Omnivores As An Omnivore Am I Allowed To Love My Pets

Are dogs carnivores or omnivores ?

Carnivore or Omnivore

The classification as a carnivore does not necessarily mean that a dog's diet must be restricted to meat alone. Unlike a true obligate carnivore, such as a cat, a dog is able to healthily digest a variety of foods including vegetables and grains, and in fact requires a large proportion of these in its diet. Wild canines typically get such nutrients from the stomach contents of their herbivorous prey, which they consume eagerly.

Dogs can survive perfectly well on a reasonably carefully designed vegetarian diet, particularly if eggs and milk products are included. On the other hand, dogs are natural carnivores, and the experience of extremely stressful conditions such as the Iditarod race, as well as scientific studies of similar conditions, suggest that under such extreme stress, high protein diets (which implies a lot of meat consumption) help prevent damage to muscle tissue.

Are Dogs and Cats Carnivores or Omnivores?

Dogs have NO flat molars and their teeth and jaw are only capable of moving up and down, making them un-capable of grinding up any plant matter. Their teeth were meant for ripping , tearing and shearing flesh from herbivorous animals. Dogs have NO enzymes for breaking down starches or carbohydrates in their saliva or their stomach, meaning their pancreas has to work over time creating this enzyme, putting a HUGE strain on it. Like cats, dogs also have shortened intestines, and food is passed through them much quicker then in humans. (Plant matter almost always comes out undigested).

The biggest misconception is that WOLVES eat the stomach and intestine content of their prey. That is a large MYTH, it has been proven that they puncture both organs and shake the contents out, strewing them everywhere (for birds and rodents to eat), and they ONLY eat the stomach and intestinal lining.

Dogs ARE NOT omnivores, but they are more omnivorous then cats. Most enjoy the odd vegetable or fruit.

Dogs - carnivores or omnivores???

After receiving lots of thumbs down in the last few days for stating that dogs are carnivores I was interested in other people's opinions on the matter.
Please write whether you think dogs are carnivores or omnivores and your reasons for thinking this. NO THUMBS please this is purely people's opinions not a contest of wills.

I'll start - I believe that dogs are carnivores based on their physiology and genetic makeup. The dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is a domestic subspecies of the wolf, a mammal of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. I feel that just because they can (and do) eat vegetable matter does not mean this should be part of an appropriate diet for dogs.

* Dogs are Carnivores, by Jeannie Thomason.
http://www.dogtorj.net/id51.html
* Dr Tom Lonsdale
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/

Are domestic dogs naturally carnivores or omnivores?

Dogs are non-obligate carnivores. Meaning if they are hungry, they will eat other things. A cat is an obligate carnivore. Stick a bowl of carrots in front of a starving dog and he will eat it. A starving cat will not.

If wolves are carnivores then why are dogs classified as omnivores?

This makes no sense to me. Their internal digestive system is built the same as wolves so why in the world are they listed as omnivores and not carnivores? Also, last time my dog ate a carrot, it came out looking exactly the same, except it was chewed. It wasn't even ALMOST digested!

Are they listed as omnivores so that dog food manufacturers can get away with putting veggies and grains in their food? Sure doesn't make any sense to me. Sure, dogs are opportunists, they will eat anything if they're hungry enough (i.e. bark, berries, grass) and sometimes my dogs are ornery and will try to eat sticks and rocks. It doesn't mean it's good for them?!

I have nothing to do with dog food. I am going to raise my own meat and feed my dogs that way this summer (they are on a PMR diet but I don't like feeding them supermarket junk with all of those hormones and stuff). I was just wondering. My dogs have never been interested in veggies although some dogs enjoy them as an occasional treat.

So if a wolf is a carnivore, how is a dog NOT a carnivore? Their insides are the same. So I don't see how they can claim they are omnivores.

" If we look at the dogs physiology, it tells the whole story.

Teeth: Sharp, pointy, and scissor-like, ideal for tearing flesh and crushing bone. Not flat, like the molars of cows and bears, which are used for grinding plant matter.

Saliva: They have no amylase in their saliva. Herbivores and omnivores produce this enzyme to help break down vegetation.

Digestive Tract: Dogs have a very short and acidic digestive tract, ideal to process meat and bone. Not nearly long enough to get any nutritional benefit from vegetables.

Dogs have the internal anatomy and physiology of a carnivore."

http://www.marksdogblog.com/2013/01/are-dogs-carnivores-or-omnivores.html

Are Domestic dogs carnivores or omnivores?

Domestic dogs ARE carnivores - but they'll eat vegetables anyway.

If domestic dogs were left in the wild, they'd hunt for their food - they wouldn't go and eat vegetables - which proves much.

Obviously, they're descendants of Wolves and wolves are purely carnivores.

It doesn't hurt a dog to eat veg & grains etc as a part of their diet, but meat should be the main part of their diet :-)