The process for how dog food is made begins with the selection of pet-appropriate ingredients, chiefly meat, poultry and grains defined through the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO)’s Ingredient Definition Process as requiring no pre-market approval, unlike feed additives “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) which the FDA regulates, such as vitamins and minerals, flavorings or preservatives not in use by humans as dietary supplements, given that they’re unsafe for animals to consume.
Generally, dog food production involves use of protein from livestock and “renderings”, i.e. roadkill, euthanized pets and other waste animal parts and entrails, fats, grease, and organic waste from restaurants and stores, to grind and separate via heat from water and fat. The resulting dry paste is steam cooked and mixed with cereals and additives. Then, the mix is re-moisturized with water, meat broth, or blood depending on whether it will be packaged as wet or dry feed, once stabilized with binders, such as gelatins or flours, to retain consistency before being thrust through a die (a procedure known as extrusion) to shape it into biscuits, pellets, kibbles or patties.
How Dog Food is Made By Law
According to the Pet Food Institute, an advocacy group promoting healthy pet living since 1958, the AAFCO was founded more than 100 years ago in 1909 to regulate the process of pet food production. So the culture of safety in the feeding of animals has a long history in the United States.
Consequently, pet food is “among the most highly regulated of all food products,” says the AAFCO. “Before an ingredient can be used in a pet food recipe, it must be recognized at federal and state levels. And just like human food, the manufacturer of pet food requires following rigorous safety and quality protocols. It begins with the design of a nutritious recipe and working with trusted ingredients suppliers who are audited and inspected by pet food makers. As the pet food is made, inspections, tests and monitoring ensure safety at every step.”
Furthermore, as a result of the increasing humanization of pets, a more lucrative market has opened and well-known companies that specialize in human-exclusive food production have begun to enter the pet food production category. Pet populations have been growing and household expenditures on pets have increased with it. Pet food is a major proportion of the pet budget.
The resulting competition is becoming intense for better quality products to feed ever more humanized dogs and cats. Rick Ruffolo, president and CEO of Phelps Pet Products in Rockford, Illinois, has said that “First-time pet parents often are faced with new situations and decisions they never have made on their own.” It’s “similar to human parents who are faced with decisions for their first baby. These new pet parents look to experts — other pet owners, doctors/vets, and influential brands — to help guide or validate their decision-making. This also is why familiar brands and retail private labels that consumers know and trust can be very important.”
Therefore, much as human food is prepared for mass consumption, today this is also how dog food is made. In fact, according to Pet Food Processing, an industry expert, the line between people food and pet food is blurring. “Beyond retail products, some restaurants popular with humans are going beyond doggie bags for leftovers and offering real packaged products for dogs. Many Shake Shack stores, for example, offer a ‘Shackburger’ dog biscuit with all-natural ingredients made by Bocce Bakery. Sweetgreen is another restaurant chain that has offered pet treats under its name. The treats were made by Wild One Treats, Brooklyn, N.Y.” None of these were companies targeting animals before, only humans.
How Dog Food is Made by Preference
When it comes to feeding dogs the best quality available, you can see the degree of excellence even outside the United States by viewing this short video from Spain, describing each ingredient that goes into the making of wet pet food. You will find the class of ingredients to be nothing short of human-grade quality. And the autoclaving and sterilization procedures ensure that the food retains its sanitary value and nutrition.
So much science goes into the preparation of dog food, nonetheless, that often dogs eat what their owners least suspect. The preparation of dry dog food, for instance, may differ substantially from the wet process above, due to the dietary ingredients called for in a recipe. For example, the use of cereals is more prevalent in the production of dry dog food, where animal protein is not central, and fats are additives to a carbohydrate-centric diet.
Plant-based dry dog food uses a limited amount of meat, relying chiefly on soybean meal, corn gluten meal, corn germ and pea protein, with only a smattering of beef and bone meal mostly for flavoring, converting the food into nearly a vegan formula. This is the most common type of dog food there is and the cheapest.
How Dog Food is Made by Dog Lovers
A particularly interesting process is that of producing sausage treats for dogs. It involves the use of fresh vegetables but also fresh meat and spices for what is nothing short of a human-quality product. (The video below by The Innocent Pet was shot inside its factory using a 360-degree camera. So, click and drag on the screen to observe what Chloe, the presenter, is pointing out to you. She carefully walks you through the entire process of how dog food is made.)
Despite efforts to regulate the dog food industry, the concept of recycling waste products for use in the feeding of dogs and other pets is not alien to the industry. There is no doubt that many ingredients that dog owners would not wish to be part of the process in how dog food is made do make it as components of the final product, that they often end up regularly feeding to their pets.
These include slaughterhouse waste products, such as animal innards, eyes, hooves, beaks, ears and feet, bread and bakery rejects, cereal waste, such as cobs, stalks, mill sweepings. Also, dying, diseased or disabled farm animals and roadkill, including deer, skunks, possums and raccoons, make it into the recipes, as do distiller fermented waste, expired supermarket food, euthanized pets, dead zoo animals and used restaurant grease. Combine these with dyes, additives and preservatives, and the nutritional value of some meals becomes highly suspect, if not outright repulsive and not much better than trying to feed your dog rawhide, which we do not recommend, or letting it eat a ton of cooking grease.
This is why advocacy groups such as the Dog Food Advisor publishes a list of Best Dog Foods by Category to guide dog owners in their choice of feed for their pets, according to age, breed size, preference between dry and wet food versions, grain vs. grain-free, organic options, or for sensitive stomachs, allergies, low-fat or weight loss purposes.
Our recommended brand is Raw Wild.
The Dog Food Advisor has this to say as a bottom line: “Raw Wild is a grain-free raw dog food using an abundance of named meats as its main source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 5 stars.” Elk and deer meat, plus sunflower and fish oils, high in omega-6 and rich in omega-3 fatty acids boast the highest bio-availability to dogs and humans in the Raw Wild diet, according to The Dog Food Advisor, which is why it enthusiastically recommends it. So do we. Click the banner below to learn more about this excellent product for your beloved pooch.
