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Why do vets recommend Royal Canin despite corn and byproduct claims?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Cockapoo | Male | neutered | 2 months and 20 days old | 8 lbs

Why is Royal Canin so highly recommended by vets when dog food advisor etc show how low quality the ingredients are? Ie corn fillers, byproducts, meals, etcI’m so confused by the polar opposite recommendations and ingredient quality.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on October 9th, 2017

This is a great question! Dog food advisor is written by a human dentist who has absolutely no training in veterinary medicine or animal nutrition at all. In fact, you will see a disclaimer on the page that this person is not a veterinarian. I would never listen to the food recommendations of a person who has absolutely no training in animal nutrition or veterinary medicine. What you are seeing on that page is that person's opinion, with no science or fact to back it up. Vets recommend Royal Canin so highly because there is a veterinary nutritionist on staff who makes sure that the ingredients in the food are of high quality and the diet is nutritionally balanced to get the needs of the dog. Vets would much rather [recommend a food](https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food) that has a veterinary nutritionist on staff who has extensive training in animal nutrition than listen to a human dentist who has no idea what they are talking about because they have no training at all in the subject. It's also important to remember that byproducts aren't necessarily bad. They primarily include organ meat (e.g, liver, spleen, kidneys), bone meal, and other tissues, all of which are packed with nutrients. Corn also gets a bad rap and is filled with fiber and other nutrients, also important in a balanced diet. If you have further questions about your pup's diet, you can always consult with a [board certified veterinary nutritionist](https://acvn.org), who has gone through extensive residency training specifically in nutrition. I hope this helps :-)

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Related Questions

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Iam sorry but iam so confused how royal canin contains wheat rice and grain and especially chicken by products and you doctors advice people to feed royal??
If you are comparing diets that claim your dog is like a wolf it is important to think about how wolves eat. The first thing they eat is the stomach of their prey. A rabbit, for example, eats grains and wheats as their main diet. Therefore, a wolf or dog would be eating grains and wheats from inside that stomach. Chicken by products are usually chicken livers which are an important source of vitamins, minerals and healthy fats. Diets like Royal Canin have been on the market for decades, are tested and studied by veterinarians and proven to be healthy and balanced for domesticated dogs. Royal Canin, Hills Pet, Nestle Purina, and Iam’s PetCare are the best pet foods on the market. These companies have veterinary nutritionists on staff to ensure quality and nutritional value. This is why we recommend these diets.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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A lot recommend royal canin but the first ingredients are chicken by product, wheat and corn. It's rated 2.5 on dog food advisor. How is this good?
As a regular food I would never recommend Royal Canin. As you pointed the ingredients are not the best, especially when compared to food such as Blue Buffalo and Orijen. Unfortunately sometimes a dog or cat need a prescription diet for a specific condition. Those conditions can greatly benefits from those special diets and Royal Canin is one of the best in that area.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Can someone please explain why foods like Science Diet and Royal Canin are considered better as aposed to foods like Acana and Fromm? I always thought wheat, corn, soy, etc. wasn't quality sources of nutrition for dogs. Isn't sweet potato, potato, br
Those are very good questions. Vets do not get paid to recommend certain brands of food. The reason that most vets like foods like Royal Canin and Science Diet is because the food companies do very detailed research about the diets. They also monitor the quality of resources closely and are very honest about what is in the diet and on the label. I do not think vets are against diets like Acana and Fromm but they typically do not have as much research to show how the food is made/put together. There are a lot of food companies out there these days and not all of them monitor the quality of the products. Dog food companies will take what humans think about humans (no wheat etc) and start marketing the dog food this way to get more people to buy the brands. I hope that helps explain it
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Royal Canin uses corn and wheat as their source of carb and protein. Are these ingredients Non-Gmo and safe to use on pets. You hear a lot about corn being a filler and a cheaper ingredient than other ingredients like sweet potatoes etc.... Can you l
Thank you for submitting your question regarding diets. Royal Canin is great pet food company as they have veterinarians on staff to formulate and research their diets. This is not something small niche brand companies can afford to do. Very few dogs actually have allergies to wheat. It is typically a breed problem with Irish Setters. As far as corn, it is actually a high quality ingredient despite the bad press. It provides a complete protein source and many essential fatty acids. There is so much misinformation from other pet food companies trying to make their diets unique. Additionally, very fre dogs have allergies to corn. Thank you for the exc question. I hope this information helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Kevin Sanada, is wheat, corn, byproducts and soy bad in dog food? Why is there such a stigma around these ingredients?
Again, there is no known problem with these ingredients. The stigma about byproducts is especially annoying, because byproducts like liver, kidney and other organs have great nutritional value compared with meat. The reason behind the stigma is not easy to understand. It really has to do with a series of non- professionals speculating on unsupported theories and then spreading the information as if it's truth. The same happens with people...just look at all the fad diets that come and go. While there may be some shred of evidence that these ingredients may have potential to cause harm, there is not nearly enough for a professional to say that they are bad and other ingredients are good. You can see that the pet food industry has responded to the unsupported claims of grains, natural ingredients, byproducts and even raw food, but please don't take that as confirmation that these ingredients are bad or good. It's nothing more than sales strategy and responding to consumer demand
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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I'm taking a pet nutrition course. And I'm so very confused. It says that corn, meat meal & grains are good, but I thought corn was bad? Don't some food have fillers? I work at a vet clinic and the vet there said Merrick is bad and purina is good? Bu
Hello! All great questions and comments - and you're right, there's a lot of conflicting information out there regarding food. Some of the information you're going to find is based on personal preference or a value bias. Corn is a good source of digestible carbs, fatty acids, and protein - but these things are better digested in dogs than in cats (who are obligate carnivores), and some people prefer to minimize grains, so those people might state corn is "bad".... in my opinion, the focus on grains is based more on trends in human nutrition than evidence-based pet nutrition. Statements regarding what pet foods are "good" vs "bad" will also come from personal preference...your vet can probably explain what made them state that Purina is better than Merrick, and another vet might have their own input on the matter. I do personally like both Purina and Hills because I find their products consistent, reliable, and I like that those companies put a lot of their profits back into nutrit
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Is science diet a high quality brand? Why do so many vets reccomend this food? Is wheat corn and soy bad for dogs? Why or why not?
Science Diet is an excellent brand of food! It's recommended by so many vets because they have veterinary nutritionists on staff who help formulate the food to make the dog's nutritional needs are met. A veterinary nutritionist is the person with the most in-depth knowledge about a dog's needs nutritionally, and many other brands of food do not have veterinary nutritionists on staff. In addition, Science Diet owns their own factories, so there is strict quality control as to what goes into their food. This is in sharp contrast to other brands, such as Blue Buffalo, who do not own their own factories and simply hand a recipe over to make their food. That's why Blue Buffalo has gotten into trouble a number of times for their lack of quality control. Finally, wheat corn and soy isn't bad for dogs. They provide a source of energy for dogs, and should be part of their diet unless there is a proven grain allergy. Grain allergies in dogs are actually extremely rare. Only 10% of all dog
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
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Hello Melanie, what are your most recommended dog food/cat food brands and why? Chloe is currently on royal canin breed specific. Thank you!
Royal Canin is one of my top choices! It meets AAFCO standards, runs their own feeding trials, and have veterinary nutritionists on staff. It's one of only four brands that have all this, the others are Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. I feed my dogs Iams. I think you have Chloe on an excellent food and I would not change it! Keep up the good work :-)
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
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Are vets taking more nutrition classes now? Because from the answers I've seen you're all still recommending Hills
We recommend Hill's because it's an excellent food. There are veterinary nutritionists on staff at Hill's to ensure that each kind of food is specifically formulated to meet a dog or cat's nutritional needs, or to meet the medical needs in terms to medical problems such as kidney disease. They have excellent quality control over their food because they own their own factories, unlike companies such as Blue Buffalo who do not own their own factories, give their recipes to someone else to make, and have publicly admitted to having poor quality control over their food being made. In addition, their recipes are based on scientific evidence, unlike companies who make grain free foods where there is no scientific evidence it's beneficial, and in fact studies are now coming out showing that grain free diets with lentils are actually detrimental to a dog's health long term (leading to taurine deficiency and subsequent heart disease from the taurine deficiency). It's a common misconception
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Royal canin contains wheat corn and rice how it is the best?
It's not the best but it is a reliable food company with very high standards when it comes to making the food. it's true though that wheat and corn are not exactly the best ingredients for dogs and this is why you can find better quality foods that do not contain any wheat or corn.
Updated on September 24th, 2025

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