ncarter Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 exactly how important are carbs in a dogs diet? roughly what % of carbs does a dog need? I didnt think carbs were that important, but my aunty is always raving on about how her dog loves rice and how dogs need carbs. cheers mr Carter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavandra Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Carbs are not necessary. Dogs are carnivores & their system is made to digest & absorb meat & bone. The reason so many dogs have skin problems, yeast infections especially ears is due to excess carbs in their diet. Carbs convert to sugars, and yeast feeds on sugars, so do cancers etc.........Commercial dry /wet foods are full of grains & cereals, and cause so many problems. When a dog is sick often chicken & rice is recommended, & it often helps, but in general day use it is unnecessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laffi Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Carbs are not necessary. Dogs are carnivores & their system is made to digest & absorb meat & bone. The reason so many dogs have skin problems, yeast infections especially ears is due to excess carbs in their diet. Carbs convert to sugars, and yeast feeds on sugars, so do cancers etc.........Commercial dry /wet foods are full of grains & cereals, and cause so many problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rose of tralee Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Dogs aren't good nutritionists.......lots of dogs like things that aren't helpful to their wellbeing, carbs included. Carbs are inexpensive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tess32 Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Yep dogs have no nutritional requirements for carbohydrates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espinay2 Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 The only time a dog needs carbohydrates (according to studies) is when they are a lactating bitch. This is set out in that tome 'the nutrient requirements of dogs' which guides commercial dog food companies on what they should include in their foods. Note that carbs are not necessary, but are 'convenient' to include in commercial foods because of the cost savings they provide for the company. There are quite a few studies that have been done which look at the energy requirements of exercising dogs and what provides the best source of energy. They showed that dogs which were on diets that were carb free and provided energy in the form of protein and fat performed better than dogs on a high carb diet, or even those which were supplied energy from both carbs and fats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncarter Posted March 5, 2008 Author Share Posted March 5, 2008 Carbs are not necessary. Dogs are carnivores & their system is made to digest & absorb meat & bone. The reason so many dogs have skin problems, yeast infections especially ears is due to excess carbs in their diet. Carbs convert to sugars, and yeast feeds on sugars, so do cancers etc.........Commercial dry /wet foods are full of grains & cereals, and cause so many problems.When a dog is sick often chicken & rice is recommended, & it often helps, but in general day use it is unnecessary. thanks for that cavandra. i read in another thread that dogs are omnivores not carnivores can someone clarify this! cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Hi..I think that some class dogs as omnivores because they WILL eat some fruit etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Someone once described dogs as "opportunistic carnivores". I interpreted that to mean that while their main diet is meat, they'll eat what they can get. That sounds pretty accurate to me. Wild dogs will scavenge what they can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tess32 Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 From what I have read they are carnivores due to their teeth. They do not have the flat molars that grind up plant matter like we do, and they don't chew, they rip, shred, crunch and swallow! The "omnivore" argument is that they eat the stomach contents of the prey, however it does seem that most of them actually leave this behind or shake it out and only eat the lining of the stomach. I have to come to the conclusion it doesn't really matter that much. I sincerely doubt feeding vegetables is going to harm a dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 The "omnivore" argument is that they eat the stomach contents of the prey, however it does seem that most of them actually leave this behind or shake it out and only eat the lining of the stomach. Very interesting. Do you have a link or the book this info is from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tess32 Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 The "omnivore" argument is that they eat the stomach contents of the prey, however it does seem that most of them actually leave this behind or shake it out and only eat the lining of the stomach. Very interesting. Do you have a link or the book this info is from? Sure L. David Mech - Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. Mech is one of the world's leading wolf biologists I have this quote....hope it's ok to post it. It's from the book but can't remember which website. ""Wolves usually tear into the body cavity of large prey and...consume the larger internal organs, such as lungs, heart, and liver. The large rumen [, which is one of the main stomach chambers in large ruminant herbivores,]...is usually punctured during removal and its contents spilled. The vegetation in the intestinal tract is of no interest to the wolves, but the stomach lining and intestinal wall are consumed, and their contents further strewn about the kill site." (pg.123, emphasis added) "To grow and maintain their own bodies, wolves need to ingest all the major parts of their herbivorous prey, except the plants in the digestive system." (pg.124, emphasis added). " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 The "omnivore" argument is that they eat the stomach contents of the prey, however it does seem that most of them actually leave this behind or shake it out and only eat the lining of the stomach. Very interesting. Do you have a link or the book this info is from? Sure L. David Mech - Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. Mech is one of the world's leading wolf biologists I have this quote....hope it's ok to post it. It's from the book but can't remember which website. ""Wolves usually tear into the body cavity of large prey and...consume the larger internal organs, such as lungs, heart, and liver. The large rumen [, which is one of the main stomach chambers in large ruminant herbivores,]...is usually punctured during removal and its contents spilled. The vegetation in the intestinal tract is of no interest to the wolves, but the stomach lining and intestinal wall are consumed, and their contents further strewn about the kill site." (pg.123, emphasis added) "To grow and maintain their own bodies, wolves need to ingest all the major parts of their herbivorous prey, except the plants in the digestive system." (pg.124, emphasis added). " There goes my whole BARF feeding out the window and the 3 or so hours I spent blending up a big bucket of veggie & fruit slops yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tess32 Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Don't worry, I still feed vegies and I read it ages ago, hehe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavandra Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 People starting on BARF diets get very hung up on fruit & veg content, they are not necessary, just an extra, and in small amounts will do no harm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 ""Wolves usually tear into the body cavity of large prey and...consume the larger internal organs, such as lungs, heart, and liver. The large rumen [, which is one of the main stomach chambers in large ruminant herbivores,]...is usually punctured during removal and its contents spilled. The vegetation in the intestinal tract is of no interest to the wolves, but the stomach lining and intestinal wall are consumed, and their contents further strewn about the kill site." (pg.123, emphasis added) I grew up watching this behaviour amongst our working dogs. they were often given access to whole animals, and while the stomach/intestines weren't favourites (liver and heart and kidneys were ) Brains were also a treasure....and tongue! they would shake and eat . Best not to stand too close, I learnt early on...gut contents have a lingering smell....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tess32 Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Mine adore tongue.....I give them an ox tongue weekly. I HAVE to cut it up though now because my male finds it so high value he goes nuts and wants to bury it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeartandSoul Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Ok - so let's assume dogs are carnivores and should be fed on a meat based diet. I have an older dog - over 10 - large breed. I fed a meat based diet and was told the protein levels were too high for a dog his age. If I can't feed carbs and I can't feed protein am I expected to feed lard or is my dog expected to be a breatharian? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeartandSoul Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Mine adore tongue.....I give them an ox tongue weekly. I HAVE to cut it up though now because my male finds it so high value he goes nuts and wants to bury it. you said in another thread you were looking for raw dog treats - cut the tongue up with a veggie slicer and voila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Feed lower protein meat? Would that help? Or do they metabolise it the same whatever the levels? Feed white meat/ fish mostly ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now