Is corn a poor quality ingredient in dog food? What about digestion?

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.

Again, there is no known problem with these ingredients. The stigma about byproducts is especially annoying, because byproducts like liver, kidney and other organs have great nutritional value compared with meat. The reason behind the stigma is not easy to understand. It really has to do with a series of non- professionals speculating on unsupported theories and then spreading the information as if it's truth. The same happens with people...just look at all the fad diets that come and go. While there may be some shred of evidence that these ingredients may have potential to cause harm, there is not nearly enough for a professional to say that they are bad and other ingredients are good. You can see that the pet food industry has responded to the unsupported claims of grains, natural ingredients, byproducts and even raw food, but please don't take that as confirmation that these ingredients are bad or good. It's nothing more than sales strategy and responding to consumer demands. This is a huge topic that I cannot begin to cover here, so I'll give you a couple links to some helpful articles: https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food https://www2.vet.cornell.edu/news/20130205/what-pet-food-should-i-feed

Thank you for submitting your question regarding diets. Royal Canin is great pet food company as they have veterinarians on staff to formulate and research their diets. This is not something small niche brand companies can afford to do. Very few dogs actually have allergies to wheat. It is typically a breed problem with Irish Setters. As far as corn, it is actually a high quality ingredient despite the bad press. It provides a complete protein source and many essential fatty acids. There is so much misinformation from other pet food companies trying to make their diets unique. Additionally, very fre dogs have allergies to corn. Thank you for the exc question. I hope this information helps!

This is not a good quality food, i would recommend trying to look for a food with better ingredients meaning more quality meat and less corn. some examples include- Orijen, Acana and taste of the wild. Royal canin is also a decent option.

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.

Hello. I would not be too concerned about corn oil being pro-inflammatory. There have really only been scant investigations into this & they all involve mouse models & not studies done in dogs or cats. While olive oil & corn oil are very similar in calories, when it comes to the essential fatty acids, corn oil is superior to olive oil ( which practically has none ). Often BalanceIT will supply substitutions to its dietary recommendations, but I would not be concerned about using corn oil based on their requirements for Jack's diet. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is not necessarily indicative of a bad diet though preferably you would like to see a primary protein product or carbohydrate like chicken and rice for instance. Good luck!