Dogs may have been the most over-rated pet since ancient time and understanding dogs diet has always been a quest for seasoned enthusiasts.
Dogs are well adapted for eating meat. They can consume more omnivorous diet (can eat meat, fruit and vegetables).
How do we really know about dog’s metabolic science? Here are some facts that can give us a glimpse about what’s going on in their tummy:
- Dogs have 42 teeth designed to cut, tear and grind flesh and bones.
- The enamel of dog is five times thinner than humans designed to eat and digest meat.
- They have fewer tasted buds than humans.
- Their sense of smell is 10,000 times more sensitive than humans.
- They have limited salivary amylase (enzyme for sugar and carbohydrate digestion).
- The dog salivary pH is more alkaline than humans.
- They have a very expandable stomach that can cope with large meals.
- Their stomach pH is more acidic than humans designed to digest bones and neutralizing harmful bacteria.
- Bacterial fermentation occurs in the large intestine.
Dogs’ are really designed to eat flesh and bones by nature, their teeth are small but sharp perfect in tearing flesh. They swallow the food that they eat right away without chewing because their stomach is acidic enough to digest flesh and bones. They can eat gluttonously in the wild since hunting prey for food is very difficult especially during winter. The stomach pH is so acidic that in can destroy harmful bacteria since dogs sometimes are scavenger.
Choosing food for your dog now a day is so confusing since we have all the pet food that we can get in stores but it is wiser if we consider food that can somehow compliment their metabolic processes. Understanding dogs by its nature will give us a light on how to treat them properly especially the food that we give to them.