Nowadays, we can see countless varieties of feed for dogs and cats. We find them in the market in different formats, nutritional types or even to prevent pathological cases for our pets.

The origin of pet feed takes back to the mid-nineteenth century, when dogs were observed hanging around butcher shops or ports, waiting for meat waste or the act of kindness of sailors when arriving at the port. They expected any gesture of kindness from those who arrived on land chewing those cookies made of flour, water and salt, because the humidity of the sea made it impossible to load other types of food on long trips without damaging them.

The sailors threw cookies to the dogs that were near the dock. One day, a businessman who had just arrived from the United States in England, realized that perhaps it might be time to design food specifically for pets.

He was James Spratt, who was the inventor of the first pet feed, in this case, dog feed, around the year 1860, according to records. Later, in the year 1870, Mr. Spratt would create the first processed pet food brand in history under the Spratt’s Dog & Puppy Cakes brand.

Between 1890 and the early 1920s, different companies emerged with their own brands based on pets as a source of income. As early as 1922, the first canned dog feed, Ken-L Ration, was launched with one of the main protein ingredients, horse meat, perfectly acceptable for human and canine consumption.

After the evolution described, in 1939 specific diets began to be designed to treat problems in pets, one of the pioneers was the American veterinarian Mark Morris, who prescribed a special diet for a dog with kidney problems.

The evidence of this new route in the feeding of pets with health problems led to the development of different nutritional products that meet the needs of these species.

Nutritional needs of dogs

A study carried out at the Smithsonian Institution on the molecular evolution of the dog family, showed that dogs and wolves share 99.8% of mitochondrial DNA. Due to the close genetic relationship between the two species, domestic dogs have been taxonomically reclassified from Canis Familiaris to Canis Lupus Familiaris.

Like wolves, dogs belong to the carnivore group. Irrefutable proof of this is the adaptation of their entire digestive anatomy and physiology to a meat diet, which is why the nutritional needs of dogs are based on meat consumption.

Nowadays, the big canine feed brands and a large part of the pet feed manufacturers put economic gain first, without going into the nutritional needs of dogs. This explains the inclusion of raw materials from processed grains and cereals in the feed formula, which are low cost and have a high carbohydrate composition.

Considering the nutritional needs of dogs, the diet should be as similar as possible to that of the wolf. As a mainly carnivorous species, dogs require a diet where the main component is protein of animal origin, otherwise and going against their digestive anatomophysiology, the dog will have difficulty digesting foods rich in carbohydrates complexes such as those found in rice, cereals and vegetables. If their digestive system is not adapted to the digestion of this type of carbohydrate means that it does not produce the necessary enzymes to digest them.

In short, diets with high concentrations of complex carbohydrates can lead to protein deficiency, a condition that is especially important in young and elderly dogs; and to intestinal problems derived from the increase in the volume of the intestinal content, which stimulates the secretion of liquid and causes diarrhea. In addition, some cereals contain anti-nutritional factors which irritate the intestinal wall and causes imbalances in the digestion of dietary protein.

Sources:

• https://www.mundoperros.es/historia-de-la-industria-de-pienso-para-mascotas/
• https://www.lavanguardia.com/natural/20131114/54394106841/perros-surgieron-lobo-europeo.html#:~:text=%2D%20Los%20primeros%20perros%20surgieron%20en,esta%20semana%20la%20revista%20Science%20.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken-L_Ration
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spratt%27s
• https://codigoespagueti.com/noticias/ciencia/por-que-inventaron-alimento-procesado-perro-gato/
• https://es.statista.com/estadisticas/1267900/produccion-mundial-de-comida-para-mascotas-por-region/
• http://www.acovez.org/index.php/articulos-cientificos/9-necesidades-nutricionales-del-perro.html