Ingredient file // Vitamin or mineral
Vitamin B1
An essential vitamin, not an energy boost
Vitamin B1, also called thiamine, is added so the finished food supplies enough after processing. Dogs need it to use food for energy and maintain normal nerve function. Extra B1 has not been shown to boost a healthy dog's energy.
- What it is
- An essential dietary vitamin added to dog food, usually as a synthesized thiamine salt.
- Made from
- Chemically synthesized thiamine salts
- Main job
- Meet the B1 requirement
- Typical amount
- Milligrams per kilogram of dry food
- Watch for
- Too little in the finished food
- Not the same as
- Vitamin B12
Our read // In our catalog
In 1 of every 96 foods we track
Share of foods that list it
1%
27 of the 2,595 foods with an ingredient list on file, from 3 brands. 24 dry dog food, 3 wet dog food.
Each square is 1% of the catalog
Where it sits on the label
Median position 32. In the top five of 0 foods, so it is usually a minor ingredient.
Above the salt
Usually listed after the salt, which caps it at roughly 1% of the recipe in 100% of foods.
Price per lb
Median of the cheapest bag price across 15 priced foods, 28% below the catalog. The price is the food's, not the ingredient's.
Who leans on it
41%
of the foods that list it are from Blue Seal. 3 brands use it in total.
What it is
How it is made
Added B1 comes from vitamin manufacturing. Suppliers synthesize thiamine hydrochloride or thiamine mononitrate as crystalline powders. Food makers measure a small amount into a recipe and allow for losses during processing.3,4
- 01 // Source Chemical feedstocks Vitamin suppliers start with chemicals for synthesis rather than extracting B1 from meat or grain.
- 02 // Process Synthesize thiamine The manufacturer produces thiamine hydrochloride or thiamine mononitrate for use as a nutritional feed additive.
- 03 // Process Prepare crystals The additive is supplied as a pale crystalline powder that food makers can measure into a recipe.
- 04 // Output Vitamin B1 powder The powder reaches the food plant for blending into the recipe before cooking.
What is in it
Composition, dry matter
99.7
% salt
The lowest measured purity of either thiamine salt in the tested batches. This describes the additive powder, not the B1 level in dog food.
Why it is in the bag
What the manufacturer gets
-
01
Meets a dietary need
Dogs need thiamine from food. A measured addition helps a recipe meet the B1 requirement when its other ingredients supply varying amounts.3,5
-
02
Accounts for cooking loss
Processing can break down thiamine. Makers allow for that loss when formulating so the finished food still supplies enough.3,5
-
03
Works at tiny scale
The requirement is measured in milligrams per kilogram of dry food. Concentrated crystalline salts let manufacturers add B1 without changing the recipe's bulk.4,5
How much The AAFCO dog food profile sets a finished-food minimum of 2.25 mg thiamine per kilogram on a dry matter basis.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.
-
Vets say
B1 is essential for nerves and energy use
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
Thiamine supports energy metabolism and normal nerve function. A dog fed an inadequate diet for 4 weeks developed seizures and poor coordination, then improved with treatment. The evidence supports meeting the need, not taking unlimited extra B1.1,3,5
-
Brands say
Cooking destroys B1, so makers add extra
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
AAFCO warns that processing may destroy up to 90% of dietary thiamine. That is an upper figure, not a loss measured in every kibble. Makers must allow for processing so the finished food meets its minimum.3,5
-
Critics say
High carbohydrate kibble requires extra B1
Outruns the evidence
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
Thiamine is used in carbohydrate metabolism, but a veterinary review found no dog study testing how carbohydrate intake changes the requirement. The carbohydrate ingredients on a bag cannot tell you whether its finished food is short of B1.3
-
Brands say
More B1 gives healthy dogs more energy
Outruns the evidence
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
In a study of 64 healthy dogs assigned diets with different vitamin intakes, blood thiamine status was unaffected after 122 days. The study did not measure energy or activity, so extra B1 has not been shown to boost either.2
Straight answers
What owners ask
-
Q01
Is it just filler?
NoB1 supplies a required nutrient at a tiny dose. It adds no useful bulk, protein or calories. Finding it near the end of an ingredient list is expected.4,5
-
Q02
Does synthetic B1 work?
YesThiamine hydrochloride and thiamine mononitrate are used as nutritional feed additives. The practical question is whether the complete food supplies enough B1 after processing.3,4,5
-
Q03
Should I add a B1 supplement?
Usually noA healthy dog eating complete and balanced food for its life stage generally needs no separate vitamin supplement. An incomplete homemade diet or suspected deficiency needs an individual assessment.1,6,7
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
- Barley 78%
- Flaxseed 78%
- Chicken Fat 74%
- Dried Plain Beet Pulp 63%
- Chicken Meal 52%
- Rice Bran 41%
- Brown Rice 37%
- Whole Grain Sorghum 33%
- Fish Meal 33%
- Natural Flavor 26%
- Oats 26%
- Turkey Meal 22%
Our read // On the bag
Check the complete food, not the vitamin line
Expect B1 near the end of the ingredient list because the recipe needs only a little. Read the nutritional adequacy statement for your dog's life stage, then judge the complete food. A B1 listing shows what was added, not how much survived processing or whether extra B1 improves health.
Sources
What we read
Checked October 1, 2026.
- 1 Thiamine deficiency in a dog associated with exclusive consumption of boiled sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas): Serial changes in clinical findings, magnetic resonance imaging findings and blood lactate and thiamine concentrations
- 2 Blood vitamin concentrations in privately owned dogs fed non-standardized commercial diets and after intake of diets with specified vitamin concentrations
- 3 The Role of Thiamine and Effects of Deficiency in Dogs and Cats
- 4 Assessment of the feed additives thiamine hydrochloride (3a820) and thiamine mononitrate (3a821) (vitamin B1) for all animal species for the renewal of their authorisation (Kaesler Nutrition GmbH)
- 5 AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles
- 6 Reading Labels
- 7 Supplements