A BRIEF SUMMARY OF HOW KIBBLE GOT IN OUR DOG’S BOWLS…

Did you know that commercial pet food is only over 100 years old? Before the 1800’s there was a long time when dogs were fed raw meat and table scraps either by their owner or scavenged from human garbage.  As breeding became more popular in England, people wanted to promote healthier dogs so they began creating stews for their pets which consisted of horse meat, sheep heads, vegetables, potatoes and oatmeal. 

Along came…

1860 SPRATT’S DOG BISCUIT         

The biscuit is actually the first commercial dog food, invented by James Spratt which was called fibrine dog cake.  Spratt got his idea after seeing the sailors throw stale biscuits to dogs at the docks in London.  The biscuits were made with flour, vegetables, beetroot, and meat. He  saw this as a business opportunity  and advertised with  new marketing techniques like billboards. Fibrine dog cakes were one of the most heavily advertised products of the 20th century. 

1918 HORSE MEAT

 

1941 DRY DOG FOOD

 

1956 KIBBLE PRODUCED BY EXTRUSION