Should I worry about crude ash in dog food? Are grains really bad?

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

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.

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!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would avoid the foods with a lot of dyes, like in Beneful. Royal Canin is an excellent food and wheat, corn, and rice grain are not bad ingredients. I would stick with Royal Canin. Good luck and kisses to Soska!

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!

Great question! In my opinion, grain free diets are a current fad. There is actually no scientific evidence that grain free diets are beneficial to dogs at all. Grains are fine for dogs, they provide a source of fiber which helps fill them up and keeps them satisfied. It sounds like Koda is letting you know he likes grains if he's picking the Royal Canin over Blue. Also in my opinion, Blue is a terrible food and you will find many, many veterinarians agree with that opinion. It is not a well regarded food in the veterinary community. Many vets have seen terrible cases of hemorrhagic gastroenteritis in dogs in Blue, as well as a lot of gas. In addition, they have been caught a number of times lying about what goes into their product, false advertising, and no quality control over how their food is made (they don't own their own factories, they send the recipe out to be made). Royal Canin is an excellent brand of food, and the best part of it is that they have veterinary nutritionists on staff. Blue, as far as I'm aware, does not. I would think a veterinary nutritionist would be best to know what a dog does and doesn't need in a diet. If Koda likes the Royal Canin, I recommend feeding that to him. Just be sure to switch his food over slowly so that he doesn't get GI upset from a quick change. I hope this helps!

This is a great question! There is currently no evidence that wheat or other grains in pet food and treats is 'bad' unless a pet has an allergy to wheat. Grains provide important nutrients, and even strict carnivores like wild cats probably ingest some grain contained in the stomachs of their prey. All pet foods need some way to provide carbohydrates, and the potato or pea in grain free foods is just an alternative source of carbohydrate. In summary, the 'grain free' pet food trend is mostly about marketing, and probably reflects the popularity of grain free and gluten free diets for people.