Beyond raw meaty bones

[Eileen Stein]

Dog Digestion and Evolution

 

The genomic signature of dog domestication reveals adaptation to a starch-rich diet

[Falon's Mom]

Those are both interesting reads. Thank you very much for posting these for us all to read.

[Gideon's girl]

I've read it. I think we all know that dogs can digest starch, but it fails to go into what is best for the dog. Frankly, I don't know why they needed a study to tell us that dog genetics have moved away from wolf genetics in this area. We try to not breed dogs that have allergies, and intolerance to grain looks like an allergy so in effect we are breeding away from animals that can't tolerate starches. I've got one of them and he will never be bred even though I feed a meat diet and nobody can even tell he has an (non)issue with grains.

[Mark Billadeau]

Eileen,

Thanks for these.

Mark

[Sue R]

I saw one of those posted elsewhere by someone. I've often heard it said that in Scotland, dogs got by mainly on grain (oatmeal, in particular) with little scraps of meat, cheese, dairy, whatever else was leftover or maybe spoiled a bit.

 

When we were in Scotland, the dogs belonging to the shepherd at the research station (he was very proud of his Bobby Dalziels-bred dogs and pup), were fed a kibble that was *heavily* loaded with cracked corn - most of which came out looking just like it went in, in rather huge and bulky feces.

 

There have been a few authors/researchers who postulated that dogs in general evolved while scavaging around the campsites and villages of early people, and they certainly weren't eating deluxe.

[Liz P]

When we were in Scotland, the dogs belonging to the shepherd at the research station (he was very proud of his Bobby Dalziels-bred dogs and pup), were fed a kibble that was *heavily* loaded with cracked corn - most of which came out looking just like it went in, in rather huge and bulky feces.

 

I've noticed that dogs fed cheaper food pass undigested pieces of corn in their stool. Larger chunks of corn can ferment in the gut or serve as food for undesirable bacteria and make some dogs sick. Better foods that contain corn process it differently; it's more finely ground so easy to digest. I actually feed a kibble that contains corn. Even my dog with a really sensitive stomach does great on it.

[JohnLloydJones]

Over New Years I was in India and spent some time watching the street dogs of Delhi. These are dogs that are completely tame (have no fear of humans), yet belong to no one. They "dine" on the garbage dumped in open piles on the streets; often in the company of pigs and goats. The bulk of their diet would be grains and vegetable; meat is eaten only occasionally by most people (and there are many who are purely vegetarian). They thrive on that diet which is probably close to what their ancestors of thousands of years back ate.

[juliepoudrier]

Maybe we needed a study to tell us that dog genetics have moved away from wolf genetics because so many people base a lot of assumption on dogs based on their descent from wolves.

 

J.