Grain or Grain-free Dog Food???

So there has been a lot of discussions about grain vs. grain free dog food. I am no expert on it but I have done my own experiment with my 45lb boxer mix, Riley. So Sadie, my Puggle, had allergies for most of her life and some of her allergies were poultry and grain. I decided to feed the dogs grain free diets with either fish or beef as the meat. Sadie did great on it but I could tell Riley's energy level went down on the grain free diet. Once Sadie passed away, I decided to put Riley back on grain food to see if that would help him have more energy. Before switching the food, he was acting like he didn't have much energy. When we would walk him, he would get tired and when he would be outside on the farm running around he wouldn't run very long, he would want to go inside and relax. He has been on grain food for about two weeks now and I can really tell a difference in his energy level. He wants to stay outside longer and runs around more. Also, when we are camping he is walking longer. We went camping this past weekend and Riley was acting like he needed to get some energy out so I decided to ride my bike and let him run beside it on leash. He did so well and loved it!

I am not saying grain is for every dog, but lately vets are saying that the grain free diets can be harmful to some dogs. Before buying your next bag of dog food, it might be helpful to discuss your dog's diet with your vet.

The two grain diets I am trying right now with Riley are Science Diet Vitality for 7+ dogs and Taste of the wild with ancient grains. There are a lot of other dog foods with grain now as well.

I also try to stay away from chicken dog food. When dogs only eat chicken in their food they are more likely to form a poultry allergy later on. Giving chicken food every once in a while is fine but a vet told me that rotating your dogs brand and flavor every 3 months or so will help avoid food allergies.

I am not a vet nor and am I an expert of dog food. This is my own opinion on the matter along with some things I have read on grain vs grain free.