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

Question

What is the crude ash or crude fiber or crude in dogs dry food? And what should i avoid to be in the ingredients wheat corn soy grain are bad? Pet's info: Dog | German Shepherd | Female | unspayed | 9 months and 2 days old | 59 lbs

Kevin Sanada, DVM · Accepted Answer

This is all under the guaranteed analysis on the bag of dog food. The "crude" means that this is just and estimate of all of these values. The ash refers to the minerals. These values are generally not useful for choosing a dog food and is only there because it's a requirement. The most important thing on that bag is a tiny bit of writing under the guaranteed analysis called the AAFCO statement. This statement tells you what actual research went into making the product. Below is a link to an article that will help explain this more and give some other info about feeding your dog: https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food/ There is nothing known to be bad about wheat, corn, soy, or other grains. There has recently been a great deal of bad information spread (by people who are not nutrition experts) about these ingredients and the pet food industry has responded. This last decade has brought an incredible amount of new products to the shelves and I know it must be daunting and very confusing to consumers. Unfortunately, most information about these foods comes from the pet store employee or an equally unqualified source on the internet. It's very wise of you to ask an expert. The truth about most of these foods is that their claims usually amount to nothing more than that of a fad diet (i.e. paleo or atkins) and are not supported by sufficient evidence (even though they will make it sound like it is). As scientifically trained practitioners, us vets prefer to offer evidenced based treatment and the same goes for feeding suggestions. This is why you don't see vets suggesting that all their clients to feed grain-free diets. I hope that helps clear up some of the confusion here.

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

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