Dog food - Definition and Overview

Dog food is plant or animal material intended for consumption by dogs or other canids.

By its water content, dog food can be categorized into following types:

• Dried
• Semi-moist
• Moist

The making of dog food

Dried pellet dog food is made from a mixture of raw materials which is fed into an expander while pressurized steam or hot water is added. When removed from the pressure, the pellets puff like popcorn. The pellets are allowed to dry, then sprayed with vitamins, grease, or any other ingredients that are not heat-tolerant.

Contents

Most commercial dog foods are made from materials unusable or less desirable for human consumption. These may include:

• Meat by-products or digests
• Meat-and-bone meals
• Grain by-products
• Restaurant grease

Special varieties

There are dog foods specially formulated to dogs that are allergic to wheat, corn, and/or chicken. These foods usually contain lamb or fish meat.

Common brands

• United States
  • Dog Chow and Puppy Chow (made by Ralston Purina)
  • Eukanuba [1] (http://www.eukanuba.com) (made by The Iams Company[2] (http://www.iamsco.com) )
  • Iams (made by The Iams Company, owned by Procter & Gamble)
  • Kal Kan and Pedigree (made by Pedigree Petfoods, owned by Mars, Incorporated)
  • Nutro (made by Nutro Products, Inc. [3] (http://www.nutroproducts.com/))
  • Science Diet (made by Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. [4] (http://www.hillspet.com/))

• United Kingdom
  • Bounce, Cesar, Chappie, Markies, Pal and Pedigree Chum (made by Pedigree Petfoods, part of Mars UK Ltd, owned by Mars, Incorporated)
  • Award (H. J. Heinz)
  • Fido, Winalot (Spillers, owned by Nestlé)