What were dogs fed before invention of dog food?

Question

What did people used to feed there dogs before dog food was invented?

Answer 1

This is a very good question. Dogs are pack animals and while traveling in packs they would kill a prey and eat it. They would also eat the entire contents of the prey's stomach, so it is not unusual for dogs to have non meat foods.

The history of dog becoming man's best friend is that the dogs would hang around the houses of men (not right outside the door) but in close proxemity and would get the scraps for the household.

I had a pug Sammy who was blind and deaf, and ended up getting confused and then lost. He was missing for nine days. We went out looking for him everyday and eventually he turned up at one of the houses we had visited asking about him.

I was wondering what he ate those 9 days in the woods (we live in the middle of nowhere) and my husband told me that Sammy was booping pine needles. One thing I did notice was he had more energy and I can only attribute it to the stuff he ate while in the woods.

Every since then I give my dogs vegetables, and other healthy people food. Two of my pugs are extremely allergic even to Holistic Solid Gold. So each night I make them baked sweet potato, green beans, and I mix it with either, cottage cheese, eggs, or salmon. They do well on that.

Answer 2

Meat and other varieities of foods found in nature. Oddly enough, even today with all the dog foods on the market, a raw meat diet is one of the best things you can do for your dog health wise if you have the time and the know how.

There are some great foods out there now, but nothing beats feeding Raw. I've been doing it for a few months now and the results are amazing! But if you dont want to invest the time in learning about and understanding Raw, then stick to a healthy dry food, and some ocassional healthy scraps (fruits, veggies, etc)

Answer 3

Processed dog food has been around since the late 40s or early 50s I think, it might be slightly older. People used dogs for work, they killed vermin, rats, moles, etc.. and ate what they killed, most people had access to butchered meat animals, the dogs got the raw offal, bones and leftovers and hunters fed their dogs the same. Many dogs got leftovers from the family's meals. Most people couldn't afford to keep pet dogs, the dogs had to work. One of the first kennels to start breeding Afghan Hounds in the US had several generations of dogs, starting in the early 20s that were fed a natural raw diet and lived to be 25 to 27 years old! I find that very telling to the dog food industry, which puts more money in to slick marketing campaigns than quality ingredients.

Answer 4

well, first of all, you must remember that all domesticated dogs are directly descended from the wild wolf. this means that they are carnivores. most of your dry dog food is made with a lot of meal and other filler ingredients to bond the protein or meat together into a nugget. while all these ingredients may have nutritional value, some are hard to digest, and too much imbalance between fats/fillers/and proteins can be unhealthy. Some people argue that feeding only a raw or B.A.R.F. diet (bones and raw food) is most healthy and natural to the animal. Now there are some concerns over bacteria/illness with this as well as chokeing on splintered bones. Im sure that in the wild the wolves did just fine.

Answer 5

Before the food companies sold humans on the idea that their food is great, they were often getting scraps from the table. Like a human's diet, one made of simply leftovers is not a great choice.
Before that, they were getting leftovers from raw food (bones, and raw meat) along with cooked food which was better. A raw diet is what every dog should eat for good health. Find out more at www.rawfed.com

Answer 6

Yes, dog food is just blended flavors and ingredients to better suit a dog's taste and digestion. Before the invention of dog food, dogs ate pretty much what their human counterparts ate.

Answer 7

Scraps and raw bones. In the wild dogs kill small animals and eat every part, including stomach contents and bones. Land owners would have shot or trapped feral pests and fed them to the dogs. Lucky dogs would have had a share of the owners food supply, they would give it the same meat that they had for themselves. Best wishes.

Answer 8

Table scraps.
When i was growing up we fed our dog table scraps all the time. it was cheaper than dog food. And had the added benefit of being a place to try and pawn off our Lima beans and brussel sprouts. Not that the dog ate them... but it got them out of the house and into the yard where we could toss them into the bushes after the dog ate everything else in the bowl.

Answer 9

Scraps, which is why i still choose to feed my dog all natural home-made food(mixed with authority and Nutro), as i believe it's better than just using regular food.

Answer 10

Left overs