Remember a couple of weeks ago when I posted a blog about sharing your food with your dog? I mentioned giving my own dogs fruits and vegetables. Anyway, someone reached out after they'd read that blog post and asked why in the world would I feed my dogs fruit and veggies when dogs are carnivores and should just be fed protein! At first, I thought this person was joking, but then I realized they were serious when they shared with me what they feed their own dog (organ meats like beef heart, kidneys, and liver, raw eggs, chicken with the bones in it, and ground beef). Wow! That's a protein-rich diet for sure. But here's the thing. Dogs aren't carnivores, they are omnivores, meaning their optimal diet include plant and animal sources. While wolves are carnivores, dogs have been subjected to the process of domestication over thousands of years, resulting in the animal we share our homes with today, an animal who has the ability to digest carbohydrates and grains. I should also point out that while wolves may be carnivores, they are opportunists who will eat plants to supplement their diet too.
It's also important to point out that cats actually ARE carnivores; more specifically, they are obligate carnivores meaning they must eat meat because they lack the ability to synthesize certain nutrients from plants. Taurine, for example, is an essential amino acid and one which cats cannot synthesize on their own. They have to get it through their diet which must be rich in animal-based proteins. Years ago, I had a new kitten client who was herself a vegetarian. She had designed a diet for her kitten, but noticed that he wasn't thriving. She'd taken him to see the vet and he had told her that she was quite literally starving her kitten to death. She didn't believe him and reached out to me for behavioral changes she could make to help him thrive. I reiterated what her vet had told her; no amount of behavioral modification was going to help this kitten. He needed a diet rich in animal-based proteins if he was going to survive. I told her that while I understood her personal decision to not eat meat, she couldn't restrict her cat from doing so. I also told her that she didn't need to create a raw meat diet for her cat (something she found personally repugnant), she could simply feed him commercially prepared kitten food that had all of the essential nutrients in it already, perfectly formulated to help his brain and body thrive and survive. This kitten's life was literally saved with a bag of Purina Kitten Chow!
Here's the thing: Just because you may not be able to eat grains due to a gluten sensitivity, wheat allergy, or celiac disease, for example, that doesn't mean your dog doesn't benefit from those same grains. Yes, there are some dogs who are allergic to certain grains, but it isn't true that ALL dogs are allergic to grains. In fact, grain-free diets have been linked to serious health issues such as dilated cardiomyopathy (a heart condition) in some breeds of dogs. So, unless your veterinarian has diagnosed your dog with a specific grain allergy or sensitivity, including healthy grains in your dog's food provides them with a balanced and nutritious diet. I know that all of the major pet food manufacturers have gotten onto the "grain-free" bandwagon, but that doesn't mean that's a healthy choice for all dogs. Those diets are there for the dogs who do have grain sensitivities first and foremost, but the bottom line is that many of those diets are marketed and sold to pet owners who think that grains are bad for them so therefore they must be bad for their dogs too. And all of this circles back to that fallacy that dogs are carnivores.
I have a lot of clients who feed their dogs homemade diets. I also have quite a few clients who tell me that they feel guilty because they don't make their pets' food! Truly there is no right or wrong way to feed your dogs. If you are making them a homemade diet focused on the appropriate ratio of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, including grains, vegetables and fruits, as well as protein, then that's great. For me, that seems like a lot of extra work when there are commercial diets out there that have done all of that work for you, and you shouldn't be made to feel guilty for choosing one of those for your dog. And if you are like me, you're feeding your dog a commercial dog food and adding a few things to it to spice it up, so to speak. Why? Because we like to share what we eat with our dogs and they appreciate that we do.
As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.
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