ARE DOGS CARNIVORES

ARE DOGS CARNIVORES?
The short answer is YES, dogs are carnivores.

This question is usually asked because a dog owner is trying to figure out an appropriate diet, the best diet, for their dog.

The Mitochondrial DNA of a dog determines what a dog should eat, and the Mitochondrial DNA in your dog is 99.8% identical to a 25,000 year old Gray Wolf.

It is generally agreed that todays domesticated dogs are descended from the Gray Wolf and they were designed them to eat meat - thus the carnivore classification. They were not designed to eat high glycemic carbohydrates like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and grain. They were not designed to eat a diet with protein that was predominantly sourced from vegetables. Hanging around humans and eating some of the food they eat over a couple thousand years does not change their Mitochondrial DNA or what a dog should eat.

Because a dog will gulp down a pancake that hits the floor does not indicate that domestication has changed what your dog should eat, or make it healthy to eat the human diet. In fact eating grain, potato, and sugar will definitely have a detrimental impact on your dogs gut and your dogs overall health over time.

Dogs are carnivores that Mother Nature designed to eat meat and she has not changed her mind in 25,000 years.

Mother Nature has designed a dog to eat animal sourced protein which is meat and eggs. Mitochondrial DNA determines what a dog is designed to eat and the energy pathways that deliver those nutrients to the cells and muscles for growth and maintenance of the body.

There is ongoing conversation about whether.dogs are carnivores or omnivores or something in-between. These are terms that scientists use to classify animals. Even if they were to change a dogs classification tomorrow from carnivore to Omnivore (which is not even a possibility, but let’s imagine it just for arguments

sake) it would not change what you should feed your dog, which is determined by the Mitochondrial DNA. The classification is just a word and does not change what the dogs body is designed to eat.

In fact if you attempted to manipulate the Mitochondrial DNA, the way they manipulate the Nuclear DNA to make a Beagle out of a 25,000 year old Gray Wolf, you would not be able to do it.

Mitochondrial DNA is passed down from generation to generation through the female only which is how Mother Nature keeps it constant over many tens of thousands of years.

Mother Nature Nature designed dogs to eat like a carnivore and she has not changed her mind. Choose a high quality dog food like Brothers Complete that has no grain, potato, sweet potatoes, or sugar in any form in it and has high protein ranging from 30% to 40% that is over 90% sourced from animal sources. Prebiotics, probiotics, and digestive enzymes are also added to provide additional functionality that mimics a natural raw food diet.

Your dog may be a fuzzy, cuddly teddy bear but it needs to eat like a Wolf.

Find your dog's new favorite food from Brothers Dog Food variety of healthy dog food options here.