The evidence

The science we build on

AlphaPak · Reviewed by our veterinary and formulation team · Updated July 21, 2026

What your dog eats matters, and the research is clear about it. Keeping a dog lean, feeding real protein, and choosing whole, minimally processed food all track with healthier aging in the studies below. We read that research and show our work: every finding here is cited, and we’re just as clear about the one line we won’t cross.

The clearest finding in dog nutrition is about weight.

In a study of more than 50,000 dogs, those kept in lean body condition lived longer than overweight dogs of the same breed (Salt et al., 2019). In a separate lifetime feeding study, dogs fed a measured, calorie-controlled diet had a significantly longer median lifespan and developed age-related disease later than the littermates fed more (Kealy et al., 2002).

What AlphaPak does

AlphaPak is lean and high in protein, and every recipe, plus our Find your recipe quiz, is built around portioning your dog to a healthy weight.

High protein is not hard on a healthy dog's kidneys.

A stubborn myth says high-protein food strains the kidneys. In healthy dogs, higher dietary protein has not been shown to damage the kidneys. A dog's protein needs actually rise with age rather than fall (Laflamme, 2008). Dogs already diagnosed with kidney disease are the exception and should follow their veterinarian's plan.

What AlphaPak does

AlphaPak is meat-first and high in protein, the way a dog's biology is built to eat.

Gentle processing keeps more of the food intact.

When researchers compared diet formats fed to dogs, extruded kibble was the least digestible of the formats tested, while raw and freeze-dried raw were among the most digestible, though all scored above 80% (Geary et al., 2024). A follow-up that held the recipe constant found high-heat processing lowered protein quality while minimally processed formats preserved it (Geary et al., 2025). Higher digestibility here is measured against kibble; on its own it isn't a health outcome.

What AlphaPak does

AlphaPak is freeze-dried raw: whole ingredients, gently processed, with no synthetic additives.

Whole vegetables, and what the research does and doesn't show.

A Purdue case-control study found Scottish Terriers fed green leafy and yellow-orange vegetables at least three times a week were markedly less likely to develop bladder cancer than dogs that weren't (Raghavan et al., 2005). It's an observational finding in one breed. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli did not reach statistical significance in that study.

What AlphaPak does

Every AlphaPak recipe includes whole vegetables (carrots, sweet potato, green beans) as real food, not a powder.

Food matters. Here’s the honest part.

The evidence is clear that what a dog eats, and keeping them lean, shapes their health and how they age. That’s exactly why we build AlphaPak the way we do: whole food, real protein, minimally processed, nothing synthetic. What we won’t do is print a promise no food has earned: that a bag is proven to make your dog live longer, prevent disease, or reverse aging. Food matters; miracle claims don’t. We’d rather let the ingredients and the evidence speak for themselves.

Find your recipeRead the guides

Sources

  1. Salt C, Morris PJ, Wilson D, Lund EM, German AJ (2019). Association between life span and body condition in neutered client-owned dogs. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. DOI: 10.1111/jvim.15367
  2. Kealy RD, Lawler DF, Ballam JM, et al. (2002). Effects of diet restriction on life span and age-related changes in dogs. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. DOI: 10.2460/javma.2002.220.1315
  3. Laflamme DP (2008). Pet food safety: dietary protein. Topics in Companion Animal Medicine. DOI: 10.1053/j.tcam.2008.04.009
  4. Geary EL, Oba PM, Templeman JR, Swanson KS (2024). Apparent total tract nutrient digestibility of frozen raw, freeze-dried raw, fresh, and extruded dog foods. Translational Animal Science. DOI: 10.1093/tas/txae163
  5. Geary EL, Vogel CL, Parsons CM, et al. (2025). Standardized amino acid digestibility of frozen raw, freeze-dried raw, mildly cooked, and retorted dog foods. Journal of Animal Science. DOI: 10.1093/jas/skaf334
  6. Raghavan M, Knapp DW, Bonney PL, Dawson MH, Glickman LT (2005). Evaluation of the effect of dietary vegetable consumption on reducing risk of transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder in Scottish Terriers. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. DOI: 10.2460/javma.2005.227.94

AlphaPak is a food, not a medicine. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Statements about nutrition describe the role of whole-food ingredients in supporting normal health and are not a substitute for veterinary care. Individual results vary.

The science we build on: dog nutrition research | AlphaPak