Why are corn, wheat, soy, byproducts in dog food considered bad?

Basically, there is proponent of people in the media and in the "natural" food sector that would like to make everyone believe that grains are the devil and that dogs are wolves. This is, in fact, incorrect. Wheat and soy, grains, contain valuable nutrients including proteins that dogs can readily digest and utilize appropriately. While it is true that there are dogs that get GI upset from consumption of these, the same can be said about beef, chicken, and any other meat protein. Rice, oats, and potatoes are acceptable in small quantities, but do contain starches which are complex sugars, and are a little more difficult to digest. In terms of by-products, this is usually referring to any part of the animal that is not the flesh of the beast. Usually this includes certain organs, bones, blood, etc. These products can be ground up and made into a byproduct - meal of sorts. Obviously, the actual meat is going to contain more appropriate nutrients but if a dog were left to it, they would be happy to eat any and all pieces of an animal. As for specific brands of food, Hill's is the brand that I typically recommend to all my clients and which I feed to my own dogs and cats. I consider it to be very high quality. I can't speak much about the other brand you've named unfortunately as I have little knowledge about it. Hope this helped though!

Hello! All great questions and comments - and you're right, there's a lot of conflicting information out there regarding food. Some of the information you're going to find is based on personal preference or a value bias. Corn is a good source of digestible carbs, fatty acids, and protein - but these things are better digested in dogs than in cats (who are obligate carnivores), and some people prefer to minimize grains, so those people might state corn is "bad".... in my opinion, the focus on grains is based more on trends in human nutrition than evidence-based pet nutrition. Statements regarding what pet foods are "good" vs "bad" will also come from personal preference...your vet can probably explain what made them state that Purina is better than Merrick, and another vet might have their own input on the matter. I do personally like both Purina and Hills because I find their products consistent, reliable, and I like that those companies put a lot of their profits back into nutrition research to work on creating good foods - but that doesn't mean they're the only good foods out there. Raw food is another hot topic. I have worked extensively with dog mushers, and raw meat is a very common component to their food - and I'm fine with that. However, I also have a degree in Public Health, and know that raw foods increase the likelihood of foodborne illness such as salmonella both in the pets themselves, and in the humans who are in contact with them. So, again, there are going to be different sides to the conversation. It's confusing when there's conflicting information! Try to sort through what's based on research and evidence, and what is based on the personal opinions and biases of the speaker. Good luck! Hope this helps.

This is a great question! Dog food advisor is written by a human dentist who has absolutely no training in veterinary medicine or animal nutrition at all. In fact, you will see a disclaimer on the page that this person is not a veterinarian. I would never listen to the food recommendations of a person who has absolutely no training in animal nutrition or veterinary medicine. What you are seeing on that page is that person's opinion, with no science or fact to back it up. Vets recommend Royal Canin so highly because there is a veterinary nutritionist on staff who makes sure that the ingredients in the food are of high quality and the diet is nutritionally balanced to get the needs of the dog. Vets would much rather [recommend a food](https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food) that has a veterinary nutritionist on staff who has extensive training in animal nutrition than listen to a human dentist who has no idea what they are talking about because they have no training at all in the subject. It's also important to remember that byproducts aren't necessarily bad. They primarily include organ meat (e.g, liver, spleen, kidneys), bone meal, and other tissues, all of which are packed with nutrients. Corn also gets a bad rap and is filled with fiber and other nutrients, also important in a balanced diet. If you have further questions about your pup's diet, you can always consult with a [board certified veterinary nutritionist](https://acvn.org), who has gone through extensive residency training specifically in nutrition. I hope this helps :-)

These brands you mentioned are considered at least in my mind to be mid range foods, it's no McDonald's but it's not super healthy either. same foes for all the ingredients you mentioned, these are indeed fillers, some more problematic than others (such as meat byproducts for example). Dogs are considered omnivores but are truly carnivores, meaning they need mainly meat/fish in their diet, but economically and realistically it's not doable, there are too many dogs/cats and not enough meat on earth to keep with the demand.

According to Purina, their chicken by product meal is made "of chicken that has been ground and cooked, reducing the fat content to create a protein-rich ingredient." I feed my dog Purina ProPlan and regularly recommend it to others. It is one of the few foods he can eat without issue. While grains have been implicated in allergies, not all dogs who eat grains in food develop allergies. If your dog does well with what you are feeding, there is no need to change it or be concerned. There is no one "best" food. Feed what your dog will eat, does well on and is easy for you to buy.

This is all under the guaranteed analysis on the bag of dog food. The "crude" means that this is just and estimate of all of these values. The ash refers to the minerals. These values are generally not useful for choosing a dog food and is only there because it's a requirement. The most important thing on that bag is a tiny bit of writing under the guaranteed analysis called the AAFCO statement. This statement tells you what actual research went into making the product. Below is a link to an article that will help explain this more and give some other info about feeding your dog: https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food/ There is nothing known to be bad about wheat, corn, soy, or other grains. There has recently been a great deal of bad information spread (by people who are not nutrition experts) about these ingredients and the pet food industry has responded. This last decade has brought an incredible amount of new products to the shelves and I know it must be daunting and very confusing to consumers. Unfortunately, most information about these foods comes from the pet store employee or an equally unqualified source on the internet. It's very wise of you to ask an expert. The truth about most of these foods is that their claims usually amount to nothing more than that of a fad diet (i.e. paleo or atkins) and are not supported by sufficient evidence (even though they will make it sound like it is). As scientifically trained practitioners, us vets prefer to offer evidenced based treatment and the same goes for feeding suggestions. This is why you don't see vets suggesting that all their clients to feed grain-free diets. I hope that helps clear up some of the confusion here.

Science Diet is an excellent brand of food! It's recommended by so many vets because they have veterinary nutritionists on staff who help formulate the food to make the dog's nutritional needs are met. A veterinary nutritionist is the person with the most in-depth knowledge about a dog's needs nutritionally, and many other brands of food do not have veterinary nutritionists on staff. In addition, Science Diet owns their own factories, so there is strict quality control as to what goes into their food. This is in sharp contrast to other brands, such as Blue Buffalo, who do not own their own factories and simply hand a recipe over to make their food. That's why Blue Buffalo has gotten into trouble a number of times for their lack of quality control. Finally, wheat corn and soy isn't bad for dogs. They provide a source of energy for dogs, and should be part of their diet unless there is a proven grain allergy. Grain allergies in dogs are actually extremely rare. Only 10% of all dog allergies are food related, and the majority of those food allergies are due to protein not grains. Grain free food is a current fad that has no scientific basis as to its efficacy. I hope this helps!