March 31st, 2010
Blame it on my liberal arts education, but I find having historical or societal context fascinating. A while back, I tackled the history of dog toys for one of the American Kennel Club’s magazines. Today, I’m in the mood for a little dog food history. So, let’s fire up the WayBack Machine and see what we can find.
As far as we know, prior to the creation of commercial pet foods, dogs and cats pretty much lived on table scraps and things they could scavenge or catch on their own.
The First Dog Food
But, in 1860 an American living in London, named James Spratt, devised something he thought better than the dog biscuits fed to the canine’s aboard the ship he took across the Atlantic. It sold well to huntsmen in the United Kingdom, so Spratt expanded into the United States about 10 years later. (In the 1950s, General Mills bought what was Spratt’s company.)
Dog Food for A New Century
Industrialization had really taken hold in society, and by the early 1900s, more companies got into the dog food game. In fact, Milk-Bone launched in 1907 in New York City by F.H. Bennett. (The kinds of biscuits we now feed as treats were sold back then as a complete dog food.)
The 1920s saw the introduction of canned Ken-L-Ration, which was ground up horse meat, and later a dry food. About the same time Gaines Dog Meal got started. It was the first food that ground up a bunch of ingredients into food sold in 100-pound bags (and later as semi-moist Gaines Burger).
How War Made Dry Dog Food King
Because the government classified pet foods as “non-essential,” the tin used for cans went into the WWII effort. Goodbye wet food. Hello dry. 
In fact, by 1946, dry food dominated with 85% of the market. (Today, dry food still outsells canned in America — based on dollars spent — about $7.5 billion to $1.8 billon per year in 2008.)
Dog Food in Grocery Stores Controversy
Early dog foods were sold beside livestock rations in rural feed stores, but as our culture became more urban, the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco), which bought Milk-Bone in 1931, made its entree into grocery stores.
And, it caused a ruckus.
Seriously.
Since dog food was made almost entirely from byproducts, it really creeped people out to think it would be on shelves in close proximity to their own food.
Take a minute to think about that and what it means in the context of how we think about dog food today.
Go ahead … I’ll wait, while humming The Girl from Ipanema.
Dog Food Convenience Wins
It didn’t take long for the convenience and economy of buying dog food at the grocery store to overcome any sanitation fears.
So, that’s how we got from there to here.
Pondering the Narrative Arc
I would argue that dogs’ lives, in general, improved with the introduction of commercial pet foods. And, yet, in some ways, we’ve come full circle with many consumers (and even modern-minded manufacturers) looking derisively at the ingredients of so-called “grocery store brands.”
Some may no longer fuss about having dog food near people food, but there are plenty who’d NEVER feed a byproduct-laden dog food to their canine pals.
Tags: dog food, Dog Food Dish Blog, dog food history, history, industrialization, K9Cuisine.com
Posted in Dog Food Basics, K9 Nutrition | 22 Comments »
A professional writer based in Colorado, Roxanne Hawn doesn't just love dogs. She deep-down requires them in life. Something inside her genes, perhaps? That's why it's such a joy to write about all things canine. Roxanne began writing about pets in 1995, when she worked for the American Animal Hospital Association and later for the American Humane Association. During this period in her career, Roxanne served on the board of directors for the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy (a coalition of animal welfare groups). Roxanne also volunteered for many years at an animal shelter, where she witnessed firsthand what happens when the human-animal bond breaks or never forms.
