Do you have a dog?

I have four dogs who will eat anything, but I try to give them a healthy, balanced diet. OK, it may be mostly the dried stuff that comes in sacks, topped up with some moist tinned or sachet foods. The upside to dry food is that it’s convenient, can be easily portioned out to suit the size of your pooch, and is consistent in content.

I wondered if there is much difference between brands of dried food; they all look pretty much the same, brown, maybe differently shaped, all smelling meaty or fishy. I browse the products, and peer at ingredient lists and protein content, and to be honest, usually select the sack that is a mid-way price. Not very technical, but I did some research, and here are the facts as I see them.

They say that dry dog food is a shelf-stable, ‘complete and balanced’ diet designed to provide all essential daily nutrients, made by combining animal proteins, grains, and veggies into a dough, cooking and shaping it under intense pressure, and coating it with fats for flavour. Sounds pretty ok so far.

The protein side of kibble is usually animal-based, such as chicken, beef, or fish. These are often used in ‘meal’ form, which is a concentrated powder of meat and tissue with fat removed. Grains (such as corn, wheat, or rice) and legumes (like peas or lentils) are also used to bind the kibble and provide energy. Then synthetic vitamins and minerals are added to the mixture to replace nutrients lost during high-heat processing, which is primarily a continuous cooking process called extrusion. Raw ingredients-including meats, grains, and vitamins-are ground into flour, mixed into a dough, cooked under high heat and pressure, and pushed through a die to shape the bites before being dried. They are lastly coated with fats or vegetable oils to provide concentrated energy and to enhance the taste.

So, what to look for

Always look for a named animal protein (e.g., ‘chicken’, ‘salmon’) as the first ingredient, and maybe try to avoid ambiguous terms like ‘meat meal’, ‘animal by-products’, or ‘meat and bone meal’, especially if your dog has a sensitive gut. Adult dogs generally need a minimum of 18-22% crude protein, while puppies or highly active dogs require higher levels (25-30%+).

Look for complex carbs and fibres like sweet potatoes, brown rice, or oats, and avoid generic fillers. Check out the crude fat percentage of between 10-15% for maintenance, and ensure it comes from named, healthy sources like chicken fat or fish oil.

Premium dried foods often include specific supplements like glucosamine and chondroitin, probiotics and Omega-3 fatty acids if these are what you need.

Water, water everywhere….

And whenever serving your dog dried food, always ensure there is adequate water served too, as dried food naturally has low moisture (typically around 10%). Because of this, it’s crucial to ensure your dog drinks plenty of fresh water or to supplement with occasional wet food. If you have ever had a dog chuck up the food, it’s twice the size of what went in, and it’s the moisture that swells it up to give their systems a chance to break it down. And now the heat of summer is here, make sure they get more than enough water, even if it means filling an additional bowl or bucket.

Does a high price mean high quality?

Not necessarily. While highly nutritious kibble generally costs more to produce, the price tag alone isn’t a perfect measure of quality. Many expensive brands rely on premium marketing rather than premium ingredients, while some affordable brands meet strict nutritional standards. With trial and error, you will find the one the dog himself likes, and – dare I mention it – the poo that comes out later will tell you a lot. Can I talk about that? Ideal is chocolate-brown, log-shaped, and leaves no residue when picked up. Pebble poo usually means dehydration, constipation, or a lack of fibre. Sloppy and shapeless looking typically points to a dietary sensitivity, an ingredient change, stress, or eating rich/fatty table scraps; watery could mean acute gastrointestinal upset.