Question
I have been told that dogs are carnivores because they inherited the trait from their ancestors, The Wolves. I also read an article online that says that dogs have been able to evolve over the years on meat and non-meat scraps and leftovers of humans. The article also says that 80% of dog food should be meat.
Are dogs actually carnivores or omnivores?
Is it true that 80% of dog food should be meat?
How will not feeding them meat affect their health?
Answer
Dogs are carnivores. They need meat to be healthy.
Dogs are carnivores, not omnivores. Dogs ARE very adaptable, but just because they can survive on an omnivorous diet does not mean it is the best diet for them. The assumption that dogs are natural omnivores remains to be proven, whereas the truth about dogs being natural carnivores is very well-supported by the evidence available to us.
That they can eat human left overs is an artifact of domestication in that it was a trait that would help an animal survive if it could eat left over food scraps it became more valuable. When dogs were first domesticated (prehistoric times) they were primarily kept around to take care of rats and other rodent pests.(source) Since table scraps would often attract these rodents a dog who would clean up the scraps would be more beneficial to the man. In addition this extra nutrition would help the dog survive during lean times.
How will not feeding them meat affect their health?
Dogs [do not] have the kinds of friendly bacteria that break down cellulose and starch for them. As a result, most of the nutrients contained in plant matter—even preprocessed plant matter—are unavailable to dogs. This is why dog food manufacturers have to add such high amounts of synthetic vitamins and minerals (the fact that cooking destroys all the vitamins and minerals and thus creates the need for supplementation aside) to their dog foods. If a dog can only digest 40-60% of its grain-based food, then it will only be receiving 40-60% (ideally!) of the vitamins and minerals it needs. To compensate for this, the manufacturer must add a higher concentration of vitamins and minerals than the dog actually needs. (source)
Answered By - user9