Is it really good to feed your dog just meats?

Question

Can they liveo n meats alone or is it better to feed them some vegetables aswell?

Well we also used to eat bugs and live meat. But things have changed for the better. And we also live longer now. Wont that be the same for dogs?

Answer 1

you might not see a wolf eating carrots and cabbage, but in the wild they will eat berries and grasses.

there's a lot of different opinions on what to feed dogs. they are not obligate carnivores. they are omnivores. they will eat all types of different veggies. i give my dogs dry, canned, and i make them stewed carrots, peas, hard-boiled and scrambled eggs, and sometimes brown rice a few times a week. they love raw carrots and apples too.

there are tons of foods dogs shouldn't eat. garlic, onions, lg amounts of fat, pizza crust/yeast breads, baby food, unprocessed ALMONDS--as i've been reminded by another person on here. chocolate, coffee, beer, etc. to see all the foods to avoid, do a google search on toxic foods for dogs.

Answer 2

No, You can not feed a dog 'just meats'. This would be a dangerous diet very much lacking in a lot of nutrients. You have to include the raw bone, fish, eggs, organs etc.. You can't just feed meat!
Dogs are carnivores. All the people who are talking about veggies... the dogs get nothing from them. They do not have the teeth designed to break open the cellulose where the nutrients are. Dog's will eat an occasional berry in the wild and all dogs eat grass from time to time but it's kind of crazy to make a statement that they are omnivores from that??
They certainly could not ever survive on grass and berries.Please check out this web site. It will address all of your questions. http://rawfed.com/myths/
Wolves will eat the stomach wall but it is a total myth that they seek it out of prey. They will eat the stomach content if the animal is small like rabbit, but in other larger omnivores they break open the stomach, spill the contents and eat the wall only. They would eat the content though if they needed a meal and that is all that was left. Dogs are opportunist, if they are starving to death they pretty much won't walk away from anything.
You could offer them sh!t on a shingle covered with fat and they'd eat it if they were hungry enough. They are survivors.

About 'BALANCE'... Balance is just a word used by dog food manufacturers that has basically brain washed people. When you are talking about ANY diet, balance comes over time and there is no species that eats a so called balanced meal at every meal. People have been brain washed by these companies to think they are not smart enough to feed a dog. Do you sit around the table and calculate nutrients to a T for your family then shop and cook accordingly? NO! You feed a variety of foods acceptable for humans and balance comes over time. Why do you think dogs would need such a detailed diet? If you are smart enough to feed your own kids and family then you are certainly smart enough to feed our much more adaptable canines. Feed a variety of foods acceptable for carnivores and balance happens naturally over time! It is an insult that these food companies AND vets make people think they are not capable of feeding a home made diet to a dog.
Think about it!

Answer 3

To feed a balanced raw diet, you need to feed Raw Meaty Bones.....meat alone is a dangerous diet. As for veggies, that's up to you.......I used to feed them cooked as part of a raw diet, but not any more. (Cooked rather than raw...too many raw veggies of the cruciferous family affects the thyroid gland.) I feed approx 60% Rmb's, 10% offal, and the rest different meats. It's a fallacy that wolves eat the contents of the stomach........they actually shake the contents out, and eat the rest of the carcass. You will certainly find that your dogs are *far* healthier on a raw diet. You added that things have changed........but for the better? Dogs in my gran's day lived to old age......well in their teens.....but dogs today are ill with arthitis, allergies, epilepsy, etc. from a very young age. That's hardly an improvement.

Comments:- "Meat clogs their arteries too" Ummm, I don't think so? Where does this info come from?

Get your info from a vet:- Again, I don't think so. Vets are taught very little about dog nutrition, and what they do learn is sponsored by the dog food manufacturers.

Dr. Art:- Burns food do a good blurb.....but it is *not* a good food.......believe me. Mail me if you want to.

Book worth a look:- Give Your Dog a Bone - Ian Billinghurst.

Answer 4

Dogs are NOT, I repeat NOT omnivores!!!!! They are carnivores. Also the only internal organs they eat as a rule are those from small animals such as rabbits & rodents..they don't often eat those from larger animals, such as deer.Unless very hungry they usually wil lrip out the intestines/stomach of the larger animals and put them aside.
Dogs can have an all meat diet but that diet must include bones, organ meats in order ot balance out properly.
It is also a good idea to include eggs, shell and all in the diet. Dogs left to their own devices will eat bird eggs, chicken eggs, etc.

Dogs (as do many of the carnivores)do occassionally eat things such as berries, various grasses, apples, pears and some veggies which again left on their own will pick these things themselves and will do so as needed at the time, however they are not a mainstay of their diet.

Answer 5

DOGS are not primary carnivores.but omnivores..
To feed a diet exclusively meat would not be balanced and cause at minimum rickets(calcium) deficiency..
Think about it.. Wild dogs, eat the whole animal, this includes the muscle meat, bones, marrow, internal organs, skin, fur and of course the gut contents (grasses plants) of the prey animal.. they also do scavange a lot of plant material, along with the digested broken down feces of other animals (again plant material)

But they do not survive in the wild state by only eating the meat off the bones,, and honesly the first part of the animal eaten.. and prized it the guts first,, not the meat..

They eat the whole animal, so if you decide to feed your dog a home made diet you need to provide them with all the ingredients, similar to and in the same ratios that wild dogs eat.. not just the nice muscle meat we like.. If you want to feed your dog a treat of meat this is ok, but you to fourmulate a propper diet you do need to include, a source of other nutrients, and ingridents including propperly prepared plant material vegitables, internal organs, Calcium, and such..
A diet of only meat is not heathy...

Answer 6

It might be better to just ask a vet.
But, a dog needs a proper balance of veggies and meat. One of my friend's dogs gets carrots for treats, and she loves them!

There are some dog foods that have protein and nutrition from the flavored meats and veggies.

It would be okay to feed a dog meat along with some regular dog food (and veggies). But, im not sure if the BBQ sauce it good for them!!

Answer 7

An all meat diet isn't good for dogs. Its too rich a diet unless they are out pulling sleds all day. Also dogs aren't obligate carnivores like cats.

Two years ago I started to feed my dog a natural foods diet. It isn't hard and can actually be cost efficient. There are foods that dogs must never have - onions, chocolate, grapes and raisins, caffeine, iron or iron containing products,mushrooms, raw dough containing yeast and cooked fat (raw fat is ok in moderation).

What they can have - everything else. I make a simple diet up for my dog. I used Dr Pitcairn's book as reference. That book is great.

The foods I feed regularly for a 70 lb dog are -

Breakfast:
1/2 cup quick oats cooked and 1-2 raw eggs mixed into the oatmeal while its still warm. I add to this: 1 Tbl (safflower, sunflower or corn oil for linoleic acid), 1 tsp bonemeal from health food store (important to use bonemeal or ground eggshells for correct calcium to phosphorous ratio) and vitamin C (asorbate), plus a good vitamin mineral supplement for dogs. I also like to add a vit B complex. (Check your vitamin mineral supplement to see if needed.) Pinch of salt if not in other foods (i.e. canned vegetables contain salt) .

Dinner:
I don't always have exact measurements for dinner. I basicly cook my dinner with the dogs needs in mind. I set aside 1/2 cup meat (raw) for her (never raw pork) or an egg. A cereal bowl sized portion of some cooked grain (rice, oatmeal, bread, potatoes, whatever) and add some vegetables (i.e. green beans, carrots, squash, broccoli). A note on meat - dogs require amino acids from meats that are destroyed by cooking. Cooked meat isn't bad but it will not contain all the necessary nutrients. Feed heart and liver in moderation when you can. Heart contains vit E (cats - taurine) and liver is high in vit A .

I'll also add or exchange to her food yogurt and cotttage cheese (she handles whole milk products but not 1-2%) or kidney beans at times.

If you are in a hurry at meal time pour a bowl of cereal (no preservatives) or just do the cooked oatmeal. If theres time throw in a raw egg and add vitamins later that day. Presto.

Dr Pitacirns book has recipes for dog food if you are interested. I find this way easier for my big dog but follow his recipes for my cat.

Answer 8

Your dog will die without a proper diet, and that includes veggies - unless you are feeding your dog the gut contents of cows and the like.

If you want to feed your dog a natural diet, that is fine, but you also have to look at what else they need in their diet. A lot has been published on this subject and is available for free online.

I personally use meat, Hair of the Dog by Docsblend and doggie vitamins as well as kirkland kibble in case I missed something....

Answer 9

Give them veggies WITH their MEAT BASED DIET as much as possible, as this source of food is SO MUCH MORE SUPERIOR TO THE DRY FOOD OUT THERE! But to answer your question, canines are MEAT eaters and need it in their meals to regulate their blood sugar. -veggies alone can cause your dogs to become hypoglycemic, and this is very dangerous to dogs. They are not meant to be vegetarians! You should never starve your dogs either (if they are overweight) because of the hypoglycemic issue.
Dont know if you feed dry, but If you want your dog to live longer and healthier, dont ever give them DRY FOOD!
Always boil some water and let the dry food absorb the moisture and get soft, then thoroughly cool it down and give to your dog. Dry food is just like MREs, and is dehydrated. It pulls all the water out of the organs of the body just to rehydrate it and make usable as food. This can cause all kinds of health problems for dogs, including kidney & endocrine problems!
I personally feed my dogs 85% raw or "rare" meat, and a little soaked high quality dogfood (just to make the money go a little farther), and re-hydrated or ground fresh veggies....and a little olive or walnut or flaxseed oil for the fatty acids they need (we all need) for our skin & organs.
If meat is fully cooked (like dry dogfood is), a constant diet of it will cause the dogs body to be too acidic, which causes a whole bunch of problems in itself, most commonly, arthritis.
No, they DONT GET WORMS FROM RAW MEAT!!! Their stomach acid is VERY strong, and kills parasites, etc. Thats why FOREVER, canines can bury their meat or bones and come back and eat it with maggots or anything else growing on it. Feeding your dog raw meat is one of the very best things you can do for it. Get the very easy to read &INCREDIBLY informative book, Reigning Cats & Dogs By Pat McKay. It is a really awesome book! You'll never look at dry dog food and raising your dog the same way!! If you go the dry kibble route, the best quality dry food in my opinion is "Burns" out of Indiana --(""bpn4u.com"") and I have tried or investigated them all! Burns is very careful & knowledgeable about their ingredients, dont load it with useless fillers, and dont buy the poisonous grain products out of China!

Answer 10

Alicia is right. In the wild wolves eat the whole animal, and that includes the digestive tract which contains a large amount of vegetable matter.