Dog Food Blog

This post on dog food blog is about a complex technology (which I won’t dig into) and it amazes me that this technology is used ‘just’ to get dogs to say ‘mmmm… boss, that food you bought smells really nice‘ and at the same time I think this is so interesting and exiting. It makes me curious as to where dog food is going these days. Perhaps you recall my posts in July 2007 about K-9 Genetics and dog food in the age of the genome. I’ve heard ‘down to earth’ people say these developments are over the top, but I just love progression and fine tuning.

Several dog food companies are investigating how dogs respond genetically to a particular diet. They profile genes that are turned on and off in reaction to the dog food diet fed.

How does a dog decide whether or not he likes the food you poured into his dog food bowl? The main reason for like or dislike is the smell of it. Smell is even more important than taste as most dogs don’t chew very well. My dog is an exception to the rule as he chews kibble by kibble. I remember we met a very posh couple when we were walking and the man returned to his car to get a dog biscuit. Kensho accepted it very gently with his lips and then chewed for a long time. The woman was amazed. She said ‘that dog has more manners than most people’

Now back to my story. Most dogs display a gorging behavior when they eat. There are even special dog food bowls for sale so they can’t gobble up all of their food in just a second.

As dogs go by smell to decide whether or not to eat the dog food it’s important for dog food manufacturers that at least their dog food product has a nice smell to dogs. It’s only logical that they spend a lot of money researching what smells are a dog’s favorite.

These likes and dislikes are deeply rooted in his basic genetic composition. It is likely that there will be significant breed differences in flavor perception. A Maltese may have different preferences when it comes to smell than a Saint Bernard Dog. This would give the pet food industry another reason to have different dog food compositions for different dog breeds.

For more information about dog food, visit Best Dog Food Guide. When you subscribe to the free dog food newsletter you’ll get my e-book and a nice bonus in return.