How do we feed our dogs the best food available? We begin with understanding their genetics and how their digestive system is supposed to behave.

Scientifically, dogs are classified under the family Canidae, part of an order of placenta mammals named Carnivora, of which specialises in primarily eating meat. However, if we look into other families in the same order, there are bears, raccoons, and weasels, with diets that vary throughout different regions of the world for survival purposes through centuries of evolution.

The Definition

A Carnivore, meaning “meat eater” derived from the Latin phrase “caro vorare”, is an animal whose food and energy requirements are derived solely from animal flesh or meat through hunting or scavenging. This means that they will require macronutrients from meat to survive and function healthily.

An Omnivore, on the other hand, has the ability to survive on both plant and animal matter, with the ability to digest carbohydrates, proteins, fat, fiber and metabolise the nutrients and energy sources absorbed.

The Dentition (or teeth)

A typical herbivore is able to chew and break down plant-based foods in their mouth, such as humans and cows. Their flat-backed teeth are ideal for grinding grains and plants into finer particles for digestion. True omnivores share a combination of these boxy back teeth, and some sideways grinding motion, to help with digesting plants.

Dogs, on the other hand, have sharp front and back teeth. If you have ever noticed, your pup does not grind or chew their food, they simply tear it up and swallow it down. Their teeth are narrow and sharp, adapted to tearing and chopping up flesh.

Is My Dog A Carnivore Or Omnivore?

Being classified as a carnivorous mammal may not necessarily mean that our dogs do not require plant-based foods. Let’s take the red fox for example, scientists estimate that 50% to 70% of its diet consists of meat, and the rest are supplemented with fruits, vegetables, worms and fungi. The fox’s diet adapts according to its habitat, which is somewhat similar to our domesticated canines.

Dogs, unlike humans, also have a much shorter digestive tract, which does not allow them sufficient time to digest plant-based foods. This is similar to wolves, which are known to be a dog’s ancestor or distant cousins. However, it is also known that our furry friends produce amylase in their pancreas and small intestine, which helps in breaking down carbohydrates such as grains and rice.

Ultimately, a balanced, biologically appropriate diet is the most important to helping your furry friends live healthily according to most veterinarians and vet nutritionists.

The Conclusion

You may have realised by now that there is no clear answer, and the veterinary world is still producing research continuously to help find the best balanced diets for our pups regardless of whether they are carnivores or omnivores by nature. Our dogs can live exclusively on fresh vegetables and grains, such as the Guinness World Record longest-living dog, Bluey, who lived to a ripe old age of 29 years and 5 months. They can also live on a wholly meat-based diet if required. This adaptation shows that dogs, like humans, have evolved to allow our diets to suit our survival requirements.

The scientific studies for this does indicate that dogs who are fed a fresh food diet, instead of canned food or processed food, tend to live longer.

Start feeding your pup an appropriate amount of fresh food and healthy treats today!

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xo
Nellie