Understanding Dog Food
The commercial dog food industry was born in the late 1800s when an American man named James Spratt developed the first “biscuit” for dogs by mixing ground vegetables and flour and cooking it to form hardened bits. In the early 1900s, F.M. Bennett developed his formula, which went on to become Bennett's Milk-Bone Dog and Puppy Food. These pioneers of the industry wanted to create a product that provided a high-quality food for dogs that was also convenient and easy to feed. Dogs, of course, literally ate it up, and thus was born the commercialization of dog food.
For years, Kal Kan was one of the best-selling dog food brands in America. As the industry became more competitive, higher-quality foods hit the shelves and Kal Kan lost market share. The company refocused its efforts and reformulated their product, finally recasting the food as an upscale brand — and thus Pedigree was born. Today, Pedigree is one of the best-selling dog foods in America.
With market demand comes variation, and as you'll learn as you continue with this chapter, dog foods have developed over the years to include wet, dry, and semi-moist formulations and much more.
