Beyond the bowl: table scraps and canine nutrition

Most of Europe’s 106 million pet dogs subsist on commercial dry dog foods, with the addition of significant amounts of snacks, wet food and homemade food. In emerging markets outside of Europe food scraps play a larger role, especially for dog owners of a lower socio-economic status.

Commercially produced pet diets

Commercial pet food was developed a century ago and started with canned food. Before then, dogs and cats were fed largely on table scraps and what they might find or catch for themselves.

Commercial diets have been successful in part due to their convenience for the end-consumer and their cost efficiency.

Owners feed their dogs mostly on dry food, followed by a mixture of dry and wet, and then wet food.

There are various factors that make dry food so popular. Feeding extruded dry food is convenient, and if a kibble falls aside, it is easily put back. Wet food is messier.

Wet food also has a stronger smell that is not to every pet owner’s liking. An unfinished tin of dog food expires quickly and is stored in the refrigerator next to human food products – also not what all owners want to see.

The volume of wet food is larger due to the high inclusion of water, resulting in larger portions plus a higher price per meal.

A major benefit of modern pet foods is the opportunity to have nutritionists formulate diets with ingredients considered safe for dogs alongside meeting their nutritional requirements – although pet owners don’t always appreciate the true value of this perk.

Pet diets marketed as ‘complete’ need to prove certain nutritional standards to prevent deficiencies and excesses. Processing of commercial diets also allows for added value for by-products of the human food chain, which makes for a more sustainable use of raw materials and allows for industry development.

Shifting dietary trends

However, pet nutrition is not that simple.

Recent research from the University of Guelph, Ontario, has found that although the vast majority of pets (79% dogs, 90% cats) are fed conventional food, this diet is rarely exclusive with only 13% dogs and 32% cats fed solely on this kind of pet food.

Many pets are also offered homemade (64% dogs, 46% cats) and/or raw (66% dogs, 53% cats) foods. Feeding practices also varied with geographical location across Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US.

Numbers of pets being fed ‘alternate’ foods alongside commercial diets are rising. The humanization of pets has seen owners feeding dogs on diets similar to their own, such as grain-free or vegetarian. There is also a reversing trend towards home-cooked diets.

Industrial manufacturing of pet food and processes such as extrusion impact on the product, and home-cooked diets are promoted as being healthier for the dog. Although some claims made are true, most are not.

In fact, research from the University of California found the vast majority of home-cooked formulations online or in veterinary and pet care books were deficient in multiple nutrients.

Table scraps: cause for concern?

The main health consideration around the increasing trend of home cooking is nutritional variability, and therefore the risk of the pet’s overall diet not meeting all their nutritional requirements.

Furthermore, the types of ingredients used are likely meant for the human food chain, as opposed to the by-products used in most commercial diets.

Table scraps may contain ingredients that are safe for humans but not for dogs, such as onions or garlic. Cooking one individual meal at home uses more energy and resources to achieve the same caloric value as conventional diets, making home cooking less sustainable.

Other types of feeding such as snacks are a positive interaction and table scraps help to reduce food waste.

A common recommendation for snacks is to feed no more than 10% of the daily energy intake from snacks – which would require a calculation on the part of the owner and may be overlooked.

Feeding leftovers can also result in adding excess calories on top of the dog’s diet, leading to unintended weight gain.

Altogether, it is safer and more sustainable for pet owners to cook the appropriate amount for their human household consumption and store leftovers for themselves more than for their dog.