This is a long overdue companion piece to an article that I published a few months ago, "Fueling Your Agility Dog", 10 Jun 13.
In that article, I gave two reasons, one opinion and one fact, that I am committed to the precept that dogs are carnivores, and how to go about mimicking a carnivore diet (which I call the WildDog Diet) as best you can with commercial products.
In this article, I will offer further, factual reasoning for my contention that dogs are carnivores, discuss dog nutritional requirements, and argue that the best avenue by which those requirements can be met is a "WildDog Diet", consisting of 95% animal products, and 5% other.
First, I'd like to nip this notion that dogs are omnivores in the Barney Fife bud.
Regardless of the current Taxonomic System, animals in truth are that from which their bodies are able to draw thriving nutrition.
For an animal to be a true omnivore, it must be able to draw thriving nutrition from both plants and animals, in their natural state.
While it is a well-known fact-in-evidence that dogs can, and do, eat fruit, vegetables, and grains, that does not make them omnivores.
My dogs eat cloth, rubber, and plastic.
But that does not make them Sythetivores.
Why? Because they can not draw thriving, nor even surviving, nutrition from those things.
Similar is the case with herbiferous foods and dogs.
They have extremely little nutritional value to them, and they can only draw surviving nutrition from them at best.
Wild Dogs only eat large quantities of herbithings as emergency rations when game is not available.
And they can only survive on this diet, never thrive, and then not for long.
If game doesn't return, they will die of starvation.
Why? Because they cannot digest an herbivore diet efficiently.
The majority of plants they eat will exit in the same form that they entered.
Dogs lack amylase in their saliva to begin the plant digestive process.
Their pancreas produces amylase but their digestive tract is so short, and food moves through it so fast, that herbifoods go virtually unprocessed and very little nutrition is absorbed.
Additionally, their pancreas does not produce cellulase, another enzyme necessary for herbigestion.
As for domestic dogs, they have been known to survive, and appear to thrive, for a good long time on plant-based foods.
The reason? Commercial dog food made of such is cooked, already broken down by commercial processing so that it is much easier for domestic dogs to digest and absorb.
But even then, only about 30% of it is actually absorbed.
The rest is passed.
That's why domestic dogs on grain-based foods eat so much more than those on meat-based foods.
They must.
Wild Dogs may eat the contents of their prey's stomach, but it's only incidental to the eating of the stomach, most of it is scattered.
And similar to commercial foods, this tripe is pre-digested by the prey so the dog can absorb nutrition from it easier.
Nobody has ever seen packs of Wild Dogs harvesting grain fields or excavating potato patches en mass.
Granted, they may pick at grains and taters, and there are plenty of true stories of Wolves picking Berries and coming down from the Sierras to raid Avocado Trees.
Canines have a sweet tooth too.
But, remember, these things are still only a small part of the 5% other.
Everything about the dog's Anatomy and Physiology screams Carnivore.
Their eyes are set forward for hunting.
Their vision can discriminate between moving objects at over 800m, and between stationary objects at over 500m, enabling them to discern friend from foe, partner from prey.
Their ears have mobility, enabling them to exactly pinpoint sound locations.
Their brain mass is dominated by the Olfactory Cortex, and their nose has up to 300 million receptors, making their sense of smell up to 100 million times more powerful than that of humans.
Their wet nose enables them to determine the direction of the air current carrying the scent.
(The better to find you with, my preytee...
eh,eh,eh.
) Their muscles are powerful and their wrist bones fused, for speed and agility in a chase.
Their heart and lungs support both sprinting and endurance runs.
Their neck muscles, jaw muscles, and teeth are designed for catching prey, ripping skin, tearing meat, and crunching bone.
Their jaws can only move up and down, not side to side, perfectly designed for holding on to prey and chopping meat into gulpable chunks.
Their stomach is big and elastic, for consuming larger but fewer meals between hunts.
They have a high concentration of stomach acid and short digestive tracts, for faster digestion and metabolism of animal products.
There's plenty more, that says carnivore.
But any more, would be a bore.
It's common knowledge that all life forms require certain Essential Nutrients.
And that the specific ones each requires is different.
But they all will fall under the same general categories: Protein, Fat, Vitamins, Minerals, and Water.
But wait...
there's more! That's right.
Something's missing from this list...
Carbohydrates.
I left them out to emphasize a point.
We're talking specifically about dogs here, and Carbohydrates are a Non-Essential, even completely unnecessary, Nutrient for dogs.
Yes, they need Glucose, which is what all life forms that need them break Carbohydrates down into.
But dogs are much more efficient at breaking down Fat and Protein into Glucose than Carbohydrates.
And since Carbohydrates come from plant matter, and dogs can't absorb plant matter unless it is pre-cooked or pre-digested (and then inefficiently), dogs will get the vast majority of their glucose from Fat and Protein anyway.
It is interesting to note a couple of things at this point.
Firstly, on all commercial dog foods, the Guaranteed Analysis gives minimums or maximums, whichever is appropriate, for: Protein, Fat, Fiber, and Moisture.
It gives no values whatsoever for Carbohydrates.
Why? Because, Secondly, the American Association of Feed Control Officials, the body that polices Animal Feed Industries, says that dogs have absolutely no nutritional or metabolic requirement for Carbohydrates.
Segue to Protein and Fat.
What I have to say about them should be no surprise to the reader by now.
Dogs absorb and metabolize animal-sourced Protein and Fat much better than plant-sourced Protein and Fat, for all the same reasons previously discussed.
One more significant point needs to be made however, about Fat.
When a dog metabolizes animal-sourced Fat, one of the by-products is Water.
Not so with plant-sourced Fat.
This could be very important for dogs that are at high risk for dehydration, ie...
seniors that may not drink much or those in hot, dry climates.
Commercial dog food manufacturers and some proponents of RAW and BARF diets, include plant matter in virtually every one of their recipes.
They argue that meat alone will not supply dogs with the Vitamins and Minerals (the two remaining items on our Essential Nutrient list) necessary to completely meet their nutritional and metabolic requirements.
And they'd be right about that...
if they're referring to Muscle Meat alone, which is generally what humans think of when they say "meat".
But dogs have a different thought about meat.
To them, it includes everything that an animal is made of: muscle meat, bone, marrow, organs, ligaments, cartilage, fat, blood, vessels, skin, hair, hooves...
you get the idea.
It's all of these things together, particularly organs, that give a 'Wild Dog" all the Vitamins and Minerals it needs.
When a dog hears "meat", it thinks "carcass".
And that's what we humans have to think if we're going to feed our dogs that for which they were designed, and provide all the Nutrients that are Essential for their growth, development and maintenance.
In my dog training classes, I tell humans that in order to teach their dogs to become part human, they will first have to become part dog.
We must speak to dogs in their language in order to teach them ours.
The same is true when it comes to feeding our dogs.
We need to do the best we can to mimic the "Carcass Diet", for which they are designed, to maximize their health, performance, and longevity.
This has been the intent of the "WildDog Diet" since it's inception.
But, in discussing it previously, I fear I have placed too much emphasis on meat & fat, and not enough on carcass.
I think that I will use the term "Carcass Diet" from now on, in order to label more accurately, and communicate more completely, the type of diet that I truly mean.
There are a few commercial products that do a respectable job at mimicking this diet.
They are: Back to Basics (Dry) - Open Range Formula (Their other formulas emphasize plant matter too much.
) Nolan's Chop Haus (Freeze Dried) - Beef Varieties (Their Chicken Varieties emphasize plant matter too much.
) There may be others out there, but I've looked far and wide and haven't found them.
All others that come close emphasize plant matter too much.
If you search, read the Ingredients Lists carefully and choose wisely.
In addition to the above mentioned products, your butcher and frozen meat section are your friends.
Note: Since dogs are genetically Wolves on the inside, and Wolves prefer Ungulates, choosing food sourced from them is better.
Also, if your dog will eat meat and organs raw, that is much more nutritious for them than cooked food.
Due to economic constraints, I don't always feed the "Carcass Diet".
When I do, I use Back To Basics as a Staple, and Nolan's Chop House as treats.
I supplement with meat and organ products from my frozen meat section on special occasions, so as to include our dogs in whatever event we're celebrating.
I also "candy coat" their kibble with any grease left over from any meat we've cooked for humans.
For my non-'Carcass Diet' dog food preferences, see the list of products in the companion article mentioned above.
In that article, I gave two reasons, one opinion and one fact, that I am committed to the precept that dogs are carnivores, and how to go about mimicking a carnivore diet (which I call the WildDog Diet) as best you can with commercial products.
In this article, I will offer further, factual reasoning for my contention that dogs are carnivores, discuss dog nutritional requirements, and argue that the best avenue by which those requirements can be met is a "WildDog Diet", consisting of 95% animal products, and 5% other.
First, I'd like to nip this notion that dogs are omnivores in the Barney Fife bud.
Regardless of the current Taxonomic System, animals in truth are that from which their bodies are able to draw thriving nutrition.
For an animal to be a true omnivore, it must be able to draw thriving nutrition from both plants and animals, in their natural state.
While it is a well-known fact-in-evidence that dogs can, and do, eat fruit, vegetables, and grains, that does not make them omnivores.
My dogs eat cloth, rubber, and plastic.
But that does not make them Sythetivores.
Why? Because they can not draw thriving, nor even surviving, nutrition from those things.
Similar is the case with herbiferous foods and dogs.
They have extremely little nutritional value to them, and they can only draw surviving nutrition from them at best.
Wild Dogs only eat large quantities of herbithings as emergency rations when game is not available.
And they can only survive on this diet, never thrive, and then not for long.
If game doesn't return, they will die of starvation.
Why? Because they cannot digest an herbivore diet efficiently.
The majority of plants they eat will exit in the same form that they entered.
Dogs lack amylase in their saliva to begin the plant digestive process.
Their pancreas produces amylase but their digestive tract is so short, and food moves through it so fast, that herbifoods go virtually unprocessed and very little nutrition is absorbed.
Additionally, their pancreas does not produce cellulase, another enzyme necessary for herbigestion.
As for domestic dogs, they have been known to survive, and appear to thrive, for a good long time on plant-based foods.
The reason? Commercial dog food made of such is cooked, already broken down by commercial processing so that it is much easier for domestic dogs to digest and absorb.
But even then, only about 30% of it is actually absorbed.
The rest is passed.
That's why domestic dogs on grain-based foods eat so much more than those on meat-based foods.
They must.
Wild Dogs may eat the contents of their prey's stomach, but it's only incidental to the eating of the stomach, most of it is scattered.
And similar to commercial foods, this tripe is pre-digested by the prey so the dog can absorb nutrition from it easier.
Nobody has ever seen packs of Wild Dogs harvesting grain fields or excavating potato patches en mass.
Granted, they may pick at grains and taters, and there are plenty of true stories of Wolves picking Berries and coming down from the Sierras to raid Avocado Trees.
Canines have a sweet tooth too.
But, remember, these things are still only a small part of the 5% other.
Everything about the dog's Anatomy and Physiology screams Carnivore.
Their eyes are set forward for hunting.
Their vision can discriminate between moving objects at over 800m, and between stationary objects at over 500m, enabling them to discern friend from foe, partner from prey.
Their ears have mobility, enabling them to exactly pinpoint sound locations.
Their brain mass is dominated by the Olfactory Cortex, and their nose has up to 300 million receptors, making their sense of smell up to 100 million times more powerful than that of humans.
Their wet nose enables them to determine the direction of the air current carrying the scent.
(The better to find you with, my preytee...
eh,eh,eh.
) Their muscles are powerful and their wrist bones fused, for speed and agility in a chase.
Their heart and lungs support both sprinting and endurance runs.
Their neck muscles, jaw muscles, and teeth are designed for catching prey, ripping skin, tearing meat, and crunching bone.
Their jaws can only move up and down, not side to side, perfectly designed for holding on to prey and chopping meat into gulpable chunks.
Their stomach is big and elastic, for consuming larger but fewer meals between hunts.
They have a high concentration of stomach acid and short digestive tracts, for faster digestion and metabolism of animal products.
There's plenty more, that says carnivore.
But any more, would be a bore.
It's common knowledge that all life forms require certain Essential Nutrients.
And that the specific ones each requires is different.
But they all will fall under the same general categories: Protein, Fat, Vitamins, Minerals, and Water.
But wait...
there's more! That's right.
Something's missing from this list...
Carbohydrates.
I left them out to emphasize a point.
We're talking specifically about dogs here, and Carbohydrates are a Non-Essential, even completely unnecessary, Nutrient for dogs.
Yes, they need Glucose, which is what all life forms that need them break Carbohydrates down into.
But dogs are much more efficient at breaking down Fat and Protein into Glucose than Carbohydrates.
And since Carbohydrates come from plant matter, and dogs can't absorb plant matter unless it is pre-cooked or pre-digested (and then inefficiently), dogs will get the vast majority of their glucose from Fat and Protein anyway.
It is interesting to note a couple of things at this point.
Firstly, on all commercial dog foods, the Guaranteed Analysis gives minimums or maximums, whichever is appropriate, for: Protein, Fat, Fiber, and Moisture.
It gives no values whatsoever for Carbohydrates.
Why? Because, Secondly, the American Association of Feed Control Officials, the body that polices Animal Feed Industries, says that dogs have absolutely no nutritional or metabolic requirement for Carbohydrates.
Segue to Protein and Fat.
What I have to say about them should be no surprise to the reader by now.
Dogs absorb and metabolize animal-sourced Protein and Fat much better than plant-sourced Protein and Fat, for all the same reasons previously discussed.
One more significant point needs to be made however, about Fat.
When a dog metabolizes animal-sourced Fat, one of the by-products is Water.
Not so with plant-sourced Fat.
This could be very important for dogs that are at high risk for dehydration, ie...
seniors that may not drink much or those in hot, dry climates.
Commercial dog food manufacturers and some proponents of RAW and BARF diets, include plant matter in virtually every one of their recipes.
They argue that meat alone will not supply dogs with the Vitamins and Minerals (the two remaining items on our Essential Nutrient list) necessary to completely meet their nutritional and metabolic requirements.
And they'd be right about that...
if they're referring to Muscle Meat alone, which is generally what humans think of when they say "meat".
But dogs have a different thought about meat.
To them, it includes everything that an animal is made of: muscle meat, bone, marrow, organs, ligaments, cartilage, fat, blood, vessels, skin, hair, hooves...
you get the idea.
It's all of these things together, particularly organs, that give a 'Wild Dog" all the Vitamins and Minerals it needs.
When a dog hears "meat", it thinks "carcass".
And that's what we humans have to think if we're going to feed our dogs that for which they were designed, and provide all the Nutrients that are Essential for their growth, development and maintenance.
In my dog training classes, I tell humans that in order to teach their dogs to become part human, they will first have to become part dog.
We must speak to dogs in their language in order to teach them ours.
The same is true when it comes to feeding our dogs.
We need to do the best we can to mimic the "Carcass Diet", for which they are designed, to maximize their health, performance, and longevity.
This has been the intent of the "WildDog Diet" since it's inception.
But, in discussing it previously, I fear I have placed too much emphasis on meat & fat, and not enough on carcass.
I think that I will use the term "Carcass Diet" from now on, in order to label more accurately, and communicate more completely, the type of diet that I truly mean.
There are a few commercial products that do a respectable job at mimicking this diet.
They are: Back to Basics (Dry) - Open Range Formula (Their other formulas emphasize plant matter too much.
) Nolan's Chop Haus (Freeze Dried) - Beef Varieties (Their Chicken Varieties emphasize plant matter too much.
) There may be others out there, but I've looked far and wide and haven't found them.
All others that come close emphasize plant matter too much.
If you search, read the Ingredients Lists carefully and choose wisely.
In addition to the above mentioned products, your butcher and frozen meat section are your friends.
Note: Since dogs are genetically Wolves on the inside, and Wolves prefer Ungulates, choosing food sourced from them is better.
Also, if your dog will eat meat and organs raw, that is much more nutritious for them than cooked food.
Due to economic constraints, I don't always feed the "Carcass Diet".
When I do, I use Back To Basics as a Staple, and Nolan's Chop House as treats.
I supplement with meat and organ products from my frozen meat section on special occasions, so as to include our dogs in whatever event we're celebrating.
I also "candy coat" their kibble with any grease left over from any meat we've cooked for humans.
For my non-'Carcass Diet' dog food preferences, see the list of products in the companion article mentioned above.
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