It's controversial. Almost anyone can call themselves a pet nutritionist. A lot of the folks in Petsmart are well intentioned but sometimes don't know much, and are coached what to say. I worked for a dog food company for a brief period of time (and stood in Petsmart every weekend) and they give you lines to spout, etc, and don't even really tell you or explain to you anything... it's a lot of "say this, promote this, etc".
I don't personally think corn is beneficial. Those who sell food with corn in it will say it is. Just like those who sell food without it will say it's not. Food is a political thing around dog forums and dog people, LOL.
I don't think corn is all evil or anything that it can be made out to be. But I don't think it's necessary at
all for a dog, or carnivore. Humans can't even digest it. Jackson ate some corn the other day that dropped on the floor and it was in his poop the next morning, LOL. Just like humans.
I like
The Dog Food Project - How does your Dog Food Brand compare? as a reference - she doesn't say corn is "bad" by any means. She just explains a lot of different ingredients, etc.
For my dog, I've found grainfree to work the best for him, thru trial & error and "experiment".
Quote:
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Compared to herbivores a dog's digestive tract is much less specialized for digesting grains, or carbohydrates in general for that matter - especially in their raw, unprocessed form. However, dogs are not true carnivores but opportunistic feeders and can digest and utilize the starch from grains in dog food that has been converted by the cooking process. Digestibility depends on quality and type of grain used: rice (72%) is for example more digestible than wheat (60%) or corn (54%). Dogs can absorb the digestible carbohydrates from rice almost entirely, of the other grains about 20% are not absorbed. Indigestible fiber from grains contribute to intestinal health.
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