What Can Dogs Eat? A Simple, Honest Guide to Dog Nutrition

Ryan Rothon
Jan 14
5 min read

Dog nutrition isn’t supposed to be confusing but, unfortunately, it often is. Between marketing buzzwords, conflicting advice, and dozens of different dog food types, many owners are left wondering one simple question:

What should my dog actually be eating?

This guide breaks dog nutrition down into clear, practical answers. We’ll cover what dogs can eat, what a balanced diet looks like, genuinely useful “superfoods,” ingredients to avoid, foods that are dangerous under any circumstances, and the most common feeding mistakes dog owners make.

No hype. No trends. Just sensible honest nutrition.

What Can Dogs Eat?

Dogs are omnivores with a carnivorous bias. That means they thrive on animal protein but can also digest certain carbohydrates, vegetables, and fats when they are properly prepared and balanced.

Dogs can safely eat:

Animal proteins: Chicken, pork, beef, lamb, and fish provide essential amino acids for muscle, immune function, and overall health.
Digestible carbohydrates: Rice (brown), oats, and potatoes are excellent energy sources and are often well tolerated by dogs with sensitive digestion.
Vegetables (in moderation): Carrots, beetroot, parsnip and peas etc provide fibre and micronutrients.
Healthy fats: Animal fats and oils such as linseed oil or herring oil support skin, coat, brain function, and hormone regulation.

The key point is not variety for its own sake, but digestibility and balance.

What Is a Balanced Diet for a Dog?

A balanced dog diet isn’t about chasing extremes. It’s about meeting nutritional needs consistently over time.

A balanced diet includes:

Protein: Builds and maintains muscle, supports immune health, and repairs tissue. It is important to note European standards require a minimum protein level of 18% and a suggested average of 22%+ for adult dogs. Some foods will prioritise meat as the protein source and include extremely high meat content. While this is good for protein, meat is often lighter in other essential nutrients and an over reliance on meat can create digestion issues or hyper dogs. Many other ingredients contain protein and the key here is balance.
Fat: Provides energy, supports skin and coat health, and aids vitamin absorption.
Carbohydrates: Supply usable energy and support healthy digestion when chosen carefully.
Vitamins & minerals: Essential for bone health, nerve function, immunity, and metabolism.
Fibre: Helps regulate digestion and stool quality.

Most long-term feeding problems don’t come from one “bad” ingredient — they come from imbalance or poor digestibility.

What is the perfect mix? While there is no perfect recipe for every dog, the key here is balance. When looking at the ingredients you probably want to be finding around:

30-45% meat
30% carbs
10-20% veggies
8-12% fats and oils
3-8% vitamins and minerals.

But beware, brands often list their ‘fresh meat’ percentage. Fresh meat still contains lots of water (in many cases 70%+ of the weight of a piece of meat is water). When the ingredients are cooked this water disappears and the real total meat percentage will reduce dramatically. 70% meat content may actually be around 30% as fed. The same goes for feeding raw meat, keep in mind that your dog is also consuming a lot of water. You also need to consider the quality of these ingredients. Are they human grade? Where are they sourced? Beware of terms like ‘Meat and animal derivatives’ or ‘hydrolised animal proteins’ as these fail to specify the exact animal used and often mask the use of off cuts and less desirable parts of the animal. Also, look out for additives, fillers (like wheat) and chemicals. An easy rule is, if you have no idea what it is, and you wouldn’t eat it yourself, why would you feed it to your dog? Here at Gentle Dog Food, we actually subscribe to that philosophy. If we wouldn’t eat it ourselves, it simply doesn’t go in!

Sample Pack

€2.99€1.50

Buy Now

Dog Superfoods That Actually Make Sense

The term “superfood” is often overused, but some ingredients really do offer excellent nutritional value for dogs when used properly.

Practical dog superfoods:

Chicken & poultry Highly digestible protein and a staple in many well-formulated diets.
Fish Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, supporting joints, skin, coat, and brain health.
Green Lipped Muscle Meat One of the best natural joint-support ingredients available
Yucca Schidigera A natural plant extract that is known to reduce stool odour and improve nutrient absorption
Seaweed Known to help improve oral health and balance the gut microbiome

Many cold-pressed foods, including Gentle, focus on these simple, recognisable ingredients because they support digestion and long-term feeding, not because they’re fashionable.

Foods Dogs Should Avoid (But Are Common in Dog Food)

Some ingredients aren’t toxic, but can contribute to digestive problems, skin issues, or poor stool quality when used excessively or carelessly.

Ingredients to be cautious of:

Excessive fillers Large amounts of wheat, maize, or soy can be difficult for some dogs to digest.
Unclear meat sources Terms like “animal derivatives” or vague meat descriptions reduce transparency.
Artificial additives Artificial colours, flavours, and preservatives offer no nutritional benefit.
Very high ash content Often linked to low-quality raw materials.

These ingredients won’t harm every dog immediately, but over time, they can contribute to chronic issues in sensitive dogs.

Foods Dogs Must Never Eat Under Any Circumstances

Some foods are toxic to dogs and should never be fed, even in small amounts.

Absolutely dangerous foods:

Chocolate
Grapes and raisins
Onions and garlic
Xylitol (artificial sweetener)
Alcohol
Caffeine
Cooked bones (can become brittle and dangerous if broken)
Macadamia nuts

If you’re ever unsure, it’s safest not to feed it. When in doubt, keep dog food dog-specific.

Common Dog Nutrition Mistakes

Many feeding problems come from habits rather than ingredients.

Frequent mistakes include:

Changing food too quickly. Follow the switchover guide on your dog’s food or contact the company for more information.
Overfeeding because the dog “seems hungry” - Always read the feeding instructions.
Giving too many treats or table scraps (these are often high in fat)
Choosing food based on marketing instead of digestion
Assuming “premium” automatically means suitable
Home cooking. You have to be very careful of avoiding bacteria contamination.
Ignoring stool quality, coat condition, and energy levels

Your dog’s digestion is one of the clearest indicators of whether a diet is working.

So, What Should You Feed Your Dog?

The best diet for most dogs is:

Simple
Balanced
Digestible
Consistent
Gently processed

Trends change, but digestive health and long-term wellbeing don’t.

A Simple Approach: Gentle Cold Pressed Dog Food

Gentle Cold Pressed dog food was created with this philosophy in mind: clear ingredients, gentle processing, and nutrition that works long-term.

Cold-pressed food is made at lower temperatures than traditional kibble, helping preserve nutrients and often making it easier to digest, particularly for dogs with sensitive stomachs or ongoing digestive issues.

If you’re looking for a straightforward, carefully formulated food that prioritises digestion and balance over trends, Gentle Cold Pressed may be a good fit for your dog.

👉 Learn more about our ingredients or see if Gentle is right for your dog.