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Freeze Dried Dog Food and Treats

One big benefit of freeze dried dog food is that they don’t contain any grains. They are either 100% meat or a combination of meat and vegetables. The dry dog foods and treats in the past have always used wheat or other grains as the main ingredient. Grains are very inexpensive and can be mixed with smaller amounts of other items to add protein, fat and supplements. Unfortunately, many dogs have allergies to wheat, corn or other grains. We have been conditioned to think that grains are a natural food for dogs but they’re not.

What’s the Objective?

The objective in freeze drying is to remove the water without damaging the structure or composition of the food. The food will be restored to very near its original quality, texture, flavor and smell when water is added back (rehydrated). Removing the water will keep the food from spoiling for longer periods of time. Bacteria and enzymes are ineffective and can’t spoil the food.

Since most foods are 80 to 90 percent water, removing the water will significantly reduce the weight and the volume. It takes less space to store these items and they will last a long time in storage. Needless to say they are much lighter to transport saving shipping costs and especially nice if they’re in your backpack. These are great to take with you on a trip if you like taking your dog along as well. The freeze dried food is so easy and convenient to use on a trip.

Freeze Drying Compared to Dehydration

Dehydration uses heat to help evaporate the water in the food. This type of evaporation process tends to change the shape and structure and breaks down the material. This method doesn’t remove all of the moisture which reduces the shelf life of the food and it does not reconstitute back to the original composition. The freeze drying method takes longer than the heated dehydration method but removes all of the moisture with very little change to the structure of the ingredients.

It’s Called Sublimation

Freeze drying uses a process called sublimation. This will let ice change to a vapor (gas) without first having to change to a liquid. This is accomplished by controlling the temperature and atmospheric pressure. Consider freeze drying a piece of meat. The meat is first frozen and then placed in the freeze dryer which is a temperature controlled vacuum chamber. As the vacuum is increased the temperature is controlled to keep a condition for sublimation.

Types of Freeze Dried Products for Dogs

The freeze dried dog food and treats are offered in two types of products. One type of product is 100% meat while the other type is a combination of meat and vegetables. The solid meat products can be used dry as treats or used as a nice topping to your dogs regular meal. The combination meat and vegetables are rehydrated with warm water for about ten or fifteen minutes. This can be used as a complete meal that has high protein, low fat and good natural ingredients. This is great for dogs that need to watch their weight.

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Article author Ron Case writes for the web site www.justwheatfreedogtreats.com.
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Posted by Ron Case on January 9, 2008 at 3:44 PM under

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Freeze Dried Dog Food and Treats

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