Grain Free for my lab

Question:
 I've heard a lot about grain free dog food and decided to switch my 15 month old lab on it. To be perfectly honest I was watching Oprah and her vet had a list of which dog food types he would recommend...not brands but raw, kibble, canned, that kind of thing. Anyway the brand we give her (GO! Natural) has just come out with a grain free kind so we decided to try it. She's been on it for about two months now but I'm starting to wonder if I should have kept her on her original. Does she need the carbs for energy? she does get a lot of exercise. My mom seems to think she's sleeping more but to be honest I'm not sure.
She's also lost 3 lbs and for a gal who was only 48 lbs, it's a lot.
Is grain free okay her?

Answer:
 Dog's don't need carbs, period. Not for energy, not for anything. The way the dog has been made does not tend to accept grains or any sort of carbs well at all.
I am sure that Marley is doing fine on the grain-free... The ingredients of the Go! Natural grain free are much better than the regular, IMO. Perhaps better would not be the right word, but they are much more suitable for a dog.
How is Marley's stool? Her coat? Is she energetic? If her health is fine, you probably do not have anything to worry about.

Answer:
 I agree with everything posted above but wanted to add one thing. I have heard that once grains are eliminated that dogs could seem like they have lost energy because it is now more focused energy. For an example only, grains to dogs could be considered what sugar is to children. It provides "false" energy. My guess is that Marley actually has more stamina and focused energy on grain free and not the wild, hyper energy.

Answer:
 I agree with everything posted above but wanted to add one thing. I have heard that once grains are eliminated that dogs could seem like they have lost energy because it is now more focused energy. For an example only, grains to dogs could be considered what sugar is to children. It provides "false" energy. My guess is that Marley actually has more stamina and focused energy on grain free and not the wild, hyper energy.
I agree with Meg :)
I also wanted to add that you need to give food a good long time for dogs to adjust to it..

Answer:
 I did not notice a more "focused" energy when we went off carbs, but I completely agree that carbs are unnecessary.

Answer:
 Grain-free kibble has PLENTY of carbs! :) The carbohydrates just come from sources other than grains. Carbohydrates are only absolutely necessary for dogs during reproduction, but that doesn't mean they aren't capable of using them for energy.

Answer:
 You're right, 3dognite, all kibble has lots of carbs. However, the grain-free generally has carbs that are slightly more usable for a dog, then grains might be.
Dogs might be CAPABLE of using carbs, but they aren't natural for the dog. In that I mean that they could use them if they were forced to, but it is much easier and healthier for them to not even deal with them at all.
The focused energy can be true, but only if the dog is being given enough exercise!! (I know, DUHHHH, but yea. haha)

Answer:
 Dogs draw their energy from fat as it goes into the blood stream, not carbohydrates. Unlike humans that use carbs and can not utilize fat.
"Carbohydrates are only absolutely necessary for dogs during reproduction, but that doesn't mean they aren't capable of using them for energy"
Where did you hear this? Curious to see an updated link to this info.

Answer:
 To late to edit.
What about breeders that feed raw? Yes veggies are carbs. But not compared to potatos, rice (grains), tapioca, etc.

Answer:
 Dogs draw their energy from fat as it goes into the blood stream, not carbohydrates. Unlike humans that use carbs and can not utilize fat. Actually, dogs have the unique ability to produce glucose (via a process called glycogensis) from the amino acids found in proteins.
"Carbohydrates are only absolutely necessary for dogs during reproduction, but that doesn't mean they aren't capable of using them for energy"
Where did you hear this? Curious to see an updated link to this info. This is from Nutrient Requirements for Dogs - amazingly, I found it in OCR online, so I didn't have to type this out:) (Fortunately this has no relevance for most dogs. For them, carbohydrates are unneccessary, but not necessarily evil) During gestation and lactation the metabolic requirement for glucose is increased to supply needs for fetal development and lactose synthesis, respectively. When, starting 3½ to 4 weeks after conception, Beagle bitches were fed a diet containing 26, 74, and 0 percent of energy from protein, fat, and carbohydrate, respectively, their food intake, body weight increase, and plasma glucose concentrations during the first two trimesters of gestation were comparable to values in bitches fed a diet containing 26, 30, and 44 percent of energy from protein, fat, and carbohydrate, respectively (Romsos et al., 1981). However, during the week before whelping, bitches fed the carbohydrate-free diet developed hypoglycemia and had depressed plasma concentrations of two key glucose precursors (lactate and alanine). Total number of pups whelped by the bitches was unaffected by diet, but fewer pups from bitches fed the carbohydrate-free diet were alive at birth (63 percent) than from bitches fed the carbohydrate-containing diet (96 percent). Only 35 percent of the pups whelped by bitches fed the carbohydrate-free diet were alive at 3 days of age. The cause of death of the pups was not established, but they probably had less ability to maintain their plasma glucose concentrations immediately after delivery than did control pups (Kliegman et al., 1980). Additionally, the lethargic condition of the hypoglycemic bitches reduced their mothering ability immediately after delivery. The severe hypoglycemia (plasma glucose concentrations as low as 15 to 20 mg/dl) and ketosis (blood -hydroxybutyrate concentrations as high as 2.5 mM) that develop at whelping in some bitches fed a carbohydrate-free diet (Romsos et al., 1981) are not unique to dogs. Hypoglycemia and ketosis are also often observed during the last trimester of gestation in ewes carrying twins or triplets (Bergman, 1973). Since most of the carbohydrate consumed by ewes is fermented in the rumen, they absorb only small amounts of glucose and therefore depend on endogenous synthesis to supply their need for glucose. Under conditions of accelerated need for glucose such as occur in the last trimester of gestation, both dogs and ewes sometimes fail to meet these needs from endogenous synthesis. It is possible, based on observations with pregnant rats (Taylor et al., 1983), that bitches also require some carbohydrate in their diet during the period immediately postconception. Rats fed a carbohydrate-free diet from the day of conception exhibit an increase in early embryonic abnormalities and resorption (Taylor et al., 1983). Because the bitches were not switched to their experimental diets until 3 ½ to 4 weeks after conception (Romsos et al., 1981), effects of a carbohydrate-free diet on the early stages of their gestation remain unknown. It is recommended that diets of pregnant bitches contain some available carbohydrate for optimal reproductive performance. Lactating Beagle bitches have also been fed a carbohydrate-free diet containing 26 percent of energy from protein and 74 percent from fat to determine if they require dietary carbohydrate for lactation (Romsos et al., 1981). To maximize the need for milk synthesis, each bitch nursed six pups, and the pups were not allowed to consume the bitches' diet during the first 4 weeks of lactation. Pups suckling bitches fed the carbohydrate-free diet grew as well as those suckling bitches fed the carbohydrate-containing diet. Likewise, plasma glucose concentrations of the lactating bitches were unaffected by the absence of carbohydrate in the diet. Because the milk of Beagles contains less than 20 percent of energy from lactose (Luick et al., 1960; Romsos et al., 1981), the need for glucose in lactating Beagles is less than the need during gestation when glucose is a major energy source for fetal development. This may explain why consumption of a carbohydrate-free diet adversely affected performance of the Beagles during gestation but not during lactation. In breeds of dogs that have larger litters and a greater milk production than Beagles it is possible that the metabolic demand for glucose could exceed the ability of the bitch to synthesize it. At least in high-producing dairy cows, hypoglycemia and ketosis have been shown to develop during peak lactation (Bergman, 1973).


Answer:
 Thanks for everyone's help.
As for her energy, she does seem to rest perhaps a bit more but she always has energy when we're on a walk, in the morning etc.

Answer:
 Actually, dogs have the unique ability to produce glucose (via a process called glycogensis) from the amino acids found in proteins.
This is from Nutrient Requirements for Dogs - amazingly, I found it in OCR online, so I didn't have to type this out:) (Fortunately this has no relevance for most dogs. For them, carbohydrates are unneccessary, but not necessarily evil)
Very interesting info and something I have never heard. If dogs can produce glucose etc. as you mention above from proteins than wouldn't you think a hi protein food for whelping would be a good thing? And not necessarily need a lot of carbs?

Answer:
 Very interesting info and something I have never heard. If dogs can produce glucose etc. as you mention above from proteins than wouldn't you think a hi protein food for whelping would be a good thing? And not necessarily need a lot of carbs? They don't need "a lot" of carbs, just "some" ;) - reproduction is a special situation. Glycogenesis is an extra step, so although of course high protein is a good thing, it's easier on the female to have a few carbs in the diet. :)
I mispoke when I said carbohydrates are an absolute necessity for reproduction - in nature, there are advantages to a lower survival rate within a litter.