by Michelle Terrell
We all care about our health and the things that go into our bodies: who can’t with all the talk about organic and all-natural! So I became curious about our pets nutritional needs. After doing some research there are many interesting facts that I have uncovered. Dogs have only had a relationship with humans for about 14,000 years and were chosen for their submissive behavior, keen senses to accompany man on the hunt and protective instincts so as to alert the camp of danger. In return for protection at their camp sites through the night, man would give canines food from the hunt. Although dogs today have changed dramatically on the outside and have been domesticated, they have not changed on the inside and what their body requires.
Even with dogs being domesticated for such a long period of time commercial dog food has only been around since the 1930’s! That’s less than 70 years! The depression prompted dog owners to look for less expensive measures of feeding their pets. Dog food was introduced from cereal companies who needed something to do with their rejected grain and less raw meat was fed and more grains and cereal products were introduced in home diets. Another argument was that fresh meat was just too expensive to feed dogs, and that it actually made them too ‘finicky’. While it was noted fresh meat and vegetables were superior, they argued that dogs could be fed more economically with these factory waste products, and still do well. With all this commotion in the pet food world our human nature kicked in for less fuss, more convenient methods of feeding our pets; in addition to the outside world telling us that table scraps are dangerous and the importance of feeding processed foods. In 1948 the new idea for diet specific foods came along, starting with kidney and heart disease formulas. The next trend to follow was creating “Stage of Life” formulas, ex. Puppy, senior, and adult formulas. However, for over 13,000 years dogs of all stages thrived on the same rich proteins and nutrients as every other canine.
Inside their digestive system, the stomach is highly acidic, allowing for ingestion of whole bone pieces that can be broken down into a powder-like substance. This high acidity also allows a canine to ingest large amounts of bacteria without being affected. This provides dogs with the ability to eat rotting carcasses in times of need. The dog’s pancreas is much smaller than a humans and only contains a small fraction of the enzymes that we are able to produce. This means that the food items that a dog eats must come complete with the active enzymes needed to bind with stomach acid and break down food for absorption. Cooked food and grains are highly indigestible for canines, because cooked food only contains dead enzymes and dogs do not possess the enzymes needed to break down grain. Their intestines and bowl are much shorter than a humans allowing for quick absorption of food and quick elimination of waste. Their main source of water is absorbed from their prey and get almost all of their water intake this way. Because of the canine features of a dogs digestive makeup their diets should mimic their ancestors and closely related wolf relatives.
From my research I have discovered that dogs have no nutritional need or requirement for carbs/grains that are found in most dog foods. They also don’t get the nutrients needed from cooked meats and meat by-products, because enzymes are killed during cooking process. Since the pancreas of the dog is small, it must work harder to break down commercial dog food, quickly eliminating the pancreatic enzymes. This leaves the body to find and absorb enzymes and other nutrients from its own tissue to maintain itself, which can only suffice for so long and may in turn shorten our pet’s life. Some commercial foods contain toxic fillers, such as dyes and preservatives and other non-nutritional fillers like sugar for a better taste. They also use synthetic vitamins, which are not nutritionally equal to a natural source. Dogs with a kibble diet tend to drink more putting a strain on their kidneys, since kibble is relatively dry and not much water is absorbed. With that said I think our next mission should be to properly read ingredient labels to make wise decisions when feeding our pets. Next week I will provide a guide to understand what is in the food we are feeding our pets.
