Dogs have been our companions for thousands of years, but the way we feed them has changed drastically. Walk into any pet shop or browse online today, and you’ll quickly find your furry friend is spoiled for choice. From freeze-dried to air-dried snacks, kibble to pre-packaged raw food, there are countless ways to nourish our four-legged friends.
This hasn’t always been the case; in fact, not until about one hundred years ago. For much of history, dogs survived on whatever food was available. This meant they often ate leftovers or scraps from the family table, or whatever they hunted. Commercial dog food, as we know it, is a fairly new invention.
But how did we get from table scraps to carefully balanced SARFTM diets? The evolution of dog food reflects changing lifestyles, advances in nutritional science, and a growing understanding of what dogs are naturally supposed to eat.
Before Domestication: What dogs ate in the wild
Long before dogs slept in the comfort of our homes (or in the middle of our beds!), their ancestors roamed forests, grasslands and mountains as wild wolves. Nature, not convenience, dictated their diet, meaning they ate prey animals such as deer, rabbits, wild boar, and smaller mammals.
Wolves are opportunistic carnivores; rather than just eating muscle meat, they consume much of the animal, including organs, cartilage, tissue and even edible bones.
Over thousands of years, wolves gradually evolved into the domestic dogs we know and love. And while domestication has changed their behaviour, their digestive systems remain remarkably similar. Modern dogs still have relatively short digestive tracts, strong stomach acid and teeth designed for tearing meat and crushing bone – all traits inherited from their wolf ancestors.
This evolutionary history forms the foundation of many modern natural feeding methods, but to get there, let’s take a look at what happened once dogs became domesticated.
Before Commercial Pet Food: Scraps
For most of history, there wasn’t such a thing as “dog food”. Dogs living alongside humans were typically fed leftovers from family meals, bones from butchering animals, and scraps from hunting or farming.
Working dogs’ diets reflected their role. Farm dogs might receive meat trimmings and offal, whereas hunting dogs were rewarded with parts of game that humans didn’t eat. Although these diets varied depending on location and wealth, dogs generally consumed fresh, minimally processed meals. That was until the 1860s…
The rise of commercial pet food
The commercial dog food industry was born in 1860 in London, when American electrician James Spratt launched the world’s first commercially prepared pet food after seeing dogs scavenge for biscuits on the docks sailors used to throw out. Spratt was inspired by this and invented hard dog biscuits.
Following this came the invention of wet canned food by the Chapel brothers in 1922, which offered owners a convenient alternative to dry biscuits and quickly became popular. After the First World War, automobiles replaced horses, and entrepreneur P.M. Chapel saw an opportunity to use excess horse meat for canned food.
However, World War II put a spanner in the works, and we noticed a shift to dry food for dogs due to meal shortages, meat rationing and the reservation of metal for the war. Dry food became increasingly convenient and cheap to produce.
As urbanisation increased and lifestyles became busier, commercially prepared dog food became even more popular. This was because of three key features: its shelf life, convenience, and consistency.
By the 1950s and 60s, dry kibble had become the staple for many households. It was affordable, easy to store and required no refrigeration or preparation. It was also easy for manufacturers to produce, as it allowed ingredients to be processed into uniform, easy-to-store products.
Convenience became a huge selling point, but as our understanding of canine nutrition developed, so did the questions around what was actually going into our dogs’ bowls.
The nutritional revolution
As veterinary medicine and animal nutrition developed, pet owners became more interested in understanding exactly what their dogs were eating. By the late 60s, preventable diseases like liver and kidney failure rose, which prompted a closer look at our furry friends’ diets.
Food labels became more detailed, nutritional standards improved, and manufacturers began producing specialised diets for puppies, senior dogs, different breeds, and those with specific health conditions.
While these developments represented significant progress, they also encouraged owners to look more closely at ingredient lists. Dog owners started asking questions about preservatives, additives, fillers, and highly processed ingredients.
People began asking not just whether food met nutritional requirements, but whether it reflected well on what dogs were naturally designed to eat.
A return to raw feeding
Over the last couple of decades, many pet owners have moved towards feeding methods that focus on fresh, minimally processed ingredients. This has led to the growing popularity of fresh cooked meals, freeze-dried food and, most importantly, a return to raw feeding.
It’s important to note that although food trends shift over the years, the fundamental biology of animals does not. Nature provides plenty of examples of how closely an animal’s diet is connected to its surroundings and environment. For example, a polar bear is adapted to an environment that is primarily animal-based, whereas a gorilla has evolved to only require plants. Their diets aren’t determined by passing trends; they are shaped by their biology, environment, and evolution.
Dogs aren’t any different. Although domestication has changed dogs in many ways, their internal physiology hasn’t changed at all. In fact, a dog’s ancestral history traces back to wolves with less than 2% difference in their DNA. So why are we still feeding our dogs based on outdated practices?
Feeding how nature intended
From hunting wild animals for their next meal to dogs enjoying carefully prepared meals in our homes, the ways we feed our canine companions have come a long way. Over the years, we will see pet food trends continue to shift, but the fundamental biology of a dog will remain unchanged.
SARFTM feeding takes us back to the beginning, reminding us that despite years of domestication, dogs are still wolves, and we should feed them like such. At sure4pets, we’re not interested in jumping on pet food trends or following the latest fads. Instead, we believe in looking at what nature has already taught us about our companions.
Paws! Are you thinking about making the switch? Find out how to here.
