A Dog Food Machine: All You Need to Know!

Dry Dog Food

Commercially produced dry dog food can be traced back to 1860 England where a dry biscuit-type dog food was introduced to the military hounds. Despite its superior quality dry dog food only gained ground on its canned and moist dog food competitors in the 1980’s when research finally proved that a diet of soft canned and moist dog food had higher possibilities of leading in gum disease. Since then dry dog food, commonly referred to as kibble, accounts for over 60% of the $ 8 billion dog food industry that is estimated to feed 52 million dogs in the United States alone. 

How Dry Dog Food is made

Due to its financial sustainability and a growing market for full processed dog meals, the dry dog food manufacturing process has been refined and made more accommodating to dog’s nutritional needs. Dry dog food is made using a food extruder also commonly referred to as a dog food machine. This is a comprehensive summary of the process. 

1. A set of ingredients is combined in a mixer. The set of ingredients comprises of both wet and dry components which are mixed to form moist dough. 
2. The moist dough is the heated in a pre-conditioner. This is in preparation of introducing it to the dog food machine. 
3. The dough is then introduced to the extruder where most of the cooking occurs under intense heat and pressure. Once the dough is properly cooked it is forced through a die which cuts and shapes it into small pieces. The small pieces are then allowed to cool under standard air pressure ultimately forming the kibble. 
4. Kibble is then dried in an oven. This step ensures the moisture content is lower than 10%
5. A final cooling phase follows before the kibble is passed through a spray that adds flavor. The spraying is optional although it adds value to the product.
6. The kibble is finally packaged. The standard packages range from boxes weighing a pound to larger bags of 40-50 pounds. 

The entire process is in line ensuring that minimal contamination occurs and efficiency is increased. 

Why Dry Dog Food is Superior to its alternatives

1. It is inexpensive

The cost of dry dog food is lower compared to canned or moist dog foods. This appeals to most home owners as they can feed their dogs larger amounts of food without digging a hole in their pockets. 

2. Reduced additives

Dry dog food is a preferred choice for many dog owners as it contains negligent preservatives and all the flavors are natural. The kibble is dry therefore requiring almost no additional preservative and the flavors such as bacon come from natural ingredients.

3. Ease of transportation and storage

Dog food made by a dog food machine is packaged in kibbles which owners find easier to pack for their pets in comparison to canned and moist foods which require refrigeration. This is one of the reasons the military adopted dry dog food for its animals.

4. Higher Nutritional Value

Many pet food specialists dispute this fact but truth of the matter is that dry dog food allows for a larger variety of ingredients to be included as the food extruder is very flexible and accommodating. 

5. Dry Dog Food is a Complete Meal

This is a fact no other dog food can claim. Canned and moist dog foods usually have only one dietary requirement unlike dry dog food which can serve a whole meal in one pack. 

A dog food machine or dog food extruder is highly flexible and self cleaning machine with minimal labor requirements. It is the ideal investment for anybody looking to venture into ever expanding dog food market. The machine can also be use to make fed for other domestic animals such as cats and horses.