Can Dogs Eat Corn?

As omnivores, dogs are okay with consuming a wealth of different foods. Some things should be avoided, but most foods should be fine.

Your dog should be able to munch down on them with little negative impact. In fact, they will probably end up loving them. But what about corn? Is this something that dogs can eat?

Dogs can eat corn. As with all foods, corn should be eaten in moderation. However, there shouldn’t be an issue unless the corn has one of those things your dog can’t eat added onto it.

Let’s explain.

Can Dogs Have Corn?

Absolutely! In fact, you can find corn in many dog foods. The dog food will say it is incredibly meaty or something like that. However, dogs need an omnivorous diet, and corn is often a cheap and nutritious grain that can be added to the mixture.

You can feed them corn in pretty much any form too. Dogs seem to love corn on the cob, but they will probably be happy with canned corn too. 

The only thing that you really need to be aware of when you are giving your dog corn is whether there is anything on that corn that could impact your dog’s health. For example, if you had corn on the cob and it came into contact with onion or garlic powder, for instance.

Oh, your dog can even eat popcorn. Although, we encourage you to ‘pop’ it first. Please don’t give them unpopped popcorn. You will also want to ensure that there is no butter or salt on the popcorn.

While it isn’t the end of the world if it is, neither of those carries huge amounts of nutritional benefit to your dog. At least not a nutritional benefit they would struggle to get from elsewhere. 

Now, corn shouldn’t be a staple part of your dog’s diet. This means that they shouldn’t be eating corn constantly, but as a treat every now and then.

Do Dogs Like The Taste of Corn?

It depends on the dog. Corn isn’t always going to be the best-tasting thing in the world. While it can taste nice, it often needs a little bit of an extra flavor boost.

Most things that can add a dash of extra flavor to a piece of corn will not be something that dogs should be eating. This means that your dog may not necessarily like the taste of corn.

Now, don’t get us wrong. Some dogs absolutely love to neck the corn down like there is no tomorrow. They love the taste of it. However, for most dogs, it is very much a ‘take it or leave it’ sort of thing. 

The only time that you will be able to get them to munch down on some corn is if it is mixed into a meal that actually tastes good.

It is unlikely that your dog will go out of its way to get some corn. They are probably going to love that you are offering it to them.

Very few dogs will turn down free food (yes, we know. All food is free for dogs), but they are also probably not going to lift it out of the garbage bag because they have woken up and realized that they have a hankering for corn.

Of course, we don’t speak for all dogs here. There may be some out there that really, really do love corn. They really can’t get enough of it. 

Is Corn Nutritious?

Yes! Dog food manufacturers don’t include corn inside dog food for fun. It is packed full of nutrients, and your dog will get to enjoy these nutritional benefits even when they are eating corn straight:

• Protein
• Carbs
• Various vitamins
• Fiber
• Fat

While we are certainly not saying that everything in the corn will be beneficial to your dog, a lot of it will be.

You can also enjoy the fact that the corn is rather filling for your dog. This can fill up their stomach and may prevent them from overeating. 

Do You Have To Cook Corn Before You Feed It To Your Dog?

There is no need to cook the corn before feeding it to your dog. Although, some dogs will love it if you soften it up a little bit. You don’t need to do much to do that.

You can boil it in some water, or even put it in the microwave. Just make sure that you let the corn cool down before giving it to your dog. You don’t want them to burn their mouth, after all. 

Of course, cooked corn will probably taste a lot better for your dog. For example, it is likely that corn you have pulled off a grill will probably be much more pleasing to your animal than if you gave it to them raw.

However, don’t worry about giving your dog raw corn at all. It may not be the most pleasant thing in the world, but it is not something that will have a major impact on their overall health. 

How Much Corn Should Your Dog Eat?

Corn should always be eaten in moderation. It shouldn’t be a staple part of your dog’s diet. Well, unless it is part of your dog’s food. There are other bits of food in that meal that your dog will be enjoying. If it is a filler in that, then it is okay.

How much is ‘in moderation’ will be dependent on the dog. Ideally, you probably wouldn’t want to give your dog corn as a treat more than a couple of times per week.

You will probably want to pay attention to what your dog is consuming if you give them canned corn. A lot of this is going to be heavily salted.

There isn’t a huge issue with your dog eating salt. Your dog needs salt to survive. However, if they are chowing down on canned corn after canned corn, it will probably start having a negative impact on their health. 

If you plan to give your dog canned corn, we probably wouldn’t recommend giving it more than half a can per week. While they may be able to have slightly more than this, we don’t want to push them on the salt levels. It isn’t healthy for the dog.

Can Dogs Be Allergic To Corn?

In recent years, there seem to be many people chatting about how you shouldn’t give your dogs (or cats) food containing corn. It is a cheap filler, after all.

Firstly, we will come right out and say that while corn does work as a good filler for dog food, it will not be the best filler.

There are many more nutritious vegetables that dog food manufacturers can throw into the mixture. If you look at some of the higher-quality dog foods on the market, you will notice that very few of them include corn.

What we will say, however, is that it is incredibly rare for a dog to suffer from a corn allergy. It is so rare that you don’t really need to think about it.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with your furry friend chowing down on food that has corn in it. They aren’t going to get sick. They aren’t going to suffer from a nutritional deficiency. It just means that there is corn in there.

We can only imagine that a lot of this ‘propaganda’ towards corn in dog food probably stems from the higher-quality dog foods claiming that they use other fillers than corn.

People latch onto this and tell everybody, “corn is bad.” It isn’t. It just isn’t as good as some of the other foods that your dog could potentially be eating.

Final Word 

Dogs can eat corn. It is a staple ingredient in many dog foods on the market.

It doesn’t matter what type of corn your dog eats. You just need to ensure that it avoids corn that has been slathered in anything that dogs shouldn’t have in their bellies, e.g., garlic or onion. You may also want to limit the amount of salt on the corn. 

Contrary to popular belief, corn isn’t dangerous to dogs. They will rarely be allergic to it. While it can be good to monitor your dog’s health when you give them corn, it probably won’t matter too much.