Ingredient file // Legume
Dried Field Peas
A starch and protein crop, not meat, not filler
Dried field peas are whole pea seeds, harvested dry and ground, that bring about half starch and a quarter protein to kibble. They supply the starch the extruder needs and lift the protein figure. Whether pulse-heavy foods affect dogs' hearts is unresolved.
- What it is
- Whole mature pea seeds, harvested dry and usually ground into flour before they go into the extruder.
- Made from
- Dry, mature field pea seeds
- Main job
- Starch plus some protein
- Typical amount
- Not published; one dog trial fed up to 45% pulses
- Watch for
- Several pulse ingredients high on one list
- Not the same as
- Pea protein or garden peas
Our read // In our catalog
In 1 of every 3068 foods we track
Share of foods that list it
0%
1 of the 3,068 foods with an ingredient list on file, from 1 brand. All dry dog food.
Each square is 1% of the catalog
Where it sits on the label
Median position 4. In the top five of 1 food, so it is usually a main ingredient.
Above the salt
Almost always listed before the salt, so there is more of it than a pinch.
Price per lb
Median of the cheapest bag price across 1 priced foods, 19% above the catalog. The price is the food's, not the ingredient's.
Who leans on it
100%
of the foods that list it are from Dr. Tim's. 1 brand use it in total.
The story
From ancient Near East crop to grain-free kibble
Peas are one of the founder crops of early Near Eastern farming. Genetic work comparing wild and farmed peas points to at least 2 separate domestications. In the US, North Dakota and Montana took up dry peas in the 1990s. North Dakota planted about 1,600 acres in 1991, and US dry pea acreage climbed from 149,000 acres in 1993 to a record 530,000 in 2004. Most of the harvest was exported for food and feed.13,14
Grain-free kibble gave that crop a new buyer. A recipe without grain still needs starch for the extruder to cook into kibble, and peas, about half starch, filled that slot. In February 2020 a seed company pointed to upticks in the pet food market, along with protein bars and shakes, and noted that growers for PURIS, a food ingredient company, alone would plant more than 300,000 acres of peas and other pulses that year.1,12
The turning point came in 2018. That June, Tufts veterinary nutritionist Lisa Freeman wrote that cardiologists were seeing DCM in breeds not usually prone to it, in dogs eating boutique, grain-free or exotic ingredient diets, and listed pea among those ingredients. In July the FDA announced an investigation, and most of the 524 cases reported through April 2019 arrived after that announcement. The agency never named a cause, and in December 2022 it said further updates would wait for meaningful new science.2,15
What it is
How it is made
Field peas are a pulse crop harvested dry, like beans. Farmers grow them for food, feed and a pet food market that has pulled more acres into peas. Kibble plants take the whole seed, usually ground.1,12
- 01 // Source Mature dry peas Hard, fully ripe pea seeds, about 24% protein and 51% starch on a dry basis.
- 02 // Process Cleaned, sometimes dehulled The hull is 7 to 14% of the seed weight. Removing it cuts fiber and concentrates protein and starch.
- 03 // Process Ground to flour Milled fine so the starch cooks and gelatinizes evenly once it reaches the extruder.
- 04 // Output Dried field peas Whole or ground seed, not the protein concentrate that air sorting pulls out of pea flour.
What is in it
Composition, dry matter
51
% starch
Half of a dry field pea is starch. It stands in for grain in the recipe, not for meat, and it is what the extruder cooks into kibble.
Benefits
What it does for your dog
Each benefit carries the same evidence grade as the claims below.
-
01
Usable energy from cooked starch
About half the dry seed is starch, which the extruder gelatinizes into calories the dog burns. Huskies fed up to 45% pulses held body composition for 20 weeks, though pea diets digest slightly below rice.1,5,6,7
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
-
02
Food for gut bacteria
Pea fiber ferments in the colon. In a 24-dog trial, swapping rice for pea flour raised fecal acetate, propionate and lactate and cut ammonia, though stools got bigger and wetter.11
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
-
03
Amino acids that pair with meat
Pea protein is rich in lysine but short on methionine, which a rooster assay found first-limiting in yellow peas. The authors advise complementary proteins, so peas work beside meat, not instead of it.1,8
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
Why it is in the bag
What the manufacturer gets
-
01
Starch for the extruder
At about 51% starch, peas give the extruder something to cook and bind. In a 24-dog study, pea flour made denser, less expanded kibble with more gelatinized starch.1,11
-
02
Lifts the protein line
Peas run about 24% protein on a dry basis. The guaranteed analysis states only a minimum crude protein, so pea protein and meat protein count the same there.1,9
-
03
Carbohydrate without grain
Peas supply the starch a grain-free recipe still needs. In FDA's DCM reports, more than 90% of diets were grain-free and 93% contained peas or lentils.2
-
04
A crop grown for it
A 2020 seed company report said pet food demand, along with pea protein for human foods, was pushing farmers to plant more pea acres.12
How much No source publishes a typical amount; a 20-week trial in 28 dogs fed up to 45% whole pulses with no change in heart measures.5
Our read // The claims
What the evidence supports
Strong: controlled studies in dogs agree. Some: small or mixed dog data. Thin: mechanism or lab work only. None: nothing, or the evidence points the other way.
-
Critics say
Peas lift the protein figure without meat
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
Crude protein counts protein from any source, and peas run about 24% protein dry. Methionine is about 1% of pea protein against 7% lysine, so the label figure rises without meat's amino acid balance.1,8,9
-
Brands say
Peas are a good plant protein for dogs
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
In an ADM-funded rooster assay, pulse amino acids other than methionine were 80 to 90% digestible, and methionine was first-limiting for yellow peas. Digestible is not complete: the assay measured digestibility, not dogs living on peas.8
-
Brands say
Low glycemic, slow-release energy
Outruns the evidence
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
The dog trials are small and mixed. In one, pea diets blunted glucose for the first 30 minutes but raised the later response; a 24-dog study saw a smaller glucose curve. No trial shows a benefit for a healthy dog.7,11
-
Vets say
Peas cause heart disease (DCM)
Outruns the evidence
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
FDA found peas or lentils in 93% of products in DCM reports but says reports alone cannot show cause. An 8-dog trial saw subclinical changes on a wrinkled pea diet; a 28-dog, 20-week trial at up to 45% pulses saw none.2,4,5
-
Critics say
Peas are just cheap filler
Outruns the evidence
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
Filler has no defined meaning, and dry peas supply starch and protein the dog uses. The fair criticism is digestibility: diets built on peas digested less well than rice diets in two dog trials.1,6,7
The research
Studies worth knowing
Published research we read for this page, dog studies first.
-
2023 // Feeding trial, 4 foods
Up to 45% pulses left healthy husky hearts unchanged5
28 privately owned adult Siberian Huskies, 7 per diet
Found. Diets held 0, 15, 30 or 45% whole pulses for 20 weeks. Heart ultrasound, NT-proBNP and troponin did not differ between groups, and troponin stayed below the 0.2 ng/mL safe limit in every dog.
What it means. In healthy dogs eating a complete food, high pulse levels did not harm the heart over 5 months. Dogs already sick were not tested.
-
2023 // Feeding trial, 28 days each
Wrinkled pea diet raised a heart strain marker in 28 days4
8 healthy adult Beagles
Found. After 28 days on a wrinkled pea diet, NT-proBNP, a heart strain marker, was significantly higher than after every other diet. Cardiac output did not differ from the rice or lentil diets, and plasma taurine held steady. Pulse grower groups funded it.
What it means. A small, short, subclinical signal from one pea type. It does not show peas cause DCM, but it keeps the question open.
-
2023 // Feeding trial, 3 foods
Swapping rice for pea flour fed gut bacteria11
24 dogs (master's dissertation, abstract read)
Found. Pea flour replaced 50% or 100% of the broken rice. As pea rose, fecal acetate, propionate and lactate rose and ammonia fell. Dogs passed more, wetter stool, but fecal scores held steady.
What it means. Peas give colon bacteria fermentable fiber. Expect somewhat larger stools, not firmer ones, when peas replace rice.
Straight answers
What owners ask
-
Q01
Is it just filler?
NoHalf the seed is starch and about a quarter is protein, and the dog uses both for energy and amino acids. The honest knock is digestibility: pea diets digested less well than rice diets.1,6
-
Q02
Should I avoid it because of DCM?
Not by defaultFor a healthy dog the cause is unproven and the trials disagree. Tufts veterinary nutritionists flag pulses in the top ten ingredients, or several pulses anywhere on the list, as the pattern that might put some dogs at risk.3,4,5
-
Q03
Do field peas give dogs gas?
Some dogsPeas carry 23 to 63 g per kg of sugars that need an enzyme the gut does not make, so colon bacteria ferment them into gas. No dog trial has measured flatulence from peas.10
-
Q04
Are field peas the same as garden peas?
NoField peas, also called dried peas, are harvested ripe and hard. Garden peas are picked immature and eaten as a vegetable. Pea protein concentrate is different again: a fraction air-sorted out of ground pea flour.1
Who uses it
Brands, best sellers and the company it keeps
Top brands, by foods that list it
Usually listed with, share of the foods that list it
- Salmon Meal 100%
- Pork Meal 100%
- Dried White Potatoes 100%
- Tapioca 100%
- Dried Egg Product 100%
- Garbanzo Beans 100%
- Chicken Fat 100%
- Dried Plain Beet Pulp 100%
On the shelf
Foods that list it
1 foods in our reviews list it. Here are some of them.
Our read // On the bag
Count every pulse before you count the meat
Read dried field peas with their neighbors. One pulse mid-list behind a named meat meal is ordinary. Peas plus chickpeas, lentils or pea protein high on the list means pulses carry the recipe and part of the protein figure. For a dog with DCM, choose a food without them.
Sources
What we read
Checked October 1, 2026.
- 1 Pea seeds
- 2 FDA Investigation into Potential Link between Certain Diets and Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy
- 3 Diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy: the cause is not yet known but it hasn't gone away
- 4 Effects of a 28-day feeding trial of grain-containing versus pulse-based diets on cardiac function, taurine levels and digestibility in domestic dogs
- 5 The pulse of it: dietary inclusion of up to 45% whole pulse ingredients with chicken meal and pea starch in a complete and balanced diet does not affect cardiac function, fasted sulfur amino acid status, or other gross measures of health in adult dogs
- 6 The effects of 7 days of feeding pulse-based diets on digestibility, glycemic response and taurine levels in domestic dogs
- 7 Effects of six carbohydrate sources on dog diet digestibility and post-prandial glucose and insulin response
- 8 Macronutrient composition, true metabolizable energy and amino acid digestibility, and indispensable amino acid scoring of pulse ingredients for use in canine and feline diets
- 9 Reading Labels
- 10 Raffinose family oligosaccharides: friend or foe for human and plant health?
- 11 Farinha de ervilha sobre o processo de extrusão, qualidade dos kibbles, digestibilidade, produtos de fermentação nas fezes e respostas de glicose e insulina de cães
- 12 Farmers Heeding the Call for Increased Field Pea Demand
- 13 Molecular Evidence for Two Domestication Events in the Pea Crop
- 14 Chapter 3: Dry Peas (USA Pulses Technical Manual)
- 15 A broken heart: Risk of heart disease in boutique or grain-free diets and exotic ingredients