Dog Food Chat banner

The Truth About Corn?

14K views 43 replies 16 participants last post by  jiml  
G
#1 ·
Ever since I became a dog owner and doing research on various brands of dog food for my rescued dogs (all of the dogs I have owned as an adult have been and continue to be rescues) I learned that there are basically 4 things to be avoided when choosing a kibble: Corn, Wheat, Soy, and Gluten.

However, since reviewing the Whole Dog Journal's recent 2011 List of Approved Foods, I came across a couple of companies I hadn't heard about, and continued to explore.

Here is an article I found about Corn which I thought was interesting. Just wanted to share.

PHDPRODUCTS.COM

Of course it doesn't mean that I'm going to start adding Corn to my dogs' diet but it is an interesting article just the same.
 
#2 · (Edited)
People with multiple dogs, or that compete, have known for years that corn is a very valuable part of a dog's diet. There is no truth to the internet blabber that it causes allergies. It has been studied to death by every major vet school and whole grain corn is no more allergenic than rice. The link you provided is incorrect, however, Grade #2 is not "feed grade". Grade #2 is human grade but has more broken kernels.

There is a "feed grade" corn but it is called "feed grade" or "livestock feed grade" or #4,5,6

That is the truth, the science, for whomever has the brains to think objectively.
 
#3 · (Edited)
How did you find it interesting, as it's all a marketing gimmick for a dog food with whole corn in it's third ingredients.

Premium-grade corn is one of the best sources of skin and coat conditioners. It is also an excellent source of amylase, a much-needed enzyme for the proper digestion of carbohydrates. Without amylase, much of what animals eat will not benefit them and may cause dramatic weight loss. Premium-grade corn is also an excellent source of carbohydrates, protein and fatty acids, which provide additional energy.
Are these people joking? I thought it was a comedy routine after reading the page. I wonder how all these raw fed dogs survive? I wonder how dogs fed the Orijens, Evos, and other A+ kibbles without corn survive? I know, it must be because we are practitioners of black magic. I personally perform a voodoo sacrifice over my dog's food before I feed him with the blood of a freshly killed chicken, and sprinkle the powdered bones of a three breasted witch!!:heh:

DOGS DON'T NEED TO BE ABLE TO PROCESS CARBS BECAUSE THEY DON'T NEED CARBS! Reading that page, you'd think dogs would be dead within a matter of days without corn.Hell Human can't digest corn, why do you think you see whole corn in our stools?

Wonderful we got unpractical feeder now salivating, pointing at us, and saying, "see, see I told you".
 
#6 ·
My sheltie's breeder does competitive flyball and agility at national level.. and has won a few times. The dogs are also working herding sheepdogs. She feeds Orijen.

I can play nothing but chuck-it fetch with my dog, who's seven months, for three straight hours and he is barely tired at the end. He eats raw.

No corn in either diet!
 
#10 ·
I don't think corn is the devil. I think corn is just one of many species inappropriate foods added to dog food to keep costs down.
 
G
#11 ·
Let me make myself clear. I do not post on here very often, nor do I come to this site very often, either. I DID NOT post this article as an attempt to "feed the trolls". From now on, I will no longer be posting here because every time I do, I get blasted by folks like Punkem who think I should not be allowed to post any articles of interest.

For what it's worth. I have done my research. I discovered through trial and error what really works for my dogs. My dogs get pre-made raw every morning and kibble at night. The kibble I am feeding now is Dogswell Nutrisca which is grain-free, potato-free, low glycemic, and does not contain any of the 4 ingredients mentioned in my original post.

I'm done on here. I have nothing else to say.
 
#15 ·
Lol. Wow. People who cannot engage in a friendly discussion or debate without resorting to name calling should not be posting at all! :wink:

What, Practicalfeeder, are YOUR qualifications? Obviously you must have some to be calling us all morons?

I as well disregard any 'scientific proof' coming from someone who has a financial interest.
 
#16 · (Edited)
I'm not going to lie. I just keep giggling at these comments you guys are making. It's hilarious. Not the situation, just the way it's being handled. I think it's being handled pretty well now. :p

^ - what i just said there only pertains to the comments being made towards "the wind", I won't even address them by their username any more. anywho, Labbiemama, I hope you find that no one is trying to bash you for what you're saying and good on you for feeding a good food with less fillers to your dogs.
 
#18 ·
The way I look at it is.. the best dog food should as closely mirror a dog's natural diet as possible. That's why I would say go for Orijen over cheaper brands. If a dog's diet is basically 100% meat, the more meat content the better. I do agree that the herbs and berries added in are more of a gimmick than anything and are not needed.

Corn, or any grain, is not a natural part of a dogs diet and therefore I wouldn't recommend a food containing them.
 
#19 ·
Bish,

I tend to agree. And my gutt tells me that Orijen is probably the best dry food available.

I also would think that Corn doesn't serve much of a purpose to a Dogs diet...but then I stumble on the link from the Dog Food Project and I start scratching my head in confusion...

Hell, I had 2 Dogs live to 15 and 19 years and one of them was a ROTTWEILER for pete's sake. They ate a corn based diet most of their life...Pedigree. Yuck.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Corn is a carb. You get my point Carb corn is BAD!!!!!Along with potato which is not that bad a carb right! There are carbs that are not great in some of the grain inclusive foods.:yuck: So isnt this why alot of us here are doing the grain free foods?:smile: At least I think it is.:amen:

Jeeze Louise ~~Labbiemama just copied and pasted and article ~~she didnt write it ~~just put it out there for all to view. I really dont think her intension was to give troll like people free range. Just opened up a view for discussion. "eh its done its over now we can all move on with other topics!
Labbiemama take it with a grain of salt throw it over your shoulder and just jump right back on board! Water under the bridge!!!!!!!:love:
 
  • Like
Reactions: MollyWoppy
#21 ·
Corn isn't an appropriate ingredient for Carnivores. Heck it's not an appropriate ingredient for humans either. We don't digest it, why would we expect our carnivore canines to do differently? Corn also causes chronic inflammation, and elevates blood glucose. My own personal Dr told me/my hubby to avoid it at all costs, and since we have cut it out of our diet, we both have more energy, aren't as sick all the time, and both have lost weight. It just isn't an appropriate food for anyone except chickens IMO. A lot of food companies write articles etc about how wonderful corn is and how they make it so it's a viable protein source, but I just don't agree with them. JMO and observations. Any food product that comes out the same way it went in.....shouldn't be eaten.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RawFedDogs
#23 ·
Dogs have a very tough time digesting corn. Their digestive system is much shorter than ours. Heck, we humans can not digest corn very well and our system is more capable of doing so. Corn is really just a cheap filler and dogs get NO or very few nutrients from it. That is why they "may" or "can" get allergies from corn.

The Dog Food Project - Ingredients to avoid
 
#31 · (Edited)
GSL,

I'm working thru her entire analysis right now. Following is a quote from her... its listed on this page... http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=betterproducts

Corn often gets an undeserved bad reputation. While it is not acceptable as a main source of protein in a dog food (as it is used in combination with corn gluten), as a source of carbohydrates it is no better and no worse than other grains in terms of nutritional value and digestibility. The starch part of corn is highly digestible but the whole ground product has a higher fiber content than other grains (around 7%), which results in slightly larger stools - often incorrectly interpreted as lack of digestibility. Unless an individual dog is intolerant or allergic to corn, there is no need to avoid products which include it in reasonable amounts

You can see why I'm a bit uncertain why many on this board are saying it is not DIGESTABLE.

I don't have an issue with people stating opinions. But we're getting into a more fact based discussion here and people are making comments I'm not sure are accurate.
 
#26 ·
But isn't it just the surface of the corn kernel that humans can't digest? It might look like whole corn kernels when it comes out, but if you look closely you can actually see that the inside of the kernel is... well, brown. Humans can digest the inside of the kernel just fine.

Handling human feces is a part of my job, so I have had the eh, pleasure to see it up close. :biggrin1:
 
#27 ·
Handling human feces is a part of my job, so I have had the eh, pleasure to see it up close. :biggrin1:
alright this caught my attention! :yuck:What do you do? :painkiller:
 
#28 ·
I just wanna say one thing...

Every time I see a dog fed a food with corn in it, their poo is giant, beyond all reckoning, disgustingly stinky, and orange...tinged that color by the undigested corn that makes up about 90% of that poo. That's all I need to know that corn isn't a good ingredient in a dog's diet.
 
#37 · (Edited)
It is digestable, it is just "very hard" for dogs to digest it. The same does with humans. I really can't see why it is in dog food, it's a filler and that's it. I know you might have seen and read these articles but if you haven't take a look pretty good in my book. And notice it says ""Once the food clears the stomach, however, the food travels through the rest of the dog’s digestive system much more quickly than it does in yours because the dog’s intestines are only about 5% as long as yours."" Please read the first one I think then many people will understand. Great article !!!


Doggies.com | Your Dog’s Digestive System

Dog's digestive system - Google Search
 
#44 ·
Corn isn't an appropriate ingredient for Carnivores. Heck it's not an appropriate ingredient for humans either>>>>>

I havent read any works by any reputable dietitian or Dr. that says avoid corn? not even "radical" physicians such as ornish, fuhrman, or at the other end atkins agrees with you or your Doctor. Corn is partially digested but Humans can not digest any plant cell walls, corn kernals are small enough to be un chewed therefore they show in your poo (note that undigested plant roughage is a good thing in the human diet) . In dog food many times the corn has been "gelatinized" and research has shown that in this state it is very well digested. Yucky-yes good for the dog -questionable. but well digested.