Omnivore vs Carnivore: What is Your Dog?

This is an “argument” you will see often in the dog world so hopefully I can put some of the misinformation to bed!

I think in some respects we have become very disconnected with what our dogs actually are. Yes - they are family! Yes, they are our cute cuddly babies that we adore; however the fact remains they are a species of carnivorous canid!

Other carnivorous canids are wolves, foxes, jackals and dingoes, but our dogs' closest ancestor is the grey wolf (canis lupus) sharing 99.9% of the same DNA. This does not mean our dogs are wolves; they are not, but the similarities are staggering.

We have domesticated dogs for around 30,000 years and other than the obvious changes in the sizes and shapes of our domestic dogs, there has been very little evolutionary changes.

We have recently discovered that that domestic dogs have more copies of the AMY2B gene ranging from 3-32 copies, dingoes and wolves only have 2 copies. The amount of copies our domestic dogs have is dependent on breed, where they evolved and where they were domesticated.

The AMY2B gene is responsible for amylase production. Amylase is a digestive enzyme responsible for the digestion of carbohydrates. It’s important to understand that just because our domestic dogs can digest more carbohydrates than their ancestors, it does not mean they are now omnivores, or that they should be fed extremely high carbohydrate diets.

CARNIVORES

There are different types of carnivore. Obligate carnivores, namely cats, are the most carnivorous of all. Moving down the scale slightly, we get to the facultative carnivores which include more plant matter in their diet.

We know our domestic dogs have no nutritional requirements for carbohydrates however, we also understand there is some nutritional benefits from including small amounts of plant matter in their diet. These range from fibre to feed the microbiome to antioxidants and phytonutrients, as well a the medicinal properties of some plants and herbs; but this still doesn’t make them an omnivore. We know our dogs should have a predominantly meat-based diet for them to truly thrive.

CARNIVORE vs OMNIVORE

Lets look at some of the difference

• Jaws: Our domestic dogs have extremely strong hinged jaws that only move up and down. The powerful jaw muscles are designed for latching onto and bringing down prey, ripping through flesh and crunching through bones. Dog's jaws do not have a chewing action, they are designed to rip, crunch and swallow. Omnivores on the other hand can move their jaws from side to side as well as up and down, this helps with the mastication of plant matter.

• Teeth: Both wolves and dogs have the same number of teeth, 42 in total. The only difference between wolves teeth and our dogs teeth are that they are longer and thicker. The teeth are perfectly designed for catching and killing prey and slicing through meat and bone with ease! Whether you have a chihuahua or a husky, if you look at their teeth its plain to see they are perfectly designed for the job! Omnivores teeth are very different, we have canines and we also have flat molars at the back to chew and break down tough plant matter.

• Amylase: This is the enzyme responsible for breaking down and digesting carbohydrates. This is only produced by the dog's pancreas and small intestine. Omnivores however also have amylase in their saliva to start the process of breaking down carbohydrates before they enter the gut.

• The digestive system of a carnivore is short and fast, all digestion takes place in the gut. Dogs have a wide gullet allowing large pieces of meat to be quickly swallowed. The intestines are short, and the stomach acid is low at around pH 1-1.5; that’s similar to battery acid! The digestive tract is perfectly designed to digest bone and meat quickly and deal with any pathogens. Omnivores digestive systems are very different; much longer intestines and a higher stomach acid, this is to deal better with the amount of plant matter in the diet.

I think it's plain to see that our dogs are physiologically and anatomically carnivores through and through, there is no doubt about that. It’s important to understand that just because they can eat and digest carbohydrates doesn’t make them omnivores; similarly, if a human eats a vegan diet this does not make them a herbivore.

Karla Pearson NO BULL Just Natural Health for Dogs