Whether it’s pure curiosity at your end or an act of concern for your four-legged furry friend. The first fact to face is that dogs are not blessed with half the number of taste buds found in an adult human. This makes you ask the big question: does dog food taste good?
Humans are believed to have an estimated 9000 taste buds while dogs have roughly 1700 taste buds. So I kid you not when I say that dogs are not blessed with half the number of taste buds we have.
But does this mean that dogs can’t taste food, or know if their wet or dry food tastes good? Read on as we discuss this topic in detail.
Key Points
- Dogs have far fewer taste buds than humans (1700 vs 9000), so their sense of taste is much less sensitive. They rely more on smell to determine if food tastes good.
- Dogs can detect sweet, sour, salty, and bitter tastes. They also have taste buds sensitive to water on the tips of their tongues.
- The taste of dog food depends on factors like type (wet, dry, raw), brand, ingredients. Dry kibble tends to taste dry, crunchy, gritty. Canned food often tastes more bland.
- Dog food likely tastes good enough to dogs since they keep eating it. If it was unpleasant, dogs would likely avoid eating it.
- Dog food doesn’t taste good to humans – it’s typically described as bland, sour, lacking flavor. Chewing dry kibble can even hurt human jaws. Dog food isn’t made to be palatable for human taste preferences.
Can Dogs Taste?
Yes, dogs can taste. However, their sensitivity to taste is not as sharp as that of humans. The fact that they have roughly 7,300 fewer taste buds than human beings, is a great pointer to their reduced sensitivity to taste.
However, their taste classification is not so different from that of humans. This is because research has shown that dogs can sense sweet, salty, sour, and bitter tastes.
They even went further to possess taste buds at the tip of their tongue, that are specifically sensitive to water.
This enhanced sensitivity to water is also found in cats and other carnivores. It is believed to serve as a protective mechanism against dehydration while they exert themselves during hunting in the wild.
Now you may ask, if dogs can taste, how come they don’t mind binging on the crappiest things, including human poops?
Research has also shown that dogs have a powerful sense of smell. Their sense of smell is thought to be roughly 10,000 times that of humans.
Because of this heightened sensitivity to smell, dogs are usually attracted to food with strong smells, hence their attraction to meaty food.
Now think about this, if something is strong enough to smell really bad to us, then you can imagine how intense the smell will be to dogs, being that their sensitivity to smell is 10,000 times that of ours.
Hence, their ability to binge on the crappiest things because to some dogs, it’s more like, if it smells strong, then it must taste good.
What Does Dog Food Taste Like?
First of all, we have to establish the fact that the taste of any dog food will depend on several factors.
These factors include the type of dog food (dry dog food, wet dog food, mixed or raw dog food), the brand of dog food, the fact that our sense of taste is better than that of dogs and that dogs rely more on the smell of their food than the taste of their food.
Dry dog food will not taste the same as wet or canned dog food. In the same way, canned dog food will not have a similar taste as mixed or raw dog food.
Each dog food company has its unique recipe for dog food. Even though they may have similar ingredients, they are bound to taste differently because of the method of production and the number of additives used.
So what does kibble taste like to dogs? Kibbles or dry dog food, are generally described to feel dry, crunchy, chewy, and a bit gritty in the mouth.
Depending on the type of flavor used in the dry dog food, they are bound to taste differently. Some dry dog foods have a nutty, unsalted, and slightly sour taste, with a good aroma. While some, especially those made from grains, usually have a bland, unflavoured, and sour taste.
Dry dog foods made from meat or chicken have a mild meaty or chicken flavor when tasted, but it is usually difficult to determine for sure if it actually tastes like the meat and chicken we are familiar with. Kibbles that are made with salmon fish usually smell and taste like salmon fish.
You might also ask, what does wet dog food taste like? Wet dog food is more likely to taste bland even though the dog food label specifically indicates that its key ingredient is meat or chicken.
This is because grains usually end up forming a greater portion of the product. Food additives and palatants may also mask the real taste of meat or chicken, thereby making it difficult to identify which is which.
However, some high-quality brands of canned dog food may still be able to preserve a greater percentage of the original taste of the meat or chicken in the product. Such canned dog food will have a meaty taste or a chicken taste.
So does dog food taste good to dogs? Yes, we believe that dog food definitely tastes good to dogs, at least as long as it has its preferred texture, flavor and aroma. Because let’s face it, If they didn’t like the taste, they simply wouldn’t bother eating them over and over again.
But since they like their wet or dry food enough to keep on eating them whenever their food bowl is filled, then it must really taste and smell good enough to them.
Dogs that don’t like the taste of their kibble or canned food, usually avoid it. When that happens, we either switch to wet dog food or soften the dry dog food in order to bring out the aroma.
Does Dog Food Taste Good to Humans?
No, dog food doesn’t taste good to humans at all. Dry dog food is very hard to chew and usually feels dry and crunchy in the mouth. Chewing dry dog food ends up hurting the jaws.
This is because our jaws are not as powerful as those of dogs, and dog food companies have carried out research to determine the best degree of hardness for dogs.
Dry dog foods convey dental benefits to dogs in that they help to remove plaques and tartars from their teeth. It also trains and strengthens their jaw muscles. These benefits are not available for humans, as chewing kibbles may not only hurt your jaw but may also damage your teeth.
Moreover, eating kibbles will also require you to drink a good amount of water to even be able to get enough quantity into your stomach.
What Does Dog Food Taste Like to Humans?
To humans, dry dog food tastes bland, and depending on the type and flavor used, it could have a fish taste, meaty taste, chicken taste or just bland.
Most people who have tasted dog food describe it to taste generally sour and unflavoured. Some say it tasted like raw potatoes and fish oil while others say it tasted unsalted. Ultimately, we’ll agree that dog food doesn’t taste really bad to humans.
Why Does Dog Food Taste Bad?
There are many reasons why dog food tastes bad to humans. These reasons vary between those associated with production and those that are dog or human-dependent.
Below are the possible reasons why dog food tastes bad:
1. Dogs have a low sense of taste:
Unlike humans, dogs don’t have up to half the taste buds we humans have. This makes them less receptive to the sense of taste, and further increases their dependence on the sense of smell, to augment the sense of taste.
Dogs can’t tell the difference between sweet, bitter or sour tastes, though research has shown that they have these taste classifications. So a dog is likely to eat food that tastes bad but smells good.
One reason why dog food tastes so bad, at least to humans, is that humans are used to eating spicy foods. We like our food properly seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, curry etc. If you take out all the seasoning from the foods we eat, what we’ll be left with, won’t taste any different from a typical dog food; bland, unsalted, and sour.
2. Use of low-quality ingredients for production:
Most dog food companies especially the ones that sell at a cheaper price, use low-quality ingredients in the production of their dog food. They capitalize on the low sensitivity of dogs to taste, to use the part of meats that are considered inedible by humans to use in the production of dog food.
These low-quality ingredients can confer unpleasant taste and smell on the dog food, hence the reason why some dog foods taste bad. If your dog is refusing its food, you should try a different brand of dog food.
3. The need to sell at a cheaper price:
This is a follow-up to the above reason. No one wants to spend the same amount of money it takes to feed a human child to feed dogs. Dog food companies understand this very well, and as such, they strive to cut down the cost of production.
This may require them to cut corners by using low-quality ingredients in the formulation and production of their dog food.
4. The need to serve a balanced diet.
If you’ve ever received parental nutrition, you’d agree that putting all the necessary nutrients together doesn’t really taste good. Dog food companies try to formulate theirs in such a way that it contains all the necessary nutrients necessary for a dog’s health. Doing this may negatively affect the taste of the product.
5. Inappropriate storage
Improper storage of dog food can lead to spoilage by bacteria or fungi. If bacteria gain entrance into dog food and cause a breakdown, it’s likely to taste bad to the dog. The same thing will happen if kibbles are stored in a damp moist place, and molds grow on them.
Dry dog foods should be stored in a cool and dry place. Raw dog foods should be kept frozen and only defrosted when it’s time to feed the dog.
What Would Happen if a Human Ate Dog Food?
Dog foods contain some basic nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, and vitamins, which are also found in human foods. However, the quantity in which these nutrients are present in dog food varies. It may be too low or too high for a human, thereby making it unsafe for human consumption.
Also, the production of dog foods does not follow the same strict rules as that peculiar to human foods. Most dog foods are made from leftover food products discarded by humans, and as such, their safety isn’t guaranteed.
Then the big question is, what would happen if a human ate dog food? The answer is that it depends on the quantity and length of the period consumed.
Nothing might happen if you consume just a small quantity and never go back to it again. However, if consumed in large quantities over an extended period, it might lead to poor health outcomes.
If you chew kibbles, you’ll get painful jaws and bad teeth over time. You might even suffer indigestion if much water is not drunk.
There’s a reason why it was specifically made for dogs and then named “dog food” not “human food”. So let’s give to dogs what belongs to dogs, and humans what belongs to humans.
