History of Dog Food

Up until the 19th century, hunting dogs and sheep dogs often ate a bread meal composed of wheat, barley, or rye. They were offered meat on rare occasions as this was considered an optional part of a dog's diet. During the 19th century, meat symbolized status among people in industrialized societies and dogs began to eat meat as a result. The very first dog food was a dog biscuit produced in England in 1860. James Spratt, an American electrician visiting London, thought he could do better and formed his own dog food company. Thereafter, several U.S. companies entered the dog food market. After World War I, commercial dog food markets added horse meat to their products. The 1950's saw the introduction of dry pet food. Today, we have a wide variety of commercialized dog food available to the pet consumer.