No Corn, Wheat, or Soy: Why It Matters for Your Dog
“No corn, wheat, or soy” is printed on the front of every Outlaw Feed bag. It is not a marketing claim. It is a formulation rule that has been in place since day one — and here is the reasoning behind it.
Why These Three Ingredients Dominate Cheap Dog Food
Corn, wheat, and soy are among the cheapest agricultural commodities in the United States. They are calorie-dense, shelf-stable, and easy to process into kibble. For a pet food manufacturer focused on margin, they are ideal inputs.
For a dog that works hard, runs far, or simply deserves better — they are the wrong ingredients. Here is why each one is a problem on its own, and what we use instead.
Corn
The problem: High glycemic index spikes blood sugar and crashes energy quickly — the opposite of what a working dog needs for sustained output. Also a common allergen that causes skin irritation, hot spots, and digestive upset in sensitive dogs.
What Outlaw uses instead: Brown Rice & Oatmeal — slower-digesting complex carbohydrates that provide steady energy without the crash.
Wheat
The problem: Wheat gluten is frequently used to boost crude protein percentages on the guaranteed analysis without adding true animal protein. It is not bioavailable at the same level as animal-sourced amino acids. Wheat is also among the top allergens in dogs.
What Outlaw uses instead: Chicken Meal — concentrated real protein with a complete amino acid profile for muscle maintenance and repair.
Soy
The problem: Soy is a protein extender that inflates the protein percentage number cheaply. It also contains phytoestrogens that may interfere with hormone balance in some dogs with long-term consumption. Digestibility is substantially lower than animal protein.
What Outlaw uses instead: Real chicken as the first ingredient — whole protein from a named, single-source animal.
Reading the Ingredient Label: What to Look For
Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight before processing. The first three to five ingredients make up the bulk of the formula. If you see corn, wheat, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, or wheat middlings in the top five — that formula is built on fillers.
A quality formula leads with a named meat protein, follows with a named meal (concentrated protein), and uses whole grains like brown rice or oatmeal for carbohydrates — not corn or wheat fractions.
Signs Your Dog May Be Reacting to Fillers
- Loose stool or inconsistent digestion
- Itchy skin, hot spots, or excessive paw licking
- Dull coat or excessive shedding
- Low energy or inconsistent performance in working dogs
- Frequent ear infections (often linked to dietary allergens)
None of these symptoms guarantee a corn, wheat, or soy allergy — but they are common presenting signs. A transition to a filler-free formula is a logical first step before pursuing more complex diagnostics.
The Outlaw Commitment
Every Outlaw Feed formula — Gold and Blue — is formulated without corn, wheat, or soy. Not as a special “limited ingredient” line. Not as an upcharge. As a standard. Because we think it should be the standard.
Read the full ingredient list for each formula on the product pages — every ingredient, spelled out, no paraphrasing.