Are dogs really carnivores ?

[malluver1005]

Shiloh howls too.... although she is ~45% wolf

Aspen is supposed to be a howler!! And he's only done it about 3 times in his life. He does woo woo a lot though...

[rannmiller]

I love the vocal breeds like huskies and mals! (but not hounds and beagles, I am biased)

[GermanSheperdlover]

He first howled when a lady at one of the dog parks was playing a harmonica. She told me she hits a certain key and her dogs start up. It was crazy, their was about 10 or 12 dogs standing around howling, took us awhile to get a couple of those dogs to quit. I was at a different park after that and some distance away some dogs were barking. All of sudden mine started howling, then 7 more joined in. That was one of the funnyist things I have ever seen. Some of the dogs had never howled before and the owners were freaking out, which was really funny, watching them.

[rannmiller]

Can i hire your dog to come teach my dogs how to howl?

[Ania's Mommy]

I recently have gotten my young Shepherd to howl, funny as heck. I get him to howl while on my bed with me.

Dang, I can't get Ania to howl for nuthin'! My husband is trying to get her to bark on command (mostly so that we can just never use that particular command. LOL!).

Oh, by the way I am watching a show (dirty jobs) on dog food. Pretty cool show about frozen food and stuffed hoves.

Ha ha! I was watching the same thing!!! That raw dog food was terrible looking, huh?!? Although there weren't many CARBS in it... (my attempt to get the thread back on track )

Richelle

[GermanSheperdlover]

Didn't you like it when Mike was playing peak-a-boo with the intestines. How about when they were smelling the stuff, pretty funny in my book.

[flkiwi]

I love my mate Mike, he seriously cracks me up.
There was another program he did on rendering animals for dog food that made me sit up and take notice.
They went to farms and collected animals that had died of 'natural causes', took them to the plant, hung the so & so's up by the hooves and put em through the grinder, head first. They were then boiled down, maggots and all. Watching that (I've got it on DVR) got me looking into what exactly what goes into meal - but I gathered that this is what they call by-products. It didn't really concern me that there were hooves, heads, hair and stuff in it, it was the fact that the carcasses appeared to be putrid and rotting, and most importantly, what did they exactly die from in the first place?

[SuZQuzie]

Amalyse is not found in carnivores because it is used to digest plant matter. It is not found in cattle and horses because their digestive systems are entirely different. They have multiple stomachs to digest plant material. Digestion for them is a whole different process. I'm not sure pigs if pigs have it or not.

Horses are ruminants now? Oh, thanks for letting me know.



Oh, wait, no rumen. Huh.

Amylase is only found in primates, some rodents, and the obscure animal here and there. Please tell me about all these herbivores and omnivores with amylase.

Anytime I see the works "obligate carnivores", I know I'm talking to someone who is going to try to convince me that a dog is an omnivore which they aren't.

You've said that before. It's getting old.

I have serious problems with it and woudln't feed it to my dogs for anything.

Then don't feed your dogs the vegetable matter. No one is forcing you to.

Care to name some?

I will, but I have to go to class.

[RawFedDogs]

Horses are ruminants now? Oh, thanks for letting me know.



Oh, wait, no rumen. Huh.

Wait! Don't get too far ahead of yourself. The cecum in a horse acts as a 2nd stomach and is used to hold food while bacteria and enzymes digest the cellulose. That is the same thing that ruminants have in one of their multiple stomachs. Amalyse is used by other animals to digest cellulose. If herbavores have a developed cecum they don't have a need for amalyse but if they don't they do. Amalyse is used to digest cellulose. Dogs don't have it. Herbivores with single stomachs DO have it in their GI system.

Amylase is only found in primates, some rodents, and the obscure animal here and there. Please tell me about all these herbivores and omnivores with amylase.

Just did.

You've said that before. It's getting old.

The point needs to be made often as it seems to go over some people's heads.

Then don't feed your dogs the vegetable matter. No one is forcing you to.

I wouldn't mind feeding them vegetable matter if they had the least bit of need for it or it benefited them in any way. It doesn't so I don't.

I will, but I have to go to class.

I'll be waiting. I'll remind you in a few days in case you forget.

[Jordan S.]

This post isn't to start a bunch of crap. It just seems to me when times got lean for wild dogs they might dig for roots or berries or? The reason I kinda think they did is because I had a GSD once that used to pull raspberries off the bush and eat them. I have also heard of dogs eating strawberries, blackberries and other things on their own. Just why do dogs dig and just dig to dig. I have some other thoughts about wild dogs eating other things to survive. Just wondering about your thoughts on this.

They have no teeth in their mouth build for eating plant matter. They may be more flexible than cats but they are still carnivores.