Dog Nutrition & Wellness Blog

As a cherished member of your family, your dog deserves nothing less than the royal treatment, especially when it comes to nutrition. While exploring the best options for your furry friend, you might have come across cold-pressed and air-dried dog foods. Both are excellent alternatives to traditional kibble, which burns off many of the natural nutrients and flavors due to being processed with high heat and steam. Our cold-pressed dog food effectively addresses these issues. Let's delve deeper into how cold-pressed and air-dried dog foods differ, helping you make an informed choice for your pet.

 

Understanding the Basics: A General Overview

Before we dive into the specifics, let's get a general understanding of these two types of dog food. Cold-pressed dog food is made by blending the ingredients together and pressing them at 3x lower temperatures than traditional kibble resulting in crunchy pieces of dog food. This method is straightforward and effective.
On the other hand, air-dried dog food blends their ingredients together, shape it and put it in an oven. The oven circulates hot air to dehydrate the food into soft and chewy pieces.

 

A Closer Look: How Each Type of Food is Made

To appreciate the differences between these two dog food types, it's essential to understand their production processes. Air-dried dog food starts with a blend of whole food ingredients like meats, fruits, and vegetables. These ingredients are reduced in size and then mixed. The combination is then slowly heated in hot chambers, where the air temperature can reach upwards of 180°F. This process reduces moisture, resulting in a shelf-stable product that has been dehydrated and can be fed straight out of the bag.
Similarly, the creation of cold-pressed dog food also begins with all-natural ingredients, which are ground and combined to ensure even nutrient distribution. These ingredients are then pressed into bite-sized pieces under pressure without high heat or steam for a short amount of time, temperatures ranging from 90°F - 110°F.
Both methods use temperatures significantly lower than those used in making traditional kibble. The importance of using lower temperatures is in preserving the natural flavors and nutritional value of the ingredients that traditional kibble burns off.

Highlighting the Differences Between Air-Dried and Cold-Pressed Dog Food

Beyond the obvious production differences, there are other critical distinctions between cold-pressed and air-dried dog food. Firstly, cold-pressed food is a crunchy food vs. air dried being a soft food, this can impact the dental health of a dog. A crunchy food can help keep a dog's teeth clean and healthy. Some dogs suffer from dental issues, including teeth falling out when only being fed a soft food diet as their teeth need something hard to chew on to keep the roots strong.
Regarding shelf life, cold-pressed dog food will have a shelf life of around 9 months before opening which is shorter than most traditional kibble with a shelf life of 12-18 months or more. In contrast, air-dried food can have a shelf life up to 18 months before opening the bag. Both cold-pressed and air-dried foods should be used up within 4-6 weeks after opening the bag.
An additional benefit of cold-pressed dog food is its density and digestibility. Cold-pressed and air-dried foods are more nutrient dense than traditional kibble and you can feed up to 30-50% less per meal. The digestibility of air-dried and cold-pressed food differ, air-dried foods are dehydrated ingredients and will start to bloat in the dog’s gut which can cause some discomfort whereas cold-pressed food breaks down easily and doesn’t swell within the gut for easier digestion of the food.

The Ideal Choice for Your Dog

In the debate between air-dried and cold-pressed dog food, we are biased, but lean towards the cold-pressed option. It strikes a perfect balance by offering high nutrient density, crunchy texture for dental health, and ease of digestion. It's the ideal choice for ensuring your dog enjoys a delicious and well-balanced diet. Remember, when it comes to your pet's health, choosing the right food can make all the difference.

We would love nothing more than for you to transition your fur baby from their current hard-to-digest, yawn worthy kibble to our all-natural, gut friendly, cold-pressed dog food. We offer three recipes – lamb, chicken, and salmon – that we are sure your dog would appreciate. But we would also encourage you to make the transition slowly. Changing your dog's diet suddenly could create unnecessary problems.
We dog owners know that our pooches love to eat. Most of them love to try new things as well. But believe it or not, canines have sensitive digestive systems. It doesn't take much to upset things. That's exactly what could happen if you suddenly switched foods without allowing your pet a transition period.
Below is a general guide for pulling off a gradual transition. It should work well regardless of the diet you have chosen, including our cold-pressed dog food recipes for your furry friend.

 

First Stage – 75/25 Mixture

The first stage of the transition takes place over days 1 and 2. It may require a bit of math, but look at the feeding guidelines for both diets and give your dog 75% of the recommended amount of the current food and 25% of the recommended amount for the new food. Do not exceed the ratio even if your dog shows tremendous interest in the new product.
Introducing new food too quickly could make it more difficult for your dog's digestive system to adjust to the new ingredients. The end result could be an upset stomach or even diarrhea and vomiting. Regardless of the speed of transitioning, some dogs have a more sensitive tummy than others and will have some softer stools during the transitioning process. It is common for all dogs to experience more gas during the transition period even if their stools are still firm.

 

Second and Third Stages

The second and third stages call for gradually reducing the old food while increasing the new. Begin stage two on the third or fourth day, reducing the 75/25 mixture to a 50/50 mixture. Continue with this ratio for another day or so.
Stage three should be somewhere between days 5 and 7. Here is where you will decrease your dog's old food to 25% while increasing the new food to 75%. As long as your pet hasn't shown any signs of digestive troubles, you are well on your way to completing the transition.

 

The Final Stage

Throughout the transition, you have probably been monitoring your dog for any signs of digestive discomfort. Assuming that your pet has tolerated the new food well, you can eliminate the old food altogether by the eighth or ninth day. In most cases, a dog will have fully transitioned to the new food by day ten. If your dog has an iron gut, you can speed up the transition process to fully transition within 7 days.
Please note that all dogs are different. Some don't handle transitions to new food so easily. As a result, food transitions have been known to take as long as 14 days. Just go slow and steady, monitoring your pet along the way.

 

Why Transitions Can Be Slow

Patience is definitely a virtue when transitioning a pet from one food to the next. But that begs the question of why some dogs are slower to transition than others? There are several thoughts on why this is, including digestive system adaptation. A dog's digestive tract gets accustomed to the ingredients in its food. Introducing a new food too quickly can overwhelm the animal's digestive system.
Another issue is the microbiome balance in a dog's gut. Just as with humans, introducing new foods can change the balance. That could cause an upset stomach and other conditions. The issue should resolve itself, but it can take time.
Whether you want to switch your dog to Nextrition or another brand, be sure to talk to your vet about your plans. Switching food brands or types should be done slowly. A slow and steady approach is good for both your dog's health and your emotional wellbeing.