Insect-Based Dog Food

Which dog food is right for your dog? 

In the big LuckyChef dog food check, we compare the most important feeding options and show you what to look out for when making your choice. In this article, you'll learn everything you need to know about insect-based dog food.

You can find the complete overview of all feeding options on our Dog Food Check topic page.

Your dog needs protein, that’s for sure. Where that protein comes from doesn’t matter to them. And this is exactly where an ingredient comes into play that might initially sound like a dare: insects.

Insect-based dog food gets its main sources of protein from processed insects rather than beef, chicken or fish. 

The insects are raised in controlled breeding facilities, then killed, dried and ground into meal. This insect meal is then processed like any other protein source together with other ingredients such as grains, vegetables, fats and minerals to create a nutritionally complete food. Insect-based food is available as both dry food and wet food.

In practice, one species in particular has become established: the larvae of the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens). They are found in almost all insect-based dog food because they are easy to breed and provide a solid source of protein. House crickets (Acheta domesticus) and mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) are also occasionally used, but they are much less common.

Dried, defatted black soldier fly larvae meal contains around 40 to 45% crude protein and, depending on processing, 8 to 35% crude fat. When it comes to calcium, the black soldier fly offers a clear advantage over other insects. Its larvae meal has a calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of around 1.5 to 2:1, which is close to the physiologically ideal ratio for dogs. Mealworms do provide around 80 to 160 mg of calcium per 100 g of dry matter, but their simultaneously very high phosphorus content results in a calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of approximately 1:10. Food consisting primarily of mealworms therefore needs to be supplemented with other sources of calcium.

If dogs were fed exclusively with mealworm protein and without added nutrients, this could lead to an inadequate calcium supply.

Three main reasons are driving the trend towards insects in the dog bowl:

• Sustainability: Insects require significantly less water, land and feed per kilogram of biomass than conventional livestock such as cattle. While cattle require around 8 to 10 kilograms of feed per kilogram of body mass, insects need just 1.7 to 2.1 kilograms.
  However, compared with plant-based nutrition, insects perform less well: A 2023 life cycle assessment commissioned by the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) found that under current production conditions, insect protein can have up to 13.5 times the climate impact of soy protein, mainly due to the energy required for temperature-controlled breeding facilities.
• A new protein source for dogs with allergies: Because few dogs have previously been exposed to insect protein, it is considered a so-called novel protein. This can be interesting for dogs that react to conventional types of meat such as chicken or beef.
• Animal welfare: From a legal perspective, insects are not classified as sentient animals in Germany, Austria or Switzerland, which means that large-scale breeding without a legal requirement for stunning is permitted. Scientifically, however, the question is more open: Many insect species demonstrably respond to potentially harmful stimuli, but a conscious perception of pain has not been established.

Tip: When it comes to animal welfare and sustainability, vegan food has the edge.

• Good protein quality: Insect meal provides all the essential amino acids dogs need, with digestibility similar to meat such as chicken.
• An option for dogs with food allergies: As a novel, previously unused protein source, insect protein can be suitable for dogs with allergies or intolerances to meat proteins such as beef, chicken or lamb.
• Highly digestible: Its digestibility is comparable to that of poultry meat.
• Favourable calcium-to-phosphorus ratio (in black soldier flies): At around 1.5 to 2:1, this ratio is close to the physiological ideal range for dogs.
• Nutrient-rich: In addition to protein, insects also provide omega fatty acids and important minerals for healthy skin and coat.

Not automatically hypoallergenic: Insect protein can also trigger allergies, particularly due to the proteins tropomyosin and arginine kinase, which also play a role in crustacean allergies. Reactions are rare but possible.

Unbalanced amino acid profile: Tryptophan is considered a limiting amino acid in black soldier flies. It should therefore be supplemented in high-quality food to create a nutritionally complete diet.

Unfavourable calcium-to-phosphorus ratio in other insect species: While black soldier flies perform well in this respect, the ratio in mealworms is around 1:10. Feeding predominantly on this type of protein could lead to a calcium deficiency in the long term.

Questionable climate impact depending on the producer: Despite their sustainability image, the actual CO₂ footprint can vary considerably depending on the production location and energy source and may be significantly higher than that of plant-based protein sources, for example.

Lack of long-term studies: Insect-based food has not been on the market long enough to allow reliable conclusions about its long-term effects.

Acceptance issues: Some dogs may first need to get used to the smell and taste of insect protein, while others may reject it altogether.

Higher price: Insect-based dog food is generally more expensive than conventional dog food.

“I’ll admit it: Insects in a dog’s bowl don’t immediately give you that ‘That sounds delicious’ feeling. At least not for us humans. Dogs, on the other hand, are surprisingly indifferent to the cultural debate surrounding them.

From a nutritional perspective, insects are certainly interesting: they provide protein, fat and, depending on the species, an interesting amino acid profile. Insect protein can be a useful alternative, especially for dogs that have already eaten many conventional protein sources or are sensitive to certain animal proteins.

The topic is also attractive from a sustainability perspective: Compared with conventional livestock farming, insects require significantly less land and resources. That doesn’t automatically make them perfect, but it does make them considerably less resource-intensive.

There are still some drawbacks, though. Insect protein is not automatically hypoallergenic, and here too, the overall recipe is what matters. The protein source, amino acids, fatty acids, minerals and vitamins all need to work together. Just because something has six legs doesn’t automatically make it a good complete food.

For some dogs, insect-based food can therefore be a genuinely smart option: well tolerated, forward-thinking and nutritionally worthy of serious consideration. Others simply don’t need it.

My conclusion: Insect-based food sounds more exotic than it actually is. If the recipe is well formulated, it’s not a last resort but a pretty smart source of protein. Your dog doesn’t need to know anything about sustainability, by the way. It’s enough if they finish their bowl.

Here we answer important questions about insect-based dog food.  

Is something missing? 

Feel free to contact our editorial team! 

etrieba@luckychef.com

In principle, good insect-based dog food can provide dogs with all the essential nutrients they need if the recipe is balanced and the product is labelled as a complete food. However, how well it suits an individual dog always depends on the dog in question: Some dogs tolerate the new protein source extremely well, while others may not like the smell or taste at first. Checking the product declaration and, if necessary, consulting a veterinarian can help you make the right choice.

Like any other dog food, insect-based food is not inherently healthy or unhealthy. It all depends on the individual dog’s needs.

Digestibility is an important factor: Dogs can digest protein from black soldier flies about as well as fresh meat.

For insect-based food to work as a complete food, it must provide all the nutrients your dog needs – not just protein. That is why insect meal is combined with other ingredients such as fats, vitamins and minerals to create a nutritionally adequate complete food.

Some insect-based food products are labelled “hypoallergenic”. It is important to know that “hypoallergenic” does not automatically mean “allergy-free”. Like any protein, insect protein can theoretically trigger allergies because proteins can have allergenic potential. In practice, however, most dogs tolerate it well because they have simply never been exposed to this protein source before.

There is no single “best” product – what matters is the composition. Look for a clearly named insect species (usually Hermetia illucens), a clearly declared insect content and added minerals and vitamins.

Insect protein is considered a low-purine source of protein. Depending on the manufacturer, insect-based dog food can therefore be low in purines. Such foods generally have low purine levels of around 70 to 90 mg of purines per 100 g of food. However, not every food containing insects is automatically low in purines – it always depends on the overall composition of all the ingredients.

Insect-based dog food is just one of many ways to feed your dog. If you want to get a complete overview of all feeding options, take a look at our comprehensive Dog Food Check.

• In our Dog Food Check: Dry Food for Dogs, for example, we explain the different types of dry food and what you should consider when feeding it.
• If you want to know how you can feed your dog fresh and naturally without cooking yourself, take a look at our Dog Food Check: Fresh Food for Dogs.
• We explain how well a purely plant-based diet can work in our Dog Food Check: Vegan Dog Food.