Why kibble is so convenient, yet so often causes trouble

What's actually in kibble?

Kibble is easy, there's no denying it. A bag keeps for months in the cupboard, you scoop a portion into the bowl and you know exactly what it costs each month. But easy isn't the same as good for every dog, and the difference lies mainly in what you can't see on the bag.

Kibble is new, the dog is old

Dogs have lived alongside us for more than 10,000 years, and all that time they ate whatever was going: scraps of meat, grains, vegetables and bones. Kibble as we know it has only existed since the 1950s and 60s. Living alongside humans, dogs developed amylase enzymes that wolves lack. As a result, they digest starch well and also get much of what they need from plant and microbial sources. What suits them less well is the format: the same dry, hard pellet every single day.

What is that "meat" in kibble, really?

The label often says "meat and animal derivatives". In law, this is called Category 3 material, the animal by-products with the lowest risk. Of every slaughtered animal, around 60% becomes food for people and the remaining 40% is by-product. Some of that is perfectly good offal that doesn't reach the shops for commercial reasons. But the same heading also covers hides, hooves, horns, feathers, hair and blood, as well as parts rejected for human consumption even though the animal wasn't ill. Because ingredients can be listed in groups on the label, you can't see which parts are in your bag.

Take feathers. They make up around 7% of a chicken's weight and consist of keratin, a protein that a dog can barely digest on its own. After intensive heating, it may be used in animal feed as feather meal. How well a dog digests it depends on the processing and the amount. In research, protein digestibility fell at very high percentages of feather meal.

If the bag says "40% fresh meat" in large letters, do the maths. Fresh meat is mostly water, and that water disappears when kibble is made. Of that 40%, around 13 to 18% is left after drying.

To keep kibble stable for months up to a year after opening, manufacturers use technological additives, such as antioxidants, preservatives, binders and flavourings. That's handy for shelf life, but it says little about what your dog needs.

Where kibble often falls short

1. Dry and hard
Kibble is about 10% moisture; home-cooked food is 70 to 80%. A dog on kibble has to make up the rest by drinking, and not every dog drinks enough. Many kibbles also contain extra salt, which makes them even thirstier. In dogs who gulp their food and in sensitive dogs, the hard pellets can irritate the lining of the mouth, stomach and intestines.

2. One texture, little chewing
Kibble often goes down in one gulp, without much chewing involved. Chewing helps a dog relax, and he misses out on that variety if he gets the same pellet for years. Some dogs eat one type of kibble their whole lives.

3. Highly heated
Kibble is made under heat and pressure. That makes it keep for a long time, but some of the vitamins can be lost and the protein structure changes. Heating also produces Maillard compounds, through the same reaction that turns a bread crust brown. The protein bound up in them is poorly digested and putrefies in the large intestine.

4. Energy-dense, so it's easy to overdo
Kibble is compact and often consists of around 45% carbohydrates. Even a small scoop contains a lot of calories, and without scales, excess weight creeps on in no time. The feeding guidelines on the bag are on the high side for many dogs. If you stick to the amount on the packaging, you can easily overfeed your dog.

5. Fat that oxidises
Once the bag is opened, the fat in the kibble can oxidise. You can't always smell rancid fat, but your dog's body certainly notices it. Antioxidants such as vitamin E slow this down, provided there is enough of them.

"But isn't kibble good for the teeth?"

You hear that a lot. In practice, kibble mainly rubs against the tips of the teeth. Plaque is a biofilm, and the only way to remove it is with proper chewing. So give your dog a good chew once a week that suits his size and chewing style, always under supervision and never cooked bones.

Take charge yourself

Not all kibble is bad. But it does help if you decide for yourself what goes in the bowl and know what the food is made of. When you cook yourself, you choose the ingredients and where they come from: organic, free-range, local or simply from the supermarket. That way you can make a conscious choice for:

More moisture and variety, with food that is 70 to 80% moisture.
A smaller pawprint. With planet-friendly cooking, no more than 20% of the protein comes from animal sources (less is fine too), and the rest from good plant and microbial proteins.
Good fats, such as algae oil as a source of DHA, with added vitamin E.
A complete menu, calculated for protein and its digestibility, with vitamins and minerals tailored to what your dog needs and checked against FEDIAF 2025 and NRC.

The Jus from Jus'Cani tops up everything else your dog needs, so you always know what goes in the bowl. Would you like to try it first? Then start with the trial pack: 45 grams of Jus and tailor-made recipes for €6.95.