When you bring home a dog, you know you have a new member in the family. Not only do you shower your love and affection on them but you can also feel the same warmth from their side. This mutual bond makes you care for them. Thus you start planning their diet and every other need. But working on their food does become an issue when you see the plethora of options available in the stores these days. As you stand confused remember the basic rule that the best possible meal for your dog will contain nutrients, vitamins, minerals, proteins and carbohydrates. Let us take a look at the effect of corn when present in dog food.
Dogs like humans are allergic to certain food constituents. One such common allergen is corn. Be it ground corn, corn meal, corn barn or corn grit, they may severely affect the health of your dog. Enumerated below are some of the symptoms that your pet may face when given corn –
- The manufacturers to give weight to the dog food usually add corn. This results in indigestion in dogs. Thus, this filler does not help your dog with any nutritional value instead what it cause is digestive problem.
- Your dog may suffer from diseases like diabetes, obesity and liver diseases, as corn is high on carbohydrate content. This high content can disrupt the normal functioning of the liver and the pancreas.
- Corn comes with aflatoxin fungus that is known to attack a dog’s liver leading to their death.
- A prolonged meal of food with corn can even cause skin allergies. Many food allergy symptoms like ear scratching, anal biting, moles, tumors, hair loss, head shaking, etc. can be seen in dogs being served corn meals.
Some of the major dog food brands that do not come with corn are – Blue, Trader Joe’s, Wellness, AvoDerm, Innova EVO, and Chicken Soup for the Dog, Nature’s Variety. These brands provide grain free meals making them protein rich.
Some brands that sell dog food with corn are – Nutro Max, Alpo, Beneful, Bil-Jac, Eukanuba, Authority, Ol’ Roy and Purina. These brands are best avoided if you want your dog to stay healthy and free from allergies.
Corn in dog food does not add any nutritional value. Instead it is known to aggravate problems like skin allergies, weight gain and other illnesses that may result in untimely death of your pet. So, next time you go to buy dog food check out the ingredients on the packet. Do not forget to consult your veterinarian before making any diet changes.