According to a few sources including the Pet Food Institute and the European Pet Food Industry Federation (FEDIAF), the first commercially prepared pet food was a dog biscuit product introduced in England by businessman James Spratt around 1860. Spratt’s first formula is reported to have included a mix of wheat meals, vegetables, beetroot and beef blood.

As the Industrial Revolution helped the economy grow and a middle class emerged in the late 1800s and early 1900s, domesticated dogs and cats were elevated from working animals to companion status and were gradually welcomed into our homes.

Food for pets began being regulated in the United States separately from animal feed when the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), an organization of US state and federal regulatory officials, first included language specifically for pet food in their model bills in 1917.

AAFCO established a definition for “complete and balanced” pet food 52 years later in 1969. This was probably largely due to a better understanding of canine and feline nutritional needs made possible by the research conducted by early 20th century pet food companies such as Purina.

In 1926, Purina established a research farm in Gray Summit, Mo. to study animal nutrition. The farm included the first-ever canine nutrition center. Purina launched their first dog food, Purina Dog Chow, the same year.

“Since its inception, Purina has been driven to use science to better understand how to improve the health and wellbeing of pets,” said Susan Anderson-Bauer, Purina archivist, St. Louis, Mo. “Over the years, Purina scientists, nutritionists and veterinarians have made groundbreaking discoveries to help dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives.”

Before commercial pet food was available, pets typically ate table scraps or whatever they could forage on their own. Many pets were malnourished, and both
disease and short life spans were common.

In recipes and marketing material dating back to the early 1930s, the key ingredients highlighted in early iterations of Dog Chow included meat, wheat germ meal, buttermilk, cod liver oil, barley malt, molasses, oat cereal, corn cereal and wheat bran. Dog Chow was initially produced in small dry squares referred to as ‘checkers.’ Over the years, as more knowledge was gained and ingredient access improved, the recipe continued to evolve.

Not only has Dog Chow endured for 95 years and been joined by many other successful Purina brands, the company has continued to innovate and evolve the original brand. In the 1950s, Dog Chow was the first commercial pet food produced using extrusion technology to form kibble shapes which replaced the ‘checkers’ squares. This technique was developed at Purina and provides an expanded dry kibble with superior nutrition, digestibility and palatability. Today, extrusion is an industry standard practice.

“Beyond extrusion, Purina continues to develop proprietary machinery and techniques in-house to bring innovation to life,” Anderson-Bauer said. “In the early 1980s, Purina developed a special manufacturing process that precooked the meat prior to sending it through the extruder. This allowed the company to offer pet food with meat as the dominant ingredient.”

In 1965, Purina was the first to create a puppy food specially formulated with the additional protein and nutrients puppies need to develop and grow durng the critical first year of life. And as recently as 2018 and 2019, Purina launched new formulas under this brand — Dog Chow Complete Adult With Real Beef providing additional protein options in the dry dog food line, and the brand entered the fastest growing category in pet food with the addition of Dog Chow Wet High Protein made with real meat and 40 grams of protein per can.