog food is packed with the protein, vitamins, and minerals your dog needs. Both brands are very popular with our pets and provide a complete meal.

    We hope you have enjoyed reading over these reviews and found them helpful on your quest for a yeast-free food your dog will eat. If you think it can be useful to others, please share this guide to the best grain-free dog food on Facebook and Twitter.


    Featured Image Credit: filmbildfabrik, Shutterstock

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