some dogs are more carnivorous than others

[sandgrubber]

I used to have Labradors.   No question: they're omnivores.   Most fruit and veg, sometimes even the skins (melons) and almost all carbs, particularly if they had any fat coating them were happily consumed along with meat, fish, dairy and eggs.  Most, however. Wouldn't touch raw liver.

 

I now have two Springers.  They won't touch most fruit and veg, unless generously buttered or cooked in meat broth. They scorn bread.  One of them won't even eat the classy dog rolls sold by my butcher.  But they will happily gorge on any meat, including raw liver.

 

It would be interesting to know if Labradors have more copies of the genes for amylase than Springers do.

[Boronia]

Dandies love vegetables (and some fruit) the biggest treat is a cabbage leaf stalk, the Westies not so much though the little scunners do eat the cabbage stalks so the others don't get them.

Dandelion flowers are also particularly yummy

[Rebanne]

The girls get raw carrot for lunch. They devour them.

[JRG]

My Springers and Cockers will eat anything except celery and long green beans.   Apples and oranges they really love (they are very proficient at peeling the oranges) and all green salads.  One of my boys would even steal bananas!

I do not think they ever even stop to sniff the meat or fish.

[tdierikx]

My first dog after leaving home (Rebel) used to steal the salad off my plate if I was eating dinner on the couch... even if there was steak on the plate! She loved the oil/vinegar dressing on it...

 

T.

[Dumdum]

Nope. Labs are carnivores. Note the canine teeth and eyes front like us.

they don’t have it in their genome to become omnivores no matter how you breed them. Can only breed them with the same species.

dose’nt mean they won’t eat anything. They are labs. Bred for endurance so they’re going to gorge given any opportunity 

 

 

 

[Dumdum]

But yes some dogs are more carnivorous than others. Just not so common in domesticated dogs. 
Most dogs I’ve owned will kill a rabbit if they can catch it. 
but I’ve owned one that would kill it and eat it on the spot. He was from a very long line of working hunting dogs. Lineage way back to early sight hounds brought here to hunt roos. Greek family that had been breeding their own for generations. He was very intelligent but also could be very aggressive. Aggression is necessary for dogs that hunt wild animals because wild animals are highly aggressive. He had unusually large canines for a domestic dog too.

I don’t own dogs like that today. Only family friendly pets. I’ve had some challenging ones in mastiffs but nothing that was as hard as dog as him. Not even close. Not hard to train, but hard in temperament. Very stoic animal. 

 

 

[sandgrubber]

A scan of the literature says the genetics required to digest starch varies significantly both between and anong breeds.  My 2 ESS scorning even starchy veggies and gobbling even the harsher meats seems to put them among the outliers for their breed

 

https://www.instituteofcaninebiology.org/blog/a-key-genetic-innovation-in-dogs-diet

[coneye]

Too be honest , can't ever remember having a dog that refused anything  which is more important now than before with the cost of dog food ,  Jeez i remember 40 years ago my mother could'nt believe  it when she come around  every friday i used to go to the  meatworks not far from me and get the dogs food  for a week     kilo a day each of rump or topside staek  ,  spend an hour cutting it up into small peices for them  and freezing it ,,   good old days when quality meat was cheap , could buy   half a cow for 150 bucks , the dogs lived better than we did LOL