DOGS who have a processed, dry pet food diet eat the nutritional equivalent of a Dominos Pizza every day.

Raw dog food company, Bella & Duke, has found that over the course of a typical week, a dog on a processed, dry pet food diet was found to have eaten the macronutrient equivalent of eight pizzas.

Bella & Duke’s Chief Nutritional Officer has compared the macronutrient (carbohydrate) content of one of the UK’s leading dry processed pet foods to the UK’s favourite fast foods.

By comparing the macronutrient values found in a typical daily portion (377g) of dry processed pet food with the same amount of select fast foods, the raw pet food company has revealed some alarming findings.

An average size dog, eating a typical portion of dry processed pet food is consuming the weekly equivalent carbohydrate value of any one of the following: 30 burgers, eight pizzas, 28 medium portions of French Fries, or 50 glazed doughnuts.

The company now hopes to educate UK dog owners on what they’re feeding their dogs, as research reveals 49 per cent of pet owners are unaware of the macronutrient value of the food they’re feeding their dogs.

Mark Scott CEO & Founder of Bella & Duke said: “Processed dry food is junk food for dogs.

"Over the last thirty years, many of us have been hoodwinked into feeding highly processed ultra-heat-treated biscuits to our four-legged friends.

"If this isn’t junk, then what is? Vitamin enriched or not, vet-approved or not, I believe giving your dog dry food is like feeding an elephant a cream bun.

"It is neither appropriate to the species nor healthy for them. So, let’s show our pets some love and treat them with health and vitality.”

Dogs do not need carbohydrates to survive.

To create processed dry pet food (kibble) requires a minimum amount (at least 35%) of carbohydrate. Dogs are carnivorous animals, they evolved eating meat, bone, organs, fur, feathers, tissue, sinew and cartilage. Dogs are ill-adapted to digest relatively high amounts of carbohydrates.

Dogs do not produce sufficient amounts of amylase - the enzyme required to break down carbohydrates - to fully digest, assimilate processed grain-filled food without suffering ill effects.

Leading vets believe these ill effects include obesity, food intolerances, dental issues, behavioural problems and can encourage tumour growth.

Dog obesity levels are now higher than ever, with the PDSA stating “vets and vet nurses estimated that 46% of the dogs they see in their practice each week are overweight or obese”.

The research conducted by Bella & Duke revealed that 85% of dog owners with obese dogs noticed an improvement in their pet’s weight after switching to a raw diet.