7 Reasons Why Kibble Is Bad For Your Dog
Last Updated August 23, 2020
Pretty sure all dog owners once fed their doggos kibble at least once in their life, and we get it - it claims to be good for your dogs and is pretty convenient to buy and store. However, have you ever experienced having uneaten kibble in your fur-baby's bowl? Well, as you may know, dogs are very smart - they are most likely leaving the kibbles in the bowl because they know that whenever they do eat it, they feel something weird in their tummies. Believe it or not, dogs know when something is bad for them especially if they are well acquainted with the situation (aka having a bowl full of kibble). So, yes - kibbles are bad for dogs, and your dogs probably knows it. What exactly are the reasons as to why kibbles are bad? Here are 7 reasons why kibble is bad for your dog:
Reason #1: It Contains More Carbohydrates Than Any Other Dog Food.
According to National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, no carbohydrates are considered essential for a healthy canine diet and yet kibble is mostly carbohydrates. This is crazy because dogs have no nutritional requirement for dietary carbs!
Don't get us wrong though - carbs by themselves are not necessarily bad for dogs as it could even boost their energy. However, that is not the whole picture. You see, companies who make kibble makes them mostly from carb-filled ingredients.
According to Whole Dog Journal:
"...some pet food companies take this approach to an extreme, formulating foods that contain more than 50 percent carbohydrates (and low-quality sources at that!). These foods may also contain 15 percent (or more) crude fiber."
Keep in mind that no carbohydrates are considered essential for a healthy canine diet. This means that up to 50% nutritional value that kibble is practically nothing - you are giving your dogs a whole lot of nothing in terms of nutrition. This exposes them to a plethora of diseases simply because they are not getting the right nutrients that they should get.
Reason #2: Kibbles are Made with Low Quality Ingredients Producing Low Nutritional Value.
Connected to Reason #1, most kibbles out there are made with low quality ingredients. The reason why 50% of kibble is carbs is because manufacturers use cheap ingredients like "refined grains". According to Whole Dog Journal:
"...of lesser value are “refined” grains, which have been milled, a process that removes the bran and germ. Milling also removes dietary fiber, iron, and many B vitamins, so refined grains provide little nutrition but still contain the same number of calories."
What worse is that some kibble are actually made with meat that came from diseased and non-slaughtered animals. According to the The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA):
“Processed pet food, including pet food consisting of material from diseased animals or animals which have died otherwise than by slaughter, goes through high heat processing, which is designed to kill harmful bacteria...”
The FFDCA even admitted that some pet foods may also be contaminated with other unwanted substances such as rodent and cockroach excretions and that the only way to remove this is through high-temperature processes:
"FDA does not object to the diversion to animal feed of human food adulterated with rodent, roach, or bird excreta."
This tells us 3 things - some pet foods out there are made with diseased animals or non-slaughtered animals (aka potentially rotting, "double dead meat"), these ingredients could contain rodent, roach, and bird excretions, and these types of pet foods are processed through high heat processing in order to be "edible". This brings us to the next reason...
Reason #3: Kibble is Highly Processed Pet Food.
As mentioned above, to make kibble, high-heat processes are in place to properly cook the ingredients used and to kill potentially harmful chemicals/bacteria/viruses.
Why is this a problem?
Well, ingredients that undergo high-heat processes tends to lose most of its nutritional value and flavor alongside all other harmful chemicals/bacteria/viruses. In order for these to have some sort of nutrient and flavor, enhancers and synthetic ingredients are added replace what was lost. Chemicals are also added to give color to the kibble to make it look caramelized brown to associated it with "meat". Which then brings us to our next point...
Reason #4: It's Filled with Chemicals and Extenders.
Not only are kibble processed and added with synthetic ingredients or chemicals to enhance flavor, these "dog foods" are also sprayed with insecticides and high amounts of preservatives to extend the shelf-life of these products. You don't want your dogs to eat these treated pet food. Below are some carcinogenic chemicals found in pet food listed by PetSafe.net:
- Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA)
- Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT)
- Ethoxyquin
- Propylene Glycol (PG)
- 4-methylimidazole (4-MIE)
Reason #5: Fungus, Bacteria, and Mycotoxin haven.
Kibble ingredients are not treated or sanitized properly before being processed. This increases the chances of fungus, mold and other mycotoxins (toxic compounds created by fungi). Cases of kibble having Bacteria and Mycotoxins have been found and these are definitely not good for our pets. Below is a study done by Association for Truth in Pet Food.
Reason #6: Simply Put - It's Junk Food for Pets that is Shrouded in Lies and Deceit.
Junk food is never good for anyone - neither for humans nor pets. To further illustrate what was mentioned above, studies from the British Journal of Nutrition show that kibble is processed with synthetic ingredients to make it dry, flavorful and easy to package. According to The Holistic Health Guide, Natural Care for the Whole Dog, and Dogs Naturally Magazine:
"Manufacturers try to add back some of the lost nutritional value with synthetic vitamins and minerals so their formulas comply with AAFCO standards and they can call their food “complete and balanced” on their label. However, studies show that these synthetic vitamins can actually cause more harm than good to our pets, because the body cannot completely utilize them and instead it will processes them as a foreign substance, causing more stress to the liver and kidneys."
Some pet foods try to hide their misdeeds by padding in synthetic vitamins and minerals that actually causes more harm for our pets. Not only are kibble empty in terms of nutrition, it actually has the capacity to cause harm to your pets.
Reason #7: Kibbles Are Not Made To Take Care Of Your Dog.
It’s made to make money for the manufacturers. Since pet food manufacturers try to minimize cost in producing their goods, low quality ingredients such as damaged grain, expired ingredients, and double dead animals are used. This lowers the price of production but even then, prices of kibble are through the roof! Do not be fooled. These manufacturers are actually using low quality ingredients that no one wants (even your pets), and then flipping them to make a profit.
Kibble does almost close to nothing to your fur-baby. Ever wondered why he/she became a picky eater? Kibble is probably one of the reasons - your pet knows that it is bad for them. As fur-parents, we should be responsible in what we feed our doggos, and frankly - kibbles should not be in our list. Instead, consider healthy dog foods that are made lovingly with real ingredients that has your dog's health in mind.
