Iowa Pork for an Iowa Dog

As the only gently cooked dog food brand that sourced directly from Iowa farmers, it’s only natural that Leo’s Iowa Naturals leans into pork.

Our resident expert, Leo, is a strong advocate of pork, and favors his Iowa Pork and Sweet Potato recipe above all others. The mix of lean pork butt, along with pork liver and heart, plus sweet potatoes, sunflower seeds, eggs, yogurt, and a few other canine superfoods, provides a nutrient-packed bowl of deliciousness that gets aggressively licked across the floor until the entire essence is consumed. If dogs could cry, a big, salty tear would trickle down his snout and clink into his metal bowl when it was emptied, signaling the sad, sad news that breakfast was over.

The human experts report that pork is a fine option for dogs, as long as it’s thoroughly cooked, and not cured, smoked, or spicy. No ham, bacon, or sausage, no leftover pulled pork, no carnitas, no corndogs… Even though there are advocates of a raw diet for dogs, it’s generally agreed that pork needs to be thoroughly cooked.

Also eliminated from the list of what’s best for dogs is pork from factory-farmed pigs that are shot up with antibiotics and a range of sorry chemicals. How the pigs are raised and knowing where the pork comes from matters a lot.

On the North edge of the rapidly developing Ankeny, Iowa, the Griffieon Farm homestead has been in the same family since 1862

The pork in Leo’s Iowa Pork and Sweet Potato recipe is sourced from Griffieon Farms in Ankeny, Iowa, and Over the Moon Farm in Coggon, Iowa — both stand as refreshing pockets of goodness amidst far too many factory farms.

A Berkshire Pig enjoying sunshine and a pasture at Over the Moon Farm in Coggon, Iowa.

As a “novel protein,” meaning it’s consumed much less often than the likes of chicken or beef, pork is reported to be less likely to trigger allergic reactions. High quality, pasture-raised pork generally ranks as easy to digest. It has an excellent amino acid profile and is also a solid source of Omega 3s, and Vitamin E.

So why are pork-based dog foods so rare?

One explanation is that all manner of cuts are directed toward the likes of of sausages, liverwurst, bacon, ham and other processed meats that have a deep and wide fan base among humans. Humans love their bacon and hot dogs so much that processed pork’s unequivocal ranking as a Class 1 Carcinogin is often overlooked, explained away, or simply ignored.

Another explanation: despite the National Pork Board’s abandoned campaign touting pork as “the other white meat,” pork is not generally perceived as healthy or wholesome. There are some rather fatty cuts of pork, and even though I’ve never known a dog to turn down a hearty, fatty slice of anything, fat is a contributor to obesity and pancreatitis. It should be avoided.

Despite the cautions and conditions concerning pork, and all the ways that pork is spiced and processed into something needs to be off limits for dogs, the fact is that pure, unprocessed and thoroughly cooked organ and muscle meats from pasture-raised pigs, who enjoy sunshine and aren’t subject to antibiotics, is an excellent leading ingredient for dogs who know what’s good for them.

Pork is a staple of Leo’s diet and a star of the Leo’s Iowa Naturals recipe lineup