Corn Free Dog Food

Corn free dog food is an important part of a healthy diet for your dog. Though corn-based foods are cheaper, they don't provide your dog all the nutrients he needs. There are plenty of healthier cost-effective options that can improve your dog's health.

Importance of Corn Free Food

Dogs can't digest corn, so it basically serves as cheap filler in low-quality foods. In nature, your dog would never consume corn and may not even eat grain at all, unless it's in the stomach of a prey animal. In addition, foods that utilize corn usually use it as one of the top two ingredients, so a large percentage of your dog's food can't even be digested.

Foods that utilize cheap filler such as corn also make their food with other cheap ingredients, such as meat byproducts, as well as dyes and preservatives that may even be harmful for your dog.

By purchasing a food that doesn't contain these products, you will spend a little more money on feed, but you can feed less of it because more of the calories are protein and vegetable sources that your dog can actually utilize. In addition, your healthy dog won't need as many veterinary visits, saving you money in the long run.

Quality Corn Free Foods

There are many high-quality corn free foods, and many of them are relatively cost effective. For example, brands like Canidae and Natural Balance have eliminated corn without too many additional costs. These brands make a nice switch from cheaper brands because they aren't too expensive but are high-quality.

Another price level higher are brands such as Newman's Own, Solid Gold and Blue Buffalo, which also provide high-quality ingredients. Innova, probably the most expensive of these, also steers clear of corn, utilizing a wider variety of proteins per food than many of the other brands.

Each of these brands utilizes protein as its top two or three ingredients and includes healthy vegetables such as carrots and broccoli as well as berries. Grains include barley and brown rice, both of which are better for your dog than white rice, wheat and corn.

Going Grain Free

If you would like to take corn removal a step further, many owners are now going grain free in their food, claiming that it's more natural since dogs aren't exposed to many grains in the wild. There is a lot of debate on this issue since many veterinarians claim that some grains are beneficial.

One of the top grain-free brands is Orijen, which advertises all grain-free products, using potatoes for carbohydrates instead. However, less expensive brands, including most of the brands listed above, include at least one grain-free option in their food catalog.

Raw or Dehydrated Food

Even if a food claims to have "human-grade" ingredients, there is no one monitoring these claims to ensure they are true. Often, they aren't. Thus, the best way to ensure that your dog is getting high-quality ingredients is to go to a home-cooked, raw or dehydrated diet.

You can purchase raw diets already packaged, such as Bravo, Primal, Oma's or the more common Stella and Chewy's, or make them yourself. You can also purchase freeze-dried options, such as Honest Kitchen, which actually does use human grade ingredients.

Any of these choices will improve your dog's diet and health. So whatever you choose, just find a corn free product.

 

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