A leading pet nutritionist has gone viral for cautioning dog owners against microwaving meals to avoid serious injuries and potentially stripping out essential nutrition.
A growing social media trend for microwaving dog food has prompted warnings from pet nutritionist, David Jackson, who says the fad prioritises ‘human preferences over dog health’.
The trend, which has gained traction this year, sees dog owners encouraged to heat pet meals in the microwave before serving, mirroring convenience food designed for people.
David Jackson, founder of independent dog food website All About Dog Food, has taken to TikTok to warn owners about the potential dangers of microwaving meals for their pets.
He said: “A growing number of pet food brands and commentators are suggesting heating pet food as a novel way to enhance the meals they prepare for their pets. But it's important to realise this approach can have some significant downsides.
“Microwaving is particularly risky as it often heats unevenly, which can leave parts of the meal excessively hot. With owners unlikely to spot hidden pockets of heat and pets often lacking self-preservation at meal times, this can easily result in scolding and expensive vet visits."
David said: “There’s no nutritional benefit to heating meals for dogs, and it seems to be a misguided trend that focuses more on making the meals appealing to human owners than the dogs themselves. By microwaving meal portions, you run the risk of serving unevenly heated food that may burn your pet’s mouth or tongue.”
“Microwaving dog food may also degrade some heat-sensitive nutrients.”
“Unless you're feeding raw, your pet's food has already been cooked at least once. Each time a food is subjected to heat, there's the risk of destroying beneficial nutrients like vitamins, proteins, and sensitive enzymes.”
He added: “The more processing a food goes through, the fewer nutrients remain intact. That’s just basic food science, whether it’s for humans or dogs.”
Robert Deans, the Nottingham based co-owner of All About Dog Food, thinks there’s a simple reason why the trend appears to be going viral on social media sites, and it’s more about the owners than it is the pets.
“Sadly, there are some pet food brands that are marketing their products in the same way companies promote foods to people, often paying a premium when they don’t need to. The idea that heating meals is somehow elevating the dining experience for our pets, simply has no scientific basis and could actually be more damaging.
“The best things loving dog owners can do is to source well balanced, nutritional meals and stay clear of gimmicky fads that aren’t going to benefit our pets. If you want to compare foods properly, the data is there to do it. Dogs are not small humans, and their food shouldn’t be treated like ready meals”.