DOG IS A CARNIVORE
There has been much debate about whether the process of domestication has turned dogs into omnivores, while their ancestor, the wolf, is a carnivore. Erik Axelsson, geneticist at Uppsala University in Sweden, compared the wolf and dog genome to determine which genes are important for domestication. Among other things, the research also showed that some dogs have a much larger number of genes responsible for the synthesis of amylase and that maltase is much more active in some dogs, meaning that some dog breeds digest carbohydrates much better than wolves. But does this make them omnivores? And does the fact that dogs can survive by eating grain, fruit and vegetables truly mean that this is a good and healthy diet for them? After all, man can live on chips and candy alone, but the health consequences are pretty obvious, aren’t they? Are we misinterpreting dog’s gluttony?
If we look at the dog’s mouth, we can see that it is dominated by strong and elongated canines, incisors are small and pointed and separated so that the meat would not stick to them. Unlike herbivores and omnivores, who have large, flat molars for chewing food, molars in carnivores are pointed and make a scissor bite. The jaw cannot move sideways because carnivores do not chew the meat, but tear it into pieces that can be swallowed without chewing.
The dog’s stomach has a large capacity and it represents 60% to 70% of the total volume of the digestive tract, and the pH of their stomach is extremely acidic (pH=1-2, even when it is filed with food) so they could digest a large amount of protein. In dogs, the digestion of carbohydrates begins only in the intestine, under the influence of amylase produced by the pancreas, unlike in some herbivores and omnivores where the breakdown of carbohydrates begins already in the mouth under the influence of enzymes – salivary amylase.
Intestines are relatively short (compared to the intestines of herbivores and omnivores) so that plant matter, which takes a lot of time to digest in order to absorb nutrients, leaves the organism almost completely undigested.
Carnivores do not need carbohydrate intake for the body to absorb sufficient amounts of glucose because their liver is able to synthetize sufficient amounts of glucose from gluconeogenic amino acids (proteins) and glycerol (fat).
WHY SHOULD DOGS EAT RAW FOOD?
Cooking food changes its physical and chemical properties.
The proteins coagulate and become less biologically available, and many amino acids get destroyed. Cooked proteins are difficult to digest and they often become the cause of allergic reactions.
In raw meat, active cellular enzymes are responsible for the breakdown of complex cell structures and molecules (proteins, complex carbohydrates, fats) into their simple components (amino acids, simple carbohydrates, fatty acids) which can be absorbed. The role of these enzymes is extremely important for digestion because they reduce the body’s need to produce a large amount of its own digestive enzymes.
DOG IS A CARNIVORE
There has been much debate about whether the process of domestication has turned dogs into omnivores, while their ancestor, the wolf, is a carnivore. Erik Axelsson, geneticist at Uppsala University in Sweden, compared the wolf and dog genome to determine which genes are important for domestication. Among other things, the research also showed that some dogs have a much larger number of genes responsible for the synthesis of amylase and that maltase is much more active in some dogs, meaning that some dog breeds digest carbohydrates much better than wolves. But does this make them omnivores? And does the fact that dogs can survive by eating grain, fruit and vegetables truly mean that this is a good and healthy diet for them? After all, man can live on chips and candy alone, but the health consequences are pretty obvious, aren’t they? Are we misinterpreting dog’s gluttony?
If we look at the dog’s mouth, we can see that it is dominated by strong and elongated canines, incisors are small and pointed and separated so that the meat would not stick to them. Unlike herbivores and omnivores, who have large, flat molars for chewing food, molars in carnivores are pointed and make a scissor bite. The jaw cannot move sideways because carnivores do not chew the meat, but tear it into pieces that can be swallowed without chewing.
The dog’s stomach has a large capacity and it represents 60% to 70% of the total volume of the digestive tract, and the pH of their stomach is extremely acidic (pH=1-2, even when it is filed with food) so they could digest a large amount of protein. In dogs, the digestion of carbohydrates begins only in the intestine, under the influence of amylase produced by the pancreas, unlike in some herbivores and omnivores where the breakdown of carbohydrates begins already in the mouth under the influence of enzymes – salivary amylase.
Intestines are relatively short (compared to the intestines of herbivores and omnivores) so that plant matter, which takes a lot of time to digest in order to absorb nutrients, leaves the organism almost completely undigested.
Carnivores do not need carbohydrate intake for the body to absorb sufficient amounts of glucose because their liver is able to synthetize sufficient amounts of glucose from gluconeogenic amino acids (proteins) and glycerol (fat).
WHY SHOULD DOGS EAT RAW FOOD?
Cooking food changes its physical and chemical properties.
The proteins coagulate and become less biologically available, and many amino acids get destroyed. Cooked proteins are difficult to digest and they often become the cause of allergic reactions.
In raw meat, active cellular enzymes are responsible for the breakdown of complex cell structures and molecules (proteins, complex carbohydrates, fats) into their simple components (amino acids, simple carbohydrates, fatty acids) which can be absorbed. The role of these enzymes is extremely important for digestion because they reduce the body’s need to produce a large amount of its own digestive enzymes.