The Farmer’s Dog, a pioneer in fresh, human-grade dog food, has unveiled groundbreaking research highlighting how fresh diets can significantly improve dogs’ hydration and urinary health compared to traditional dry kibble.
Dogs fed The Farmer’s Dog’s fresh recipes ingested much more total water per day (522.5g) than those on dry kibble diets (434.1g), according to the tests, which were among the first to quantify total water intake in dogs directly. Interestingly, dogs on the fresh diet obtained the majority of their hydration directly from their meal, surpassing daily water requirements by an astounding 40%, whilst dogs on kibble drank more from their bowls.
“Throughout their evolution, dogs ate moisture-rich whole foods. The shift to dry diets is relatively recent,” said Jonathan Regev, Co-founder and CEO of The Farmer’s Dog.
Additional benefits for long-term urinary health were suggested by a urinary relative supersaturation (RSS) study that showed dogs consuming The Farmer’s Dog’s recipes maintained values within targeted zones for urinary stone prevention.
According to Dr. Joseph Wakshlag, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (Nutrition), ACVSMR, one of the veterinary nutritionists involved in the study, “These are the first-ever datasets that quantify total water intake from fresh food. The results confirm what many of us in the veterinary community have long suspected: moisture in food directly impacts overall daily hydration in dogs.”
The study adds to the mounting evidence in favour of minimally processed, human-grade pet foods and highlights The Farmer’s Dog’s continuous $10 million investment in veterinary and nutritional science. Pet owners are reminded that hydration doesn’t only come from the water bowl; it can also come from the food bowl.
