How many of you dog owners have to regularly endure the agony of a pair of teary eyes begging you for a piece of food so beautifully displayed on your plate? I know you have. That’s because dogs are some of the biggest gourmets in the animal kingdom. Unlike other members of their species, they have long since moved beyond the stage of feeding for survival, and food has become a delicacy that pleasantly tickles their taste buds. Another thing that has changed is their status as carnivores. It’s true that this was once their nature, and wolves (for example) were living proof of this. But because humans have managed to domesticate them and take them along as loyal companions, they can safely be considered omnivores these days. However, in reality, they cannot eat everything they like, and there are Here are some facts about dogs and food that you need to know.
In the introduction to this article, I talked about the nature of dogs as carnivores. While it is true that you can certainly add many of the same ingredients to your dog’s diet that even herbivores consume, they are genetically designed to be meat eaters. Not only are their claws and canine teeth designed to be perfect for hunting prey, but keeping your dog away from raw meat is a challenge. The chances of him rejecting cooked meat are slim to non-existent, but if you really want to get him going, just expose him to a raw chicken breast or animal organ. Regardless, it is not recommended to feed your dog raw meat, as it can carry a variety of potentially dangerous diseases that can be partially eradicated by exposure to high temperatures.
It may come as a surprise, but if a dog could open and steal a cookie jar, they almost certainly would. Dogs can sense a variety of tastes, the most prominent of which is sweetness. Their cousins in the wild actually often consume berries and other fruits rich in fructose (a well-known sugar substitute even in the human diet) to give them their daily dose of glucose needed to boost their energy. You might see your dog drooling over your birthday cake, but it’s definitely not advisable to indulge their whims, as sugar can be dangerous to their health.
As if there was any need to keep the dog from eating the whole her food wasn’t enough, you should know that you also need to keep an eye on your cat’s food bowl. Dogs, especially big gluttons, may invade your kitty’s food if given the chance. This is because the two types of food are obviously not that different, and our four-legged friends rarely turn down the opportunity to satisfy their curiosity and try a new, unique type of dish. But even though nothing bad will happen if your dog digests some of your cat’s delicacies, you should make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Cats and dogs require different foods from their diets to lead a healthy and balanced life, so cat food contains some elements and nutrients that dogs don’t really need, such as taurine. It’s best to keep your pets in their own bowls if you want them to be as happy as possible in the long run.
While dogs are eager to sample all the delicious treats the world has to offer, there are some things you should never feed them as they pose a real threat to their well-being. Some of these seem oddly mundane, but they can be detrimental to your dog. Perhaps the most surprising examples are grapes and, by extension, raisins. Not many people know this, but grapes contain a substance that can lead to kidney and liver failure. In fact, there have been many cases of dogs dying after digesting just a handful of grapes, so avoid feeding them to your dog at all costs. Another example is a food item that, although extremely common in human food, is extremely toxic to both dogs and cats and is actually one of the most harmful: onions. When consumed by dogs, the various toxic substances they secrete can lead to the destruction of red blood cells and, ultimately, to anemia.
Other toxic foods that should absolutely not be fed to your dog include: chocolate, peaches, plums, salmon, trout, apple seeds, and coffee.
The list of foods that are surprisingly bad for dogs can be quite impressive, but don’t worry – not everything we eat is dangerous for our pets. There are some diseases that are given the green light, and some of them are even a healthy addition to their diet. One of the most surprising examples is garlic, which, unlike onions, can actually improve your dog’s health. The only condition for this is controlled consumption, so be sure to add it in very small doses. Raw eggs are also an odd choice. Obviously, cooked eggs count, but while the biggest threat to raw eggs is salmonella, they are excellent at providing your pup with the necessary enzymes, proteins, and vitamins to improve his life.
Apart from this, you can also feed your dog fruits, vegetables, rice, pasta, baked potatoes and lean meats.
In conclusion, it is clear that feeding your dog involves much more than just peeling the skin off a chicken leg and throwing the pieces into your dog’s bowl. They have incredible appetites that sometimes even get out of control. But fortunately (or not, I guess it depends on your point of view), it is good for us to have a conscience, so we need to make sure that we do not give our dog everything he wants to eat. Thanks to these 5 facts about dogs and food that you need to know , you now know better than to do that.
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