The Ultimate Canine Nutrition Guide
By Jennifer Stoeckl, MAT - Dire Wolf Project CEO, July 22, 2025
If you read yesterday’s email, you know that I am adamant about the fact that dogs are carnivores.
Specifically, they are “facultative carnivores”, which means they can obtain nutrients from plants.
But that does NOT mean they will thrive on a plant-based diet.
And it also doesn’t account for the overwhelming nutrient-dense quality of an all meat-based diet.
Start from this perspective and the rest of the equation about “what is the best food to feed my dog” falls in line.
When you feed as close to a whole prey raw food diet as you possibly can, you are providing the best way for your dog to be healthy in life.
What you should never do, however, is blindly follow a veterinarian’s nutrition recommendations unless they have extensively studied canine nutrition on their own beyond their time in vet school.
As this pie chart shows, even at one of the most prestigious veterinary schools in the country—Washington State University—future veterinarians receive only 3% of their education on generalized animal nutrition (not dog-specific), likely delivered by a guest speaker from one of the Big Five pet food manufacturers.
Note: The “Big Five” pet food producers are Mars, Inc., Nestlé Purina Petcare, J.M. Smucker, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc., and General Mills. These companies dominate the global pet food market, with a significant share of retail sales in the U.S.
Armed with that knowledge, let’s continue.
A few days ago, I received a great question from one of our American Dirus™ dog owners whose male puppy is now becoming an adult.
Here’s the question,
“Any recommendation about moving Rip from the puppy food to any of these recommended by my vet? ”
If you are a long-time Inner Circle pack member, you might have an inkling about what choice words I would use to describe those veterinarian-recommended dog food options above.
Here’s a close graphic representation…
First of all, let me copy/paste the ingredient list from the first choice, Hill’s Science Diet, with highlights showing the only ingredients that are even remotely nutritious for your dog.
Lamb Meal, Brown Rice, Brewers Rice, Whole Grain Wheat, Corn Protein Meal, Whole Grain Corn, Chicken Fat, Cracked Pearled Barley, Hydrolyzed Chicken Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp, Soybean Oil, Flaxseed, Lactic Acid, Potassium Chloride, Pork Liver Flavor, Iodized Salt, Whole Grain Oats, L-Lysine, Fructooligosaccharides (FOS), vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Natural Flavors, Beta-Carotene.
If you feed this food to your dog, your beloved furry companion is likely starving for real nutrition.
I can hear some of you whispering to your packmate sitting next to you around the campfire, “But she didn’t highlight the essential vitamins and minerals.”
That’s right!
Good observation there, Skipper.
That’s because those are very likely artificial sprayed on vitamins and minerals; very inefficient and not natural in any way.
The truth is that, when combined in the right proportions, meaty bones, muscle meat, liver, and other organ meats provide all the vitamins and minerals your dog needs.
You might want to reread that last sentence.
Go ahead.
I’ll wait.
…
…
…
So, no… artificial sprayed on vitamins and minerals don’t count as nutrition in my world.
Did you see the “Pork Liver Flavor” and “Hydrolyzed Chicken Flavor” ingredients?
Dog food manufacturers are SO SNEAKY!!
The addition of the word “flavor” means they made something artificial in a lab that they believe has the taste of pork liver and hydrolyzed chicken.
Don’t fall for these sneaky tricks.
I did not highlight iodized salt, even though sodium chloride is an essential nutrient, because it is proceeded by the term iodized.
Added iodine is not needed when feeding your dog a whole prey raw food diet because many meat sources naturally contain adequate amounts of iodine.
Imagine that.
So, in this ingredient list iodine might be okay to include because of the absolutely horrible ingredients surrounding it, but iodine is not generally a required health ingredient for dogs because it is naturally found in meat.
Soy, corn, wheat, rice, barley, oats, and beet pulp are incredibly inflammatory, spike insulin, overload your dog’s thyroid, and cause obesity.
Not to mention the toxic and inflammatory seed oils like “soybean oil” that have also been added.
FYI: Mixed Tocopherols are derived from seed oils. That’s why they can call it naturally occurring vitamin E. So sneaky!
The other two “vet recommendations” are just as bad.
See for yourself:
Royal Canin - Large Adult
https://www.royalcanin.com/us/dogs/products/retail-products/large-adult-3007
Purina Pro Plan - Adult Chicken and Rice
So, who can you trust for canine nutrition advice if you can’t trust your veterinarian?
I may be “just a breeder,” but I’ve devoted my entire life to everything dogs.
I’ve studied canine nutrition extensively and seen the results both ways.
There is absolutely no comparison to feeding the perfect nutrition for your furry friend.
And until you finally realize that it’s FAR CHEAPER to pay for real species appropriate food than it is to conveniently offer your dog crappy kibble, you’ll be stuck in the never ending cycle of corporate dog food and corporate medicine.
I am offering you a way out.
Out of the chaos that is the online world’s spinning death wheel.
Jump off.
Give your dog the best gift of real food as close to what nature intended as possible and your dog will thrive.
I list it all out for you in this one comprehensive volume.
Be an informed dog owner.
Get the ultimate canine nutrition guide.
Follow its advice.
And watch what happens.
https://shop.direwolfproject.com/products/the-informed-dog-owners-guide-to-canine-nutrition
MOVIE MONDAY
The happiest little puppies are now six weeks old! Find out how they’re doing in this week’s video.
Jennifer Stoeckl is the co-founder of the Dire Wolf Project, founder of the DireWolf Guardians American Dirus Dog Training Program, and owner/operator of DireWolf Dogs of Vallecito. She lives in the beautiful inland northwest among the Ponderosa pine forests with her pack of American Dirus dogs.