Why feed your dog with BARF?

Raw meat in a dog's diet is not exactly new, dogs have been eating it for thousands of years.

Dog is a carnivore

There is much debate as to whether dogs became carnivores through domestication, as opposed to their wolf ancestors, who are carnivores. Geneticist Erik Axelsson from Uppsala University in Sweden compared the genome of a wolf and a dog to determine which genes are essential for domestication. The research showed, among other things, 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, so some dog breeds digest carbohydrates much better than wolves. But does that make them nerds? And does the fact that dogs survive eating grains, fruits and vegetables really mean that it is a good and healthy diet for them? After all, a person can survive only on chips and candies, but the health consequences are clear to all of us, right? Is a dog's levity misinterpreted?

When we look at the dog's dentition, strong and elongated canines dominate, the incisors are small and pointed and separated so that no meat gets stuck between them. Unlike herbivores and carnivores, which have large flat molars to be able to chew food well, carnivores' molars are pointed and have a scissor bite. The jaw cannot move to the side because carnivores do not chew meat, but tear it into pieces that they can swallow without chewing.

A dog's stomach has a large capacity and makes up 60% to 70% of the entire volume of the digestive system, and the pH of their stomach is extremely acidic (pH=1-2 even when it is filled with food) in order to be able to digest a large amount of protein. In dogs, the digestion of carbohydrates begins only in the intestines under the influence of amylase secreted by the pancreas, unlike some herbivores and carnivores where the breakdown of carbohydrates begins in the mouth under the influence of an enzyme - salivary amylase. The intestines are relatively short (compared to the intestines of herbivores and herbivores), so plant matter, which takes a long time to be digested in order to absorb nutrients, leaves the body almost completely undigested.

Carnivores do not need carbohydrate intake in order for the body to have sufficient amounts of glucose because their liver is capable of synthesizing sufficient amounts of glucose from gluconeogenic amino acids (protein) and glycerol (fat).

Why should dogs eat raw food?

Cooking food changes its physical and chemical properties.

Proteins coagulate and become less biologically available, and many amino acids are destroyed. Proteins altered by cooking are difficult to digest and often cause allergic reactions.

In raw meat, active cell enzymes are responsible for breaking down complex cell structures and molecules (proteins, complex carbohydrates, fats) into their simple components (amino acids, simple carbohydrates, fatty acids) acceptable for absorption. The role of these enzymes in digestion is extremely important because they reduce the body's need to secrete a large amount of its own enzymes to break down food. The most sensitive enzymes contained in raw food begin to be lost already at a temperature of 37 °C.

Vitamins and minerals destroyed or denatured by heat treatment cannot be subsequently added to food without being equally biologically available to the body - as is the case when the food is raw.

Why should dogs eat proteins of animal and not vegetable origin?

The biological value of proteins depends on the amount and type of amino acids they contain. The biological value of proteins in foods is greater, the more similar the amino acid composition of proteins from food is to the amino acid composition of the organism that ingests it. Proteins of plant origin have a lower biological value because they lack some essential amino acids or there are not enough of them.