Is Dry Food Bad for Dogs? (9 Problems)

Key Takeaways

• Dry food can cause dental damage: Due to its dryness, food residue gets stuck between teeth, promoting plaque and tartar build-up.
• Stomach problems from dry food: The hard kibble irritates the stomach lining and can lead to vomiting and digestive disorders.
• Increased allergy risk: Low-quality ingredients and gluten in dry food can trigger food allergies and intestinal inflammation.
• Damage to internal organs: Dry food can contribute to fatty liver disease, diabetes, and kidney damage, affecting your dog's quality of life and lifespan.
• Missing nutrients: Industrial processing destroys many natural nutrients, which are only replaced synthetically, making the diet incomplete.

Unlike today's couch-dwelling dogs, their ancestor the wolf was a healthy, lean hunter. Today, our dogs unfortunately often receive only industrial food instead of species-appropriate nutrition. But just how harmful is it to feed your dog only dry food? I'll reveal the answer in this article.

The Change in Dog Nutrition Through Domestication

The wolf hunts its prey in a pack. Social cooperation with other pack members allows it to take down even large prey animals.

In the Stone Age, there were still many different wolf species. They showed no fear, as they had not yet been hunted by humans. Hunting together brought advantages to both groups. The prey could be better defended against competing groups. The young were raised under the protection of caves. Over time, the wolf increasingly adapted to human social structures. The former hunting partner became a working partner and eventually man's best friend. In the Middle Ages, expensive meat was reserved for the upper classes. Hunting and working dogs were fed grain porridge, bones, and meat broth. In times of food scarcity, meat was usually in short supply. Dogs had to make do with cheap grain.

Before long, feed manufacturers discovered this cheap raw material. Grain meal in particular was used to produce animal feed. To make the food simple and attractive for pet owners, the raw materials were subjected to various manufacturing processes. Dry food was born.

The Dog's Teeth

A dog's mouth contains 42 teeth. The six incisors in the upper and lower jaw are small and flat. They are primarily used to scrape meat remnants off bones.

The considerably longer canine teeth grip and hold prey. Between the canines and the first premolars, there is a gap. This makes it easier to clamp down firmly on prey. The rear molars have broad chewing surfaces. They can easily break down larger pieces of meat, cartilage, and bone. With their powerful scissor bite, dogs can effortlessly tear chunks of meat from their prey. Teeth for grinding plant material are not present.

The digestive tract features a large stomach. Stomach acid breaks down protein and bone fragments. The subsequent sections of intestine, where starch digestion occurs, are short compared to those of herbivores. Protein-rich prey is quickly digested. Energy is rapidly supplied to and stored in the cells. If no food is available for several days, the energy stores are mobilised. The dog still has the strength to hunt for prey.

Even though dogs have developed enzymes for digesting plant matter during domestication and can therefore be classified as omnivores, their teeth and physiology clearly show that they are primarily carnivores.

Why Was Dry Food Developed in the First Place?

During the interwar and post-war periods, food was difficult to come by. Fresh meat in particular was unaffordable for many people.

Dogs were therefore fed cheap grain and vegetables. To make the food last longer, special manufacturing processes were developed. The moisture was removed from the dog food. The resulting pieces were dry and had a long shelf life. Feeding dogs became simpler. Dog food could also be easily taken along on longer trips. Pet owners' preference for dry food grew steadily. The feed industry was able to profitably cover a large market.

What "Fresh Meat" Actually Means

The label "fresh meat" is actually misleading. It refers to a dried mass from which nearly all moisture has been removed.

During industrial production, the raw materials are heated to high temperatures, destroying a large portion of the natural nutrients. These are then added back afterwards. In most cases, these are synthetic substances. Through the addition of preservatives, the shelf life is significantly extended. Added sugar is disguised as grape sweetener, apple extract, or caramel.

Why Do Many Dog Owners Prefer Dry Food?

• The food has a long shelf life and can be stored without major issues.
• Feeding is simple and convenient.
• There's no intense smell rising from the food bowl, which can be quite unpleasant for sensitive owners, especially in warmer months.
• The amount of stool is significantly reduced.
• Cleaning the feeding area is much easier.

Composition of Dry Food

There are many different types of dry food on the market. Most consist of 60 to 80 per cent carbohydrates. Animal protein is present only in small amounts.

Usually, a plant-based protein source — soy — is used. This low-quality protein source can barely be utilised by a dog's body. Due to industrial drying, the dog food contains very little moisture. Most cheap ingredients are barely digestible for dogs and don't provide sufficient energy. Even grain-free dry food isn't healthy. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, or rice in larger quantities don't really belong in a dog's natural diet.

Important vitamins, minerals, and trace elements are replaced by synthetic additives. Various types of sugar are also frequently added to make the colour of the kibble more appealing. Often the dry food doesn't even contain high-quality grain anymore. Frequently, hulls, husks, and chaff — waste products from flour production — are processed instead.

Is Dry Food Even Species-Appropriate?

Dry food is enough for your dog to survive. It sustains life. It won't cause the extinction of the dog species. But is it truly appropriate? Is this type of nutrition healthy for your dog and does it meet their natural needs? No, clearly not.

For food to be properly utilised, both the sense of smell and taste need to be stimulated. Dry food has no smell, since the ingredients are no longer in dissolved form. This means the dog produces too little saliva while eating. The dry kibble often reaches the stomach unchewed. Meeting energy requirements is only achieved through the addition of various sugars.

9 Risks to Health and Digestion

1. Gulping Instead of Chewing: Plaque and Tartar

Dogs are gulpers by nature. The small kibble pieces of dry food are not chewed but swallowed directly. Since the teeth are not sufficiently bathed in saliva, food residue gets stuck between the teeth. The sugar contained in dry food serves as nourishment for bacteria in the mouth. Stronger plaque develops. With regular dry food feeding, hard, brown tartar forms.

1. Stomach Irritation and Digestive Problems The hard, dry kibble can cause irritation to the digestive tract in dogs with sensitive stomach linings. The problem is worsened by increased stomach acid production. The dog begins to vomit. The dry pieces are difficult to digest because the stomach doesn't contain enough moisture to extract the nutrients.

2. Gas Formation and Risk of Gastric Torsion The high proportion of low-quality carbohydrates leads to increased gas formation in the digestive tract. Overnight, gases accumulate in the stomach. The risk of gastric torsion (bloat) is very high.

3. Inflammation and Allergies The intake of low-quality food components makes the intestinal lining more permeable. Your dog suffers from gastrointestinal inflammation more frequently. Larger molecules from food pass through the intestinal barrier into the bloodstream.

The immune system reacts more strongly to these substances. At the same time, the gluten content increases immunoglobulin E production. What starts as food intolerance becomes a food allergy. Your dog suffers repeatedly from bloating and chronic diarrhoea.

1. Gut Flora Imbalance and Reduced Performance The bacterial flora in the gut falls out of biological balance. Individual food components can no longer be properly broken down. Your dog can no longer extract enough energy from food and becomes less energetic.

2. Diabetes from Increased Sugar Intake Due to the increased intake of carbohydrates and sugar, individual cells can no longer properly store energy. Since blood sugar levels rise sharply after eating, more insulin is released. The cells become resistant to insulin. This leads to diabetes mellitus.

3. Obesity, Joint Problems, and Heart Strain You're constantly supplying your dog's body with too much and too poor-quality energy. Weight increases. The joints are overstressed. Arthritis (chronic joint wear) develops.

8. Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

Additionally, fat deposits increasingly accumulate in the liver. The liver cells can no longer adequately fulfil their detoxification function. Fat deposits form on the walls of blood vessels. Blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular disease rise.

1. Kidney Strain The low moisture content of dry food puts strain on the dog's kidneys. Metabolic waste products are no longer filtered from the urine in sufficient quantities. They accumulate in internal organs, blood vessels, and lymphatic vessels.

The resulting free radicals lead to chronic inflammation. The risk of tumour growth increases. If your dog takes in too little liquid over a longer period, they can dehydrate more easily on hot days. The kidneys become permanently damaged. This leads to chronic kidney weakness (renal insufficiency). The water content of a prey animal is 70-80 per cent. This amount of fluid cannot be replaced by drinking water alone.

The Advantages of Dry Food?

Dry food only has advantages for the dog owner, not for the dog.

The food doesn't smell and can be stored well even in small spaces. It's cheap and has a long shelf life. Even at high temperatures, dry food won't spoil in the bowl. Your dog gets full quickly because the dry kibble swells up in the stomach. Your dog needs smaller portions. They produce less stool. The stool doesn't smell unpleasant. The industry can produce low-quality food from cheap raw materials and achieve a high profit margin.

For your dog, dry food has almost only disadvantages.

Due to the lack of smell, many dogs become picky eaters. Your dog's health is permanently compromised. Because of the poorly utilisable nutrients, your dog has insufficient energy available. Your dog suffers from lifestyle diseases. Their quality of life is reduced. Their lifespan is shortened. Due to the high grain content, dry food often contains mould and mites. These trigger food allergies and digestive disorders. Itching, chronic skin inflammation, and ear infections are common.

Is Grain-Free Dry Food Better?

Dry food remains dry food.

The problem of missing moisture exists with grain-free food as well. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, or rice cannot replace high-quality animal protein. Furthermore, regular feeding of corn can lead to behavioural problems. Corn contains too little of the essential amino acid phenylalanine. This means too few neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin are produced in the brain. Depression and behavioural disorders are the result.

If the grain-free food contains a high proportion of pea protein, fertility issues can arise. The female dog may no longer come into heat regularly. Unsuccessful matings become more frequent. Buying commercial feed is cheaper than purchasing high-quality, natural, and fresh ingredients. However, the more frequent illnesses require additional vet visits. These, along with the necessary medications, cost more than high-quality food would.

Does Your Dog Perhaps Only Want Dry Food?

Dry food often contains grain and sugar. It's essentially junk food. Once your dog is conditioned to the attractants in the food, they'll crave it. To change your dog's eating habits, you can start by soaking the kibble in water. Gradually, you can then replace the dry food with healthy, high-quality food. Fresh food can't sit out uncooled for long at high temperatures. But will your dog go hungry if food isn't constantly available? In nature, prey isn't always available either. Your dog can certainly go a few hours without food. As an alternative, use a cooled automatic feeder that dispenses small portions at set times.

Does Your Dog Really Need Speciality Dry Food?

High-quality, fresh food contains better ingredients and meets your dog's needs far better than dry food. You can regulate how much energy your dog needs through different portion sizes. Diet dry food puts additional strain on your dog's body and often doesn't provide the desired benefits.

My Conclusion & Tip

Dry food is convenient but can harm your dog's health. If you're looking for the best solution for your dog, try raw feeding (BARF) or wet food. Dry food is not the best choice and can even be harmful. You can find our current best dog food list in the Hundeo app.