07/04/2026
A friend came to me with a new bag of dog food they’d been given to try. So they did. Because it came from someone they trusted.
But instead of asking whether the dogs liked it…
I asked one simple question: Have you actually read the ingredients — and understood them?
Because when you slow it down and look properly, the conversation changes quickly.
Let’s break it down what we saw:
First up, hydrolysed protein.
This is protein that has been chemically broken down into smaller fragments.
It’s commonly used in veterinary “elimination” diets, not because it’s a higher quality protein, but because it’s less likely to trigger an immune response.
That’s a very specific use case, not for an everyday diet…
Next up we have an assortment of corn - corn, corn flour and corn gluten. Wowza!
This is not variety, it’s just formulation.
Corn gluten, in particular, is often used to increase the crude protein percentage on a label.
But biologically, plant proteins have been shown to be less digestible and less bioavailable to dogs compared to animal-based proteins.
So the number looks good on the bag,
but what is the body actually using? Not much.
I wish we could have stopped there but we were only on the first ingredients (which makes up the majority of this bag).
*Rice and other carbohydrates*
Easily digestible, yes. Nutritionally essential?
Dogs have no established minimum requirement for carbohydrate when adequate protein and fat are provided in their whole food diets.
They can utilise carbs, but they don’t depend on them. Filler item for “bulking”.
*Fibre sources (beet pulp and the likes)*
Often included to regulate stool consistency and support fermentation in the gut. Not inherently harmful, but frequently used to stabilise digestion in highly processed diets.
In other words, managing the outcome
rather than addressing the input.
“No artificial preservatives”
This is where wording matters.
Dry food cannot sit on a shelf for months without protection against fat oxidation.
So instead, “antioxidants” are used.
Different terminology but same functional purpose: preservation.
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Meet me in the comments…
