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Ingredient file // Flavor

Dill

A seasoning for flavor, not a digestive remedy

Dill is the leaf or seed of a common kitchen herb, added to some wet dog foods for flavor and smell. No study shows it helping a dog's digestion, breath or nutrition at seasoning amounts, and it is non-toxic to dogs.

Role in the food Does a job
What it is
The leaves or seeds of the dill plant, fresh or dried, used as a seasoning in dog food.
Made from
Dill plant leaves and ripe seed heads
Main job
Flavor and aroma
Typical amount
Not published
Watch for
Concentrated dill oil irritates skin and eyes
Not the same as
Dill essential oil

Straight answer

Is Dill safe for dogs?

Read it as seasoning and look elsewhere

Dill belongs near the end of a list with the other herbs, because it is a seasoning. Seeing it there tells you nothing about quality. Judge the food by its protein sources and guaranteed analysis, and ignore any digestion or breath claim built on the dill.

Why it is in the food
Flavor and aroma

Our read // In our catalog

In 1 of every 641 foods we track

Share of foods that list it

<1%

5 of the 3,204 foods with an ingredient list on file, from 1 brand. All wet dog food.

Each square is 1% of the catalog

Where it sits on the label

Median position 18. In the top five of 0 foods, so it is usually a minor ingredient.

Top five List position, heaviest first

Above the salt

0%

Usually listed after the salt, which caps it at roughly 1% of the recipe in 100% of foods.

Who leans on it

100%

of the foods that list it are from Edgard & Cooper. 1 brand use it in total.

What it is

How it is made

Dill is grown as an herb and spice crop. The leaf, sold as dill weed, and the seed come from the same plant at different stages, and its flavor oil is extracted from any part above ground.1,2,3,5,8

  1. 01 // Source Dill plants Leaves are cut any time from when the plant is a few inches tall until the seed stalk forms.
  2. 02 // Process Leaves cut and dried Leaves are used fresh or dried. Drying makes them shelf-stable, but their flavor declines quickly.
  3. 03 // Process Seed heads cut Flower heads are cut once the seeds are fully developed but before they turn brown.
  4. 04 // Process Oil distilled, optionally For flavor oil, steam passes through the plant and carries off the aroma compounds, which are condensed.
  5. 05 // Output Dill weed or seed Dried leaf or seed arrives at about 92% dry matter. Fresh dill is 86% water.

What is in it

Composition, dry matter

22

% protein

Dried dill leaf on a dry basis. It sounds like a lot, but a seasoning amount adds almost nothing to the food's protein.

Crude protein, dried leaf 21.6%1
Dietary fiber, dried leaf 14.7%1
Ash, dried leaf 13.6%1
Crude fat, dried leaf 4.7%1
Calcium, dried leaf 19.2 g/kg1
Dietary fiber, seed 22.9%2
Crude fat, seed 15.7%2

Leaf and seed differ: seed carries more fat and fiber, leaf more ash. Their aromas differ too. Seed oil is mostly carvone, while the leaf leans on phellandrene and dill ether. Figures are converted from USDA as-fed values.1,2,4

Why it is in the bag

There for flavor and smell, not nutrition

  1. Main nutrition
  2. Supporting nutrient
  3. Does a job
  4. Mostly filler

Makers add dill for its taste and aroma. In EFSA's analysis, three aroma compounds made up about 84% of dill herb oil, and EFSA accepts dill as a food flavor. Labels list ingredients by weight as formulated, and dill sits low on the list among the other herbs and produce. The amount is likely too small to change the food's protein, fiber or calcium.1,5,9

  1. 01

    Flavor and aroma

    Carvone, limonene and alpha-phellandrene make up about 84% of dill herb oil. Those compounds give dill its smell, and the smell is why it goes in the recipe.5

  2. 02

    A recognized food flavor

    EFSA treats dill herb, seed and their oils as recognized food flavors, so no separate proof that it works was required for EU feed use. Safety still got a full assessment with maximum levels.5,6

How much No recipe level is published. EFSA judged dill herb oil safe up to 7 mg/kg and dill seed tincture up to 50 mg/kg of complete dog food.5,6

Our read // The claims

What the evidence supports

Strong: controlled studies in dogs agree. Some: small or mixed dog data. Thin: mechanism or lab work only. None: nothing, or the evidence points the other way.

  1. Brands say

    Dill adds natural flavor to the food

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    EFSA accepts dill herb and seed as food flavors, and about 84% of the herb oil is three aroma compounds. No published trial has tested whether dogs prefer food with dill.5

  2. Brands say

    Dill settles the stomach and eases gas

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    Dill goes into gripe water for colicky babies. The support is a seed extract relaxing rat gut tissue in the lab. The review citing it lists no human trials, and no dog study exists.4

  3. Brands say

    Dill antioxidants support a dog's health

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    Two dill flavonoids neutralized free radicals in test tubes, and extracts improved antioxidant markers in rats fed high-fat diets. Nothing has been measured in dogs eating a seasoning amount in food.4

  4. Owners say

    Dill freshens your dog's breath

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    The only support is traditional: people chewing the seeds to improve bad breath. Lab work shows dill extracts acting on gut and skin bacteria, not oral bacteria. Nothing exists for dogs.4

  5. Owners say

    Dill is toxic to dogs

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    The ASPCA lists dill as non-toxic to dogs, cats and horses. EFSA judged even the concentrated herb oil safe at 7 mg/kg of complete dog food.5,7

Straight answers

What owners ask

  1. Q01

    Is dill safe for dogs?

    Yes

    The ASPCA lists dill as non-toxic to dogs, cats and horses. The only sign it lists is skin irritation from prolonged contact with the plant's oils, which is not a feeding risk.7

  2. Q02

    Is it just filler?

    No, it's flavor

    It is there for taste and smell, not bulk or calories. A seasoning amount adds too little weight to fill anything, and too little protein or calcium to change the analysis.5

  3. Q03

    Will it help my dog's gas?

    Not shown

    Dill is a traditional gas remedy and an ingredient in gripe water for babies. The support is lab work on rat gut tissue. No trial in dogs shows less gas.4

Who uses it

Brands, best sellers and the company it keeps

Top brands, by foods that list it

  1. Edgard & Cooper 5 / 11

Foods that list it / all the brand's recipes we track.

Usually listed with, share of the foods that list it

  1. Water 100%
  2. Carrots 80%
  3. Broccoli 80%
  4. Cranberries 80%
  5. Chicken 60%
  6. Duck 60%
  7. Chicken Liver 60%
  8. Sweet Potatoes 60%
  9. Peas 40%
  10. Apples 40%
  11. Pumpkin 40%
  12. Carrageenan 40%

On the shelf

Foods that list Dill

5 foods in our catalog list it, highest on the label first.

Edgard & Cooper Chicken & Duck Puppy Grain-Free Wet Dog FoodEdgard & CooperEdgard & Cooper Chicken & Duck Puppy Grain-Free Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 18 on the labelEdgard & Cooper Dog Cup Beef Duck Wet Dog FoodEdgard & CooperEdgard & Cooper Dog Cup Beef Duck Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 18 on the label
Show 3 more
Edgard & Cooper Tins Chicken & Salmon Senior Dog Wet Dog FoodEdgard & CooperEdgard & Cooper Tins Chicken & Salmon Senior Dog Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 18 on the labelEdgard & Cooper Tins Chicken & Turkey Adult Dog Grain-Free Wet Dog FoodEdgard & CooperEdgard & Cooper Tins Chicken & Turkey Adult Dog Grain-Free Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 18 on the labelEdgard & Cooper Tins Beef & Duck Adult Dog Grain-Free Wet Dog FoodEdgard & CooperEdgard & Cooper Tins Beef & Duck Adult Dog Grain-Free Wet Dog FoodWet // No. 18 on the label

Sources

What we read

Checked October 1, 2026.

  1. 1 Spices, dill weed, dried USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy), 2019 // Database
  2. 2 Spices, dill seed USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy), 2019 // Database
  3. 3 Dill weed, fresh USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy), 2019 // Database
  4. 4 Anethum graveolens: An Indian traditional medicinal herb and spice Pharmacognosy Reviews, 2010 // Journal
  5. 5 Safety and efficacy of a feed additive consisting of an essential oil from the aerial parts of Anethum graveolens L. (dill herb oil) for use in dogs and cats (FEFANA asbl) EFSA Journal, 2022 // Regulator
  6. 6 Safety and efficacy of a feed additive consisting of a tincture derived from the fruit of Anethum graveolens L. (dill tincture) for use in all animal species (FEFANA asbl) EFSA Journal (abstract via Europe PMC), 2023 // Regulator
  7. 7 Dill ASPCA Animal Poison Control, n.d. // Nonprofit
  8. 8 Dill, Anethum graveolens Wisconsin Horticulture, University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, 2026 // University
  9. 9 Ingredients - Making Pet Food Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), n.d. // Regulator
An ingredient on its own tells you very little. What matters is how much of it there is and where it sits in the list. That is why we weigh the top five rather than reacting to any single name further down. Back to the wiki

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