Pet Care — Dry Dog Food
They trust you completely —
feed them like it
Your dog eats the same food, from the same bag, every single day of their life. No choice. No label reading. Total trust. Most commercial dry dog food is built on cheap grain fillers, rendered mystery meats, synthetic preservatives, and ingredients that would never be permitted in human food. The recalls are not anomalies — they are symptoms of an industry that has been allowed to operate far below the standards we apply to our own plates. Shake asks the same question for your dog that it asks for you: what is actually in this, and is it genuinely nourishing?
What’s in most dry dog food
The ingredients most dogs eat
every day — decoded.
The FDA allows pet food to contain ingredients that are explicitly prohibited in human food — including animal material contaminated with rodent and insect excreta. Feed-grade ingredients (used in most pet food) have allowances for mycotoxins and other contaminants that would fail human food standards. This is the regulatory framework your dog’s daily diet operates within.
| Ingredient | Status | What It Actually Is |
|---|---|---|
| Meat & Bone Meal / Animal By-Product Meal | Avoid | Rendered material from unspecified animal parts — can include heads, feet, bones, blood, intestines, feathers, and material from unknown species. Processed at extreme temperatures that degrade nutritional value. The FDA does not require disclosure of source species. |
| Corn / Wheat / Soy (as primary ingredient) | Avoid as primary | Cheap carbohydrate fillers providing bulk, not nutrition. Dogs are carnivores — their biology is not optimised for high-carbohydrate diets. When listed as a first or second ingredient, these displace the meat protein your dog actually needs. Linked to obesity, gas, bloating, chronic diarrhea, and food allergies. |
| BHA / BHT (preservatives) | Avoid | Synthetic antioxidant preservatives. The National Institute of Health has classified both BHA and BHT as possible human carcinogens. Both are used in pet food to extend shelf life. Found in Ol’ Roy, Kibbles ‘n Bits, Iams, Pedigree, and many budget kibbles. No equivalent human food would carry these at the same concentrations. |
| Ethoxyquin | Avoid | Originally patented as a rubber hardener and weed killer. Used in pet food as a preservative. Linked to immune deficiencies, kidney and liver damage, skin conditions, and cancer in dogs. Often not listed on labels because it is added to fish meal before it reaches the pet food manufacturer — making it technically a preservative in an ingredient, not the food. |
| Propylene Glycol | Avoid | A humectant used to retain moisture in semi-moist foods. A component of antifreeze. Linked to liver and kidney damage in pets. Banned by the FDA in cat food — but still permitted in dog food. |
| Artificial Colours (Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6) | Avoid | Added purely for human appeal — dogs are not attracted to colour. Red 40 and Yellow 5 are linked to hyperactivity and allergic reactions. Your dog’s food should not be coloured. If it is, the colouring is for you, not your dog. |
| Corn Syrup / Sugar | Avoid | Added as a palatability enhancer in low-quality kibbles. Linked to obesity, dental disease, and diabetes in dogs. No nutritional function. Present purely to make cheap, low-protein food palatable enough for dogs to eat. |
| Rice Bran / Cellulose | Low value | Cellulose is essentially processed sawdust — wood pulp used as a fibre filler. Rice bran is a by-product discarded by other processes. Neither provides meaningful nutrition. Both are bulk-boosting fillers that inflate the ingredient list without nutritional benefit. |
| Named Whole Meat (chicken, beef, salmon) | Look For | The first ingredient should always be a named, whole meat. “Chicken” means whole chicken. “Chicken meal” (concentrated dried chicken) is also acceptable when the source is named. “Poultry meal” or “meat meal” without species identification is not — it could be anything. |
| Named Organ Meats (liver, heart, kidney) | Look For | Highly nutritious when sourced from identified animals. Liver provides vitamin A, B vitamins, iron, and copper. Heart is rich in taurine — critical for cardiac function. Named organ meats from traceable sources are among the most bioavailable nutrients in a dog’s diet. |
Recalls & Legal Action
The recalls are not accidents.
They are a pattern.
Since 2009, there have been hundreds of dog food recalls in the US alone — for salmonella, listeria, aflatoxin (a mould-produced carcinogen), elevated vitamin D levels, metal fragments, and pentobarbital (a euthanasia drug). The Clean Label Project tested 79 top-selling dry, freeze-dried, and fresh dog foods in 2026 and found alarming levels of heavy metals, acrylamide, and plastic contaminants — including one food testing at 780 parts per billion of acrylamide, roughly 24 times higher than fresh food. These are not fringe brands. They are household names.
Mid America Pet Food
2023–2024 · $5.5M Settlement
Recalled all products manufactured with a best-by date before October 2024 due to salmonella contamination. Brands affected: Victor Super Premium Dog Food, Wayne Feeds, Eagle Mountain, and Member’s Mark. The FDA issued a formal warning letter for violations of manufacturing regulations. A class action lawsuit was filed — owners whose pets died received up to $100,000. Mid America paid $5.5 million to settle without admitting wrongdoing.
Hill’s Pet Nutrition
2024 · $2.6 Billion Lawsuit Filed
KetoNatural Pet Foods filed a $2.6 billion Lanham Act lawsuit alleging Hill’s Pet Nutrition (owned by Colgate-Palmolive) and affiliated veterinary researchers manipulated the FDA’s investigation into grain-free dog foods and DCM — using cherry-picked data to harm competing brands. FOIA records showed researchers were instructed to report only DCM cases involving grain-free diets, not cases involving Hill’s own grain-inclusive products. The researchers named had documented financial ties to Hill’s, Purina, and Mars.
Merrick Pet Care
2024–2025 · Class Action Filed
Consumers filed a class action lawsuit in New York federal court alleging Merrick Pet Care falsely advertised its products as “natural.” Merrick is owned by Nestlé Purina — one of the largest pet food companies in the world. The lawsuit follows a pattern of “natural” marketing claims that regulators and courts have increasingly scrutinised as deceptive.
Diamond Pet Foods (Taste of the Wild)
2024 · Class Action Certified
A Missouri court certified a class action against Diamond Pet Foods (manufacturer of Taste of the Wild) alleging the brand falsely marketed grain-free food as “uniquely high-quality, safe, and healthy.” The case includes Missouri residents who purchased Taste of the Wild between 2015 and 2024. Diamond denies the allegations. The FDA’s own investigation named Taste of the Wild as one of 16 brands most frequently associated with DCM reports in dogs.
Blue Ridge Beef
2025 · Multi-State Recall
Blue Ridge Beef recalled its Puppy Mix, Kitten Mix, and Natural Mix across 16 US states after products tested positive for both listeria and salmonella — two of the most dangerous food-borne pathogens. The recall expanded three times as contamination was found in additional products. Salmonella and listeria from contaminated pet food can also infect the humans handling it.
Mars Petcare (Pedigree, Royal Canin, Iams)
2024–2025 · Class Action Filed
Consumers filed a class action in New York federal court against Mars Petcare US — the world’s largest pet food company — alleging false “natural” advertising across its product lines. Mars Petcare’s portfolio includes Pedigree, Royal Canin, Iams, Eukanuba, Nutro, and Whiskas. The combined revenue of these brands makes Mars the dominant force in a pet food industry that has faced mounting legal and safety scrutiny.
The DCM / Grain-Free Investigation — What Really Happened
In 2018 the FDA launched a high-profile investigation into grain-free dog foods and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM — a potentially fatal heart condition). The announcement decimated the grain-free category — which represented 43% of dry dog food sales at the time. In December 2022, the FDA quietly closed the investigation on the Friday before Christmas, stating it had “insufficient data to establish a causal relationship.” A 6-month investigation by 100Reporters subsequently revealed that the veterinarians who prompted the investigation had documented financial ties to Hill’s, Purina, and Mars — the major makers of grain-inclusive dog food, who had the most to gain from grain-free brands losing market share. FOIA records showed vets were instructed to report only DCM cases involving grain-free diets. A $2.6 billion lawsuit filed in 2024 alleges the entire investigation was fraudulently induced. Shake’s position: the DCM signal was real in some dogs on very high-legume diets. The investigation was also shaped by commercial interests. Both things can be true. The honest answer for your dog: avoid diets where peas, lentils, or chickpeas are among the first three ingredients — and avoid trusting any pet food narrative that originates from researchers funded by the brands that benefit from it.
What to be mindful of
What your dog can’t tell you
about what they’re eating.
Dogs cannot read labels. They cannot choose between brands. They eat what is put in front of them, every day, without complaint — until something goes wrong. The responsibility sits entirely with us. These are the things most pet food marketing never mentions.
01
The “feed-grade” standard
Most commercial pet food is made from feed-grade ingredients — a lower standard than human-grade, with allowances for higher levels of mycotoxins, contaminants, and degraded material. The FDA explicitly permits pet food to contain material contaminated with rodent and insect excreta under Compliance Policy CPG Sec. 675.100, stating it “does not object to the diversion to animal feed of human food adulterated with rodent, roach, or bird excreta.” Feed-grade ingredients can also include animals that died other than by slaughter — including euthanised animals, road kill, and diseased livestock. This is the standard your dog’s dry food is manufactured under unless explicitly labelled human-grade.
02
Grains vs grain-free — the honest answer
The grain-free vs grain debate was significantly distorted by the FDA’s DCM investigation — which has since been compromised by evidence of industry conflicts of interest. The honest answer: dogs do not need grains, and cheap grains (corn, wheat, soy) as primary ingredients are low-quality fillers. However, grain-free diets built on high proportions of peas, lentils, or chickpeas as the primary carbohydrate source carry a real — if not fully quantified — cardiac signal in some dogs. The safest approach: choose food where the primary ingredient is named whole meat, with vegetables and moderate wholegrains (not corn or wheat) as secondary components. The grain in question matters far more than the grain-free label.
03
Acrylamide in dry dog food
Acrylamide is a chemical that forms when starchy foods are cooked at high temperatures — the same process used to produce kibble. The Clean Label Project’s 2026 report found acrylamide levels in dry dog food approximately 24 times higher than in fresh or frozen food. One product tested at 780 parts per billion — a level a Cornell University researcher described as extraordinary, stating he had “never seen acrylamide at a 780 level in a food.” Acrylamide is a known carcinogen in humans and likely in dogs. It forms as a direct result of the high-heat extrusion process used to make kibble — meaning it is inherent to how dry dog food is manufactured, not a contamination event.
04
Heavy metals & plastic contamination
The Clean Label Project’s 2026 testing of 79 top-selling dog foods found alarming levels of lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and plastic contaminants including BPA, BPS, and phthalates. BPA has been linked to fetal abnormalities, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and a 49% higher risk of early death in humans. BPS may have similar reproductive and cellular effects. These contaminants enter dog food through low-quality ingredient sourcing, processing equipment, and packaging — and are consumed by your dog daily, at every meal, for their entire life.
05
The protein deception
Pet food labels list ingredients by pre-cooked weight. A food listing “chicken” first and “corn” third may still be primarily corn-based — because water-heavy raw chicken weighs more than dry corn before processing. After the water is cooked out, corn or grain may constitute the majority of the finished product. This is called “ingredient splitting” — dividing corn into “ground corn,” “corn gluten meal,” and “corn bran” to keep each component lower on the list. Genuine high-protein food lists named meat or meat meal as the first two ingredients. Total meat-based protein should exceed 30% on a dry matter basis for adult dogs.
06
Your instinct is right — home cooking works
Feeding your dog cooked chicken, rice, and vegetables — as you already do — is not an overreaction. It is sound nutritional instinct. Dogs evolved eating whole foods. The commercial pet food industry is approximately 70 years old; dogs have been eating whole food for thousands of years. The key considerations for home cooking: ensure adequate calcium (from bone meal or crushed eggshell), include organ meat for micronutrients (liver especially), vary protein sources, and consider a complete-and-balanced commercial food as a base with fresh food supplemented on top. Your dog’s coat, energy, and stool quality are the most reliable indicators of dietary adequacy.
What to look for
Read the label like
your dog’s health depends on it.
Because it does. The difference between a consciously chosen dog food and a mass-market kibble is not marketing. It is the ingredient list, the sourcing standard, and the processing method. Here is what to look for.
Named whole meat as first ingredient
Chicken, beef, lamb, salmon — not “poultry,” not “meat,” not “animal.” The species must be named. A named whole meat or named meat meal as the first ingredient is the baseline standard for any food Shake would curate.
Human-grade ingredients
Human-grade means every ingredient meets the standard for human consumption. It is not a marketing claim — it is a legally defined standard that requires full supply chain documentation. The Honest Kitchen and Open Farm are among the few dry and dehydrated brands that genuinely meet this standard.
Minimal processing — air-dried or gently cooked
High-heat extrusion (standard kibble) destroys enzymes, vitamins, and amino acids and generates acrylamide. Air-drying (Ziwi Peak’s method) preserves nutrients at lower temperatures. Gently cooked or dehydrated formats (The Honest Kitchen) maintain bioavailability. Lower temperature processing is meaningfully better for your dog’s long-term health.
No artificial preservatives
BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin, and propylene glycol should not appear anywhere in the ingredient list. Natural preservation with mixed tocopherols (vitamin E), rosemary extract, or citric acid is the acceptable standard. Any food relying on synthetic preservatives to achieve shelf life is compromising on ingredient quality.
Transparent sourcing & batch testing
The brands Shake curates publish where their ingredients come from and batch-test finished products for pathogens and contaminants. If a brand cannot tell you where its chicken comes from, that is an answer. Traceable supply chains with published testing results are the standard of conscious pet food.
AAFCO complete & balanced — minimum standard
AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) nutritional adequacy is the baseline — not the gold standard. A food marked “complete and balanced for all life stages” meets minimum nutritional requirements. Use it as a floor, not a ceiling. The ingredients, processing method, and sourcing transparency tell you far more than the AAFCO statement alone.
They eat what you choose —
choose with the same care you choose for yourself
Featured Brand
Ziwi Peak
Air-Dried · 96% Meat · New Zealand · Zero Recalls
Ziwi Peak was founded in New Zealand in 2002 with a single purpose: to create food that delivers the nutritional benefits of a raw, whole-prey diet in a safe, convenient, shelf-stable form. Their air-drying process uses gentle low-temperature drying rather than high-heat extrusion — preserving enzymes, amino acids, and vitamins that standard kibble processing destroys. Every recipe is 96% meat, organs, and bone from free-range, grass-fed New Zealand animals. No grains, no fillers, no artificial preservatives. No recalls in over 20 years of operation. This is what consciously chosen dog food looks like.
Why It Aligns with Shake
- 96% meat, organ, and bone content — zero grain fillers, zero mystery proteins
- Air-dried at low temperature — preserves nutrients destroyed by standard kibble extrusion
- 100% free-range, grass-fed New Zealand sourcing — among the strictest livestock standards in the world
- No artificial preservatives — naturally preserved with citric acid and mixed tocopherols
- Zero recalls in over 20 years — an extraordinary safety record in a recall-prone industry
- Includes organ meats, green tripe, green mussels, and kelp — genuine whole-prey nutritional philosophy
Also Aligned
Brands moving in
a conscious direction.
Orijen
85–90% Animal Ingredients · Whole Prey · Regional Sourcing
Orijen formulates every recipe with 85–90% real animal meat, organs, cartilage, and bone — mirroring the whole-prey nutritional profile dogs evolved to consume. Protein sources are free-run chicken and turkey, wild-caught fish, or cage-free eggs — no slaughterhouse waste, no anonymous proteins. Regionally sourced in small batches. One of the highest meat-inclusion dry foods available.
- 85–90% animal ingredients — muscle meat, organs, bone, and cartilage
- Named, traceable protein sources only — no mystery meat or by-product meal
- No artificial preservatives, colours, or flavours
The Honest Kitchen
Human-Grade · Dehydrated · Whole Ingredients
The Honest Kitchen is one of the very few pet food brands that legally qualifies as human-grade — every ingredient meets the standard for human consumption. Their dehydrated whole-food recipes use free-range chicken, organic quinoa, and whole vegetables — with no feed-grade ingredients of any kind. 80% of customers report improved digestion, and 77% see improvements in energy and wellbeing after switching.
- Legally human-grade — every ingredient meets human food standards
- Dehydrated whole food — minimal processing preserves nutritional integrity
- Free-range proteins, organic grains, whole vegetables — transparent ingredient sourcing
Open Farm
Humanely Raised · Traceable · Non-GMO
Open Farm publishes the full supply chain for every ingredient — you can trace each protein source to the farm it came from. Humanely raised, non-GMO, with no artificial preservatives, colours, or flavours. Certified by the Humane Farm Animal Care programme. One of the most transparent pet food brands in terms of sourcing documentation and supply chain accountability.
- Full farm-level ingredient traceability — published for every recipe
- Humanely raised certified — animal welfare standards independently verified
- No artificial preservatives, no anonymous protein sources
Ingredient & Nutrition Awareness
Your instinct to cook for your dog
is sound. Here is the science behind it.
Dogs have been eating whole, cooked food alongside humans for thousands of years. The commercial pet food industry is approximately 70 years old. The idea that kibble is the nutritional ideal for dogs — superior to whole food — is an industry narrative, not a biological fact. Independent research consistently finds that dogs fed fresh, whole-food diets have better coat condition, lower inflammatory markers, improved gut microbiome diversity, and longer lifespans on average than dogs fed exclusively on processed kibble.
The Clean Label Project’s 2026 testing of 79 top-selling dog foods found that dry dog food contained acrylamide levels approximately 24 times higher than fresh food — and that many popular brands carried alarming levels of lead, mercury, arsenic, BPA, BPS, and phthalates. These are not trace amounts. They are the result of low-quality ingredient sourcing, high-heat manufacturing processes, and inadequate testing standards — compounded by daily, lifelong consumption.
Home Cooking for Your Dog — What to Include
Cooking for your dog (as you already do with chicken, rice, and vegetables) is nutritionally sound with a few additions to ensure completeness. The key nutrients to supplement when home-cooking: calcium — from crushed eggshell (half a teaspoon per pound of cooked food) or a calcium supplement, since home-cooked meals without bone are calcium-deficient; organ meat — especially liver, once or twice a week, for vitamin A, B vitamins, iron, copper, and taurine; omega-3 fatty acids — from sardines in water, or a fish oil supplement; and variety — rotating proteins (chicken, beef, fish, eggs) and vegetables (carrots, sweet potato, courgette, leafy greens) provides the micronutrient breadth that single-protein kibble cannot. A high-quality commercial food as a 30–50% base, with fresh whole food supplemented on top, is one of the most evidence-supported approaches to long-term canine health.
Foods That Are Toxic to Dogs — Never Feed These
Onions and garlic (all forms — raw, cooked, powder) destroy red blood cells and cause anaemia. Grapes and raisins cause acute kidney failure — even small amounts can be fatal. Macadamia nuts cause neurological symptoms and weakness. Xylitol (artificial sweetener in sugar-free products) causes rapid insulin release and liver failure. Chocolate (theobromine) causes heart arrhythmia and seizures. Avocado (persin) causes vomiting and heart damage. Cooked bones — especially chicken and fish — splinter and can perforate the digestive tract. Corn on the cob causes intestinal obstruction. Raw dough causes bloat as it expands in the stomach.
“Your dog eats the same food, from the same bag, every day of their life — trusting completely that you have chosen well. That trust deserves the same ingredient literacy we apply to our own plates.”
They trust you completely —
feed them like it
The best thing you can do for your dog’s long-term health
is read the label with the same care you read your own.
Awareness over overwhelm · Clarity over confusion · Conscious choices over blind consumption