Food Friday: Rolled Dog Food

Yes, dog food comes in roll form. I've shared several different brands recently, and now it's time to discuss the whole concept of dog food rolls. Why do they exist? What are they good for? Are some better than others?

What's in a Roll?

Grain-free dog food roll

While several dog food companies have recently added food rolls to their product lineup, dog food rolls have been around for at least 15 years. The recipes vary quite a bit between brands, but the basic formulation is the same. These are all shelf-stable salami-like products that need to be refrigerated after opening.

All complete and balanced dog food rolls that I've encountered so far have had ingredients lists that start with meat, followed by some type of flour. The grain-inclusive ones usually have rice flour and/or pea flour. The grain-free rolls just have pea flour. 

Surprisingly, all the dog food rolls I've encountered also contain both eggs and added sugar. Some also have molasses, broth, and potato starch. Eggs and sugar appear to be essential though, I've guessing they hep the roll hold its shape or something.

To Grain or Not to Grain

The biggest difference between a grain-free food roll and a grain-inclusive roll is the texture. The ones made with rice flour tend to hold their shape really nicely. They don't crumble easily, and are easy to cut into super tiny cubes for training treats. They don't tend to go moldy very quickly, but they do dry out within a few days of being cut off the roll, even when sealed in an airtight container. 

Grain-free rolls tend to be more squishy and less firm. It's tough to cut cleanly through a roll without a very sharp knife, and it tends to crumble when chopped very small. The grain-free stuff seems to hold more moisture, so it doesn't dry out and go hard. Instead it gets moldy. I had half an uncut roll go moldy in the fridge within a week. Not even gonna talk about when happens when it gets forgotten in a bait bag or pocket.

Let's Roll!

The added sugar means all dog food rolls are high in carbohydrates, so I wouldn't recommend making them a major staple of a dog's diet. They also aren't terribly economical compared to kibble and canned food. They make excellent shelf-stable convenience food, and also great toppers for kibble. I use them primarily for training treats. 

Natural Balance has been making their grain-inclusive complete and balanced dog food rolls since before I got Brisbane in 2005. Redbarn and Blue Buffalo both offer grain-inclusive and grain-free versions of their food rolls. Walmart's Pure Balance brand has grain-free rolls. It's worth noting that these are all complete and balanced dog foods. There are meat rolls with no eggs and no sugar added, like Happy Howie's, but these are intended to be used only as treats.

Do you know of any dog food rolls that I didn't mention here? Please share them in the comments!

Treat Tuesday: Redbarn Rolled Dog Food

Redbarn makes both grain-free and grain-inclusive dog food rolls, this is their grain-inclusive lamb roll. I like using rolls as training treats because they are complete and balanced dog food, so I don't have to worry about filling up my tiny dog with things other than dog food. I can chop dog food rolls as tiny as I like, and each roll makes tons and tons of treats.

Good For:

• Chopping into a zillion tiny training treats
• Holding their shape and not crumbling
• High-value training treats
• Dogs with poultry, beef, wheat, egg, corn, lentil, or tapioca allergies

Not Good For:

• Staying moist when exposed to air for more than a day
• Dogs with lamb, rice, pea, or egg allergies
• Diabetic dogs, all food rolls contain added sugar

How Much We Like Them:

This is currently my favorite food roll. It's not crumbly, it stays moist for a reasonable amount of time, it's easy to cut, and it doesn't go moldy when I forget it in the fridge for a week.,

Treat Tuesday: Pure Balance Dog Food Roll

Walmart's fancy house brand, Pure Balance, offers a dog food roll. I love food rolls because I can chop them up into zillions of tiny training treats. These are formulated as a complete and balanced dog food, so I can stuff my chihuahua with them without worrying about spoiling his dinner. This particular brand is a bit squishy and tends to crumble when chopped up very small, but that seems to be the case with all the grain-free rolls I've tried. I would guess that it's produced by whomever makes the Blue Buffalo Wild Rolls.

Good For

• Tiny training treats
• High-value training treats
• Dogs with poultry or grain allergies
• Very picky little dogs

Not Good For

• Daily feeding of large dogs
• Dogs that need a high-fat an high-protein diet, these are packed with carbohydrates
• Fast, easy training treats, you have to chop these up

How Much We Like Them

Enough to chop them up and use them as training treats. Food rolls are awesome!

Treat Tuesday: Blue Buffalo Wild Rolls

Blue Buffalo's Wild Rolls are kinda like a roll of salami, only with dog food instead of sausage. There are several different brands of dog food that come in roll form, and they are all very economical to use as training treats. They vary in value to the dogs, and the Wild Rolls seem to be especially tasty.

Good For

• Chopping into tiny training treats of the perfect size
• Staying moist and non-crumbly even after several hours exposed to the air
• Very high-value training treats
• Feeding to picky dogs, as these are also complete and balanced dog food

Not Good For

• Chopping into perfect neat cubes, this stuff is softer and squishier than any other food roll I've used
• Diabetic dogs, or those that need to watch their glycemic index. All rolled dog food contains a lot of sugar

How Much We Like Them

Enough that I buy them on a fairly regular basis to use as training treats. For the price, it's hard to beat the number of treats I get out of one roll. Plus I can chop them exactly as small as I need them.