Until recently, most veterinary schools have incorrectly taught the following: “Advise your clients to feed their pets a reputable commercial pet food and to stay away from table scraps.”
But wait… as far as basic body systems go, exactly how different are you from your dog?
- Are the nutrients from food more important to your body than to your dog’s?
- Does your heart circulate blood through your body differently?
- Do you breathe differently or does your blood get oxygenated differently?
- Is your immune system more or less important?
In other words…
Does “eating healthy” carry a different meaning for you than it does for your dog?
Nope!
To contradict the old advice:
“Do NOT feed your dog any old ‘reputable’ commercial pet food and don’t necessarily shy away from ‘people food’.”
Your dog is a direct descendant of wolves, who thrived for thousands of years on a natural dog food diet without human interaction. They are innately able to regulate their own diet and are the grandfathers of the evolution of dog food. Let’s think about what wolves eat and why:
- They are hunters and as a result eat primarily raw animal meat. Along with the meat, they invariably ingest organs, blood, bone and even hair.
- They ingest grain and vegetable material from the digestive tracks of their herbivorous prey.
- Their stomach has ten times more hydrochloric acid than humans.
- They have a much shorter small intestine than we do, so digesting food has a shorter transition time which avoids bacterial infection.
- They are known to instinctively eat certain plants and grasses that have healing properties (see herbal medicine for dog care for more on this).
So the more succinct advice should be:
“Feed your dog the way they have evolved to eat through a natural dog food diet.”
You can also review related questions from other visitors here: Ask a Vet Online Library – Dog Food Diet – Dog Food, Dog Treats & Homemade Dog Food Recipes Section