A history of dog food......part two

After Mr Spratt had started to make his dog biscuits and sell them worldwide, the next big thing to happen was to be when machines took over from horses in doing all our hard work. Around the early 1900's there were just too many horses surplus to requirements and so they were turned into dog food. Eventually horses were bred just for the purpose and sold as a tinned dog food.

The next big change was during World War II when a shortage of tin meant that the dog food manufacturers had to come up with a new idea. Essentially this was the start of the dry kibble type product we know today and what's interesting is that the nutritional needs of the dog were not considered at all - it just needed to have a long shelf life and not be a tinned product. The simple reason there are so many unnecessary carbohydrates in commercial dog food is because they dry easily, keep for a long time and are much cheaper than protein - not because it's what dogs should be eating.

In 1964 the Pet Food Institute began a campaign to stop people feeding their dogs anything but commercial dog food.

Last year, pet food companies in the US spend $16 billion promoting their products.

Say no to carbs

So, why no carbs?

Dogs simply don't need them apart from the small amount that's in vegetables and fruit. There's nothing wrong with giving your dog the odd biscuit or to mix a bit of pasta in with their dinner but they really don't need them on a day to day basis.

In dried dog food there can be up to 75% carbohydrate - why?  Quite simple, cost.

Carbohydrates such as corn, wheat and rice are all used in dry dog food because they are much cheaper than good quality animal protein and for the manufacturer they have the added bonus of using ingredients that have a very long shelf life and are essential in the manufacturing process of dried, kibble type product.

All those bulking out carbohydrates are good for profit margins but aren't in any way based on the dietary requirements of dogs. Of course dogs can and do manage to live on kibble but their bodies really have to work hard to extract nutritional benefit and it's now thought that many diet related conditions such as skin complaints, allergies, liver and kidney disease and diabetes could all be linked with that high carbohydrate diet.

It can be very hard to decipher the list of ingredients on the side of the box too, so the only way of knowing exactly what you're feeding your dog is to prepare it yourself.

Even if you just want to make the smallest of changes, try mixing some mince or chicken in with the dried food so at least they are getting something fresh and you're upping the protein proportion.

A sense of proportion

Getting the basic proportions right is key to a homemade diet. With dogs it's all about the protein - think Atkins!

It should really break down like this:

60 - 70% protein including:
Red meat
Poultry
Oily fish like mackerel, salmon and sardines
Dairy including cottage cheese and yogurt
Eggs

(Plant based proteins such as corn,oats and beans are much less digestible - in fact only about half as digestible as animal proteins)

The protein can be fed raw or cooked - there is much debate that raw is better but I think even cooked it's still going to be much better than commercial dog food.

15 - 25% vegetables and fruit including:
Courgettes
Cauliflower
Spinach
Sweet Potato
Squash
Carrots
Cabbage 
Kale
Broccoli
Pears
Apples
And just about any other regular vegetable or fruit you can think of - no onions or grapes though as they can be toxic.

The fruit and veg needs to be made digestible by either cooking or crushing it raw in a juicer.

5 - 10% organ meat including:
Lambs liver and kidneys
Beef liver and kidneys
Chicken liver and kidneys
Heart
Tripe

Again they can be raw or cooked.

If you are itching to add carbohydrates like rice and pasta keep it to an absolute minimum - no more than about 10% of the overall meal. Dogs really don't need these carbohydrates and no canine ancestor has ever been known to eat them.


Add Calcium

The easiest way of doing that is to feed raw bones. Otherwise use ground up egg shells sprinkled onto the food.

Ultimately variety is the key to a homemade diet - keep mixing it up with different proteins and vegetables but stay with the same basic proportions.

By the way, commercial dry dog food is normally around 45 - 75% carbohydrate. On the next blog I'll explain why.