In partnership with
We buy over $50 billion worth of dry dog food every year.
Kibble is so ordinary. So everyday. It sits in our cupboards, scooped into bowls, eaten twice a day, every single day, by millions of dogs.
We’ve just… accepted it.
I know I did.
I could read the ingredient list. I could look at the pretty pictures on the bag. But I had no idea how that food was actually made.
Turns out, almost all of it… about 95% – comes out of a machine called an extruder.
And here’s the part that stopped me in my tracks:
The extruder can’t work with chunks of chicken, pieces of carrot, or whole grains. It needs everything reduced and mixed into a single, uniform mass.
Not bits. Not pieces. One consistent mixture.
That’s not what the bag shows.
The bag shows a beautiful chicken breast, vibrant vegetables, wholesome grains.
But what goes into the machine is something very different. Let me show you what I mean.
What each ingredient becomes before it even touches the extruder
Meat (chicken, beef, lamb, salmon) → A wet slurry or paste… like baby food
Grains (corn, wheat, rice) → A fine powder… like flour
Vegetables (carrots, peas, sweet potatoes) → Often reduced to powders or purees
Fruits (blueberries, cranberries) → Dried powder or liquid puree
All of that gets mixed together. Powders and pastes. Then steam and water turn it into a thick, sticky dough.
The “meat ice cream” heading into the extruder… appetizing, right?!
Then the machine takes over
Step 1: Extrusion
The dough is forced through the extruder under intense pressure and heat (often around 150°C / 300°F). It becomes a dense, super-heated mass.
Step 2: Shaping
It’s pushed through tiny holes. The pressure drops. Moisture flashes into steam. The kibble expands… like a puffed cereal. A spinning knife cuts it into pieces.
Step 3: Drying
Hot air removes most of the remaining moisture… down to around 10–12%. That’s what makes it shelf-stable.
Step 4: Coating
Heat reduces some of the natural vitamins… so fats, flavorings, and added nutrients are sprayed onto the outside.
Then it’s bagged. Shipped. Sold.
So here’s the takeaway
The bag shows you what goes in…
but not what it looks like as it goes in.
That's an important distinction.
If you went to a steakhouse, ordered a filet, and they served it to you as a milkshake… you'd be horrified. The ingredient is technically there. But the form is completely wrong.
Same thing here.
A chicken breast isn't a murky slurry. A carrot isn't a colorless puree. A grain isn't a fine powder.
But inside that extruder, that's exactly what they become before they ever turn into a kibble.
So you're not feeding chicken and vegetables in the way most of us picture it.
You're feeding a paste that's been crushed, cooked under heat and pressure, puffed, dried, and finished with added coatings.
Looks can be deceiving.
And that raises a much more important question…
👉 does this process affect the nutritional value of the ingredients we know and trust?
Yes.
Yes, it does.
And we're going to break that down in the next email. Until then
Have a wonderful weekend.
Linda & Blue 🐾
Smart starts here.
You don't have to read everything — just the right thing. 1440's daily newsletter distills the day's biggest stories from 100+ sources into one quick, 5-minute read. It's the fastest way to stay sharp, sound informed, and actually understand what's happening in the world. Join 4.5 million readers who start their day the smart way.
Want to make sure you don't miss the next chapter in our kibble investigation? Subscribe to Dog Blueprints for free and get the truth delivered straight to your inbox.