For todayโs pets, nutritionally complete dog food makes feeding straightforward. However, commercial pet foods only became widely available in the last 80 years. What did our furry friends eat before processed kibble and canned diets? Let’s look at the history of canine cuisine.
๐๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ
In ancient history, dogs lived on the fringes of human settlements, and sustenance came from foraging. They scavenged whatever food scraps, like meat bones, rotting produce, plant material, and waste from early farming or hunting activities. Dogs likely consumed certain grains and fruit intentionally offered by humans as well.
๐๐๐ฌ๐ค-๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ฌ
As breeds became specialized for particular working roles like herding, hunting, and sledding, their diets evolved to match. Sighthounds needed energy from meat to fuel sprinting and chasing prey. Nordic breeds like Huskies ate diets rich in fish and sea mammals to provide warmth and omegas. Hunting hounds and working dogs were given bones, organ meats, and fat after hunts to supplement meals.
๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ฌ
On family farms, dogs eat โanything and everything.โ Table scraps, dairy products like milk, eggs from the henhouse, garden vegetables and fruit, grain mash from the stable, food waste from butchering animals, caught rodents, and other hunted critters constituted farm dog meals. Their varied diet depended on the farmโs particular livestock and crops.
๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฉ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ ๐
In the mid-19th century, some owners began shifting away from table scraps and formulating homemade dog food. Hunting magazines and dog training manuals provided โdog cakesโ recipes with meat, grains, molasses, and veggies. Published cookbooks had recipes for nutritive biscuits containing cod liver oil and other supplements.
๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐
The first commercial dog foods came to market as food processing technology advanced. Sprattโs Patent created the first mass-produced dog food in 1860: a biscuit from wheat, beetroot, vegetables, and beef blood. Canned horsemeat dog foods emerged in the early 1900s from companies like Ken-L Ration. These commercial foods provided convenience over home cooking.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐ฅ๐
Over subsequent decades, dry dog kibble largely replaced canned wet food and homemade meals thanks to lower cost and more accessible storage. Improved nutritional science also allowed companies to formulate dog food better to meet canine health needs, making kibble a dietary staple by the 1950s.
๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ก ๐๐ข๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐๐ค
Today, while commercial diets remain popular for convenience, some owners are shifting back to fresh, homemade, and raw diets. These aim to mimic the ancestral canine diet and nutrition.ParseOptions like freeze-dried, stew-style, and grain-free foods are also chosen with health in mind.
๐๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐จ๐
While commercial kibble provides balanced nutrition, some owners feel dogs benefit from โback to basicsโ homemade or raw feeding approaches. This nod to history honors a dogโs ancestry as a hunter-scavenger thriving on diverse foods. From foraging to commercial kibble to fresh-cooked meals, the quest continues to find the optimal diet to feed our pet dogs.
