Wheat Flour

Wheat mills grind kernels between steel rollers and sift out the dark bran, so refined flour comes mostly from the kernel's starchy center rather than the whole grain.⁶

1. 01 // Source Wheat kernels Kernels enter the mill with a starchy center surrounded by bran and germ.
2. 02 // Process Roller milled Steel rollers break and grind the kernels, allowing the inner portion to separate from the outer layers.
3. 03 // Process Sifted Sieves separate the fine flour from the dark bran components the rollers have broken away.
4. 04 // Output Wheat flour The fine, dry flour arrives ready to blend with other ingredients before kibble is cooked.

1. 01

   Supplies digestible energy

   Flour supplies starch that becomes accessible to digestive enzymes after cooking. In a comparison of extruded flour diets, dogs digested nearly all the starch, including that in the wheat diet.^1,4

2. 02

   Holds kibble together

   Cooked starch helps bind and expand the mixture during extrusion. Wheat flour supplies that starch along with gluten proteins that contribute structure.^5,7

3. 03

   A bulk commodity

   Flour is the main product of wheat milling. USDA's summary counts 478 million hundredweight of North American flour production, which makes it a bulk commodity, not a specialty ingredient.^6,9

4. 04

   Adds some protein

   Wheat flour contributes protein to a recipe's crude protein figure. Starch remains its main contribution, so judge the food's other protein sources too.^4,7

How much One small dog trial fed a control diet containing 51% wheat flour; that tested amount is not a typical recipe target.²

1. Brands say

   Wheat flour gives dogs usable energy

   Evidence

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

   A refined flour sample contained 70.1% starch on a dry basis. In one controlled comparison of 6 extruded flour diets, dogs digested over 99% of the starch in every diet, including wheat. Individual recipes still differ.^1,4

2. Brands say

   Wheat flour helps kibble hold its shape

   Evidence

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

   Starch binds and expands food during extrusion, and a study examined starch in 20 commercial dry pet foods. It did not isolate wheat flour, so the evidence supports the manufacturing mechanism rather than a unique advantage for wheat.^4,5

3. Owners say

   Wheat is a common allergy in dogs

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

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

   A review implicated wheat in 38 of 297 dogs with documented food reactions. Those dogs were selected because they had reactions, so the count cannot tell an owner how likely a healthy dog is to react.³

4. Critics say

   Wheat flour is empty filler

   Outruns the evidence

   Evidence

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

   A tested refined flour contained 70.1% starch, and dogs digested over 99% of starch across 6 flour diets. Flour supplies energy and structure. Refining does leave it with far less fiber than wheat bran.^1,4,5