Each time a new food technology or food trend surfaces for the consumer market, you can bet that it will be found next in the pet’s foods industry for man’s best friend.
For dog lovers, the selection of wet or dry food that is available for your faithful furry friend can be daunting as most dog owners care deeply about the health of their pooch.
As such, many of us spend a large amount of time preparing our dog’s food with meticulous care. Today, we would like to introduce to you today a product relatively new to the industry that will change the way we prepare healthy meals for our dogs, by using dehydrated dog food.
What is dehydrated dog food?
Most of us dog owners will be familiar with wet and dry dog food. Dehydrated food however is definitely less well known in the pet’s food industry as it is still fairly new to the market.
We can look at dehydrated dog food the same way we look at dehydrated food that we ourselves, as humans, consume. Dehydrated dog food can come in the form of dried fruits, dried vegetables and even jerkies for protein.
Transfer this concept over to your dog’s daily diet and you have dehydrated dog food, ingredients that are safe and healthy for your dog. You just take normal and healthy dog food and minus all its liquids.
It is good to know that there are in fact a few types of “dehydrated” dog food where liquid is removed from the ingredients, primarily for the purpose of long term preservation.
There are a few kind of processes when it comes to dehydrated dog foods which include:-
1. Dehydrated Dog Food
The most commonly known and likely easiest to find. This general term covers all dehydrated dog food and is based on the simple process of using warm air to slowly dehydrate raw foods that is usually fed to your dog.
This process does not require any temperature-reliant elements such as freezing as it applies the oldest process of drying raw food, which makes it incredibly convenient when it comes to storage and transporting.
2. Freeze-dried Dog Food
This is a process that is slightly more complicated than regular dehydration via warm air.
Freeze-dried dog food uses a three-step process whereby raw foods are first frozen and then twice dried prior to packaging and use.
Freeze-drying yields higher nutrient retention as there is no loss in nutrients due to the heat applied in dehydration via warm air. However, as most freeze-dried dog food will need to be stored in a freezer or be refrigerated it limits its portability can cannot simply be placed anywhere.
3. Air Dried Dog Food
Air dried dog food is very similar to dehydrated dog food. The only difference is that there are no temperature changes applied to it during the drying process.
Although the process is much more labour and time intensive as air-drying without heat takes up much more time, this variant of dehydrated food offers nutrient levels almost similar to the raw foods itself.
Benefits of dehydrated dog food
So how is dehydrating your dog’s food better than simply serving your dog their usual raw diet? Well the benefits are in fact quite numerous and by the end of this section, you will likely be very convinced that dehydrated dog food may be a good option to consider for your doggo.
Let’s take a look at the benefits:-
1. Nutritious
As mentioned above, most, if not all food-dehydration processes remove close to no nutrients from the raw ingredients used.
This means that when your dog takes a dehydrated version of their usual diet, they are receiving close to the exact same quantity of nutrients required for their health and growth.
2. Digestion-Friendly
It has been studied and noted that compared to most processed dog food products out there, dehydrated dog food is very digestion-friendly.
Most of us dog owners are familiar with the difficult process of finding our dog’s ideal diet through trial and error. Dog owners tend to go through brand after brand of store bought dog food only to fall back to prepping their food themselves.
As some dogs are more prone towards allergies and inflammation in their bowels and stomach, digestive problems are pretty much resolved through dehydrated dog food.
Dehydrated dog food in general has a strong track record of being very well-received by most dog breeds so it does not matter what breed of dog you currently have.
3. Chemical-Free
The process of dehydration simply means that the liquid is removed from raw food. This is one of the oldest food preservation methods used by our ancestors to store food through winter. In the olden days, when electricity was not readily available, this was how they got through the winter - by dehydrating their food for preservation.
This means that there are no chemicals added in its production, freeing it of any chemicals that are harmful to your dog or to the environment. No unnecessary additives or preservatives are added to your dog’s diet, ensuring that there is sufficiently nutritious.
4. Convenience
Weekend outings, holidays and road trips are some of the many reasons that causes a headache for dog owners. Going for any of these outings with your dog means packing enough luggage for another member of the family.
A large portion of this luggage weight is just from food!
Dehydrated dog food removes the heaviest component in any raw food: water.
This makes it incredibly light and convenient to travel with and most dehydrated dog food can be consumed with minimal preparation, making them an incredibly travel-friendly option.
How to feed your dog dehydrated dog food?
Serving dehydrated dog food is done basically by adding the one ingredient that’s been removed from it: water.
Depending on the brand, type and the raw ingredients used in the food, you may have to use warm or hot water over cold water.
Do take the time to read the instructions as stated on the label on how you should serve your dehydrated dog food. A misstep may harm your dog’s health. If there are any doubts, consult with your veterinarian beforehand.
Additionally, you may also add other ingredients when preparing the dehydrated dog food for dear doggo. Serving dehydrated dog food on its own won’t seem very appetizing to your best friend and there are a few ways you can get around this.
The easiest way to do this is by adding some additional nutrients and flavor to your dehydrated dog food. You can add food such as kibble to it.
This is especially useful when you are transitioning your dog towards dehydrated dog food. By incorporating some of the wet or dry food that you have been feeding it, the familiarity in taste will make the process that much easier and palatable.
With some extra time and effort, you may also add additional raw foods into your dehydrated dog food. By simply reading the nutritional facts of the dog food you have chosen, include some raw foods or ingredients that will boost the nutrients that it lacks.
Adding meat for a boost of protein in growing pups or vegetables such as carrots, beans or leafy greens for increasing fibre and targeted nutrient intakes in your dog.
Once again, it is important that you take your time to study the nutrients that are being added to the dehydrated food in order to deliver a well balanced diet to your dog.
We highly recommend that you consult experts such as your local vet or pet nutritionist when attaining such information or if you are unsure about anything.
Best dehydrated raw dog food
There are plenty of choices for you, as a dog owner, when it comes to your dog’s diet. Much like its wet and dry counterparts, there are plenty of brands in the dehydrated dog food department.
Although some owners may prefer preparing the dog food by themselves, it can be time consuming so the next best option would be to buy it from the store.
One of the best dehydrated dog food is the Kangaroo Steak by Petcubes. These are treats that are already dehydrated and packed. They are made entirely out of kangaroo meat and are a pet favourite! You can add these to your dog’s diet or feed it to them on it’s own as a treat.
Conclusion
Just like all of us, our dog’s dietary requirements vary due to many factors such as breed, health, age and taste. As of such, we recommend that as dog owners, we should take our time to explore and discover the best type of dehydrated dog food for your pup. There are multiple benefits to dehydrated dog food as stated above and making the switch from cooked or raw food to dehydrated food may just be the best thing you can do for your dog.