Biology shows us the way...
The simple and straightforward answer is it’s the way nature intended but if you are anything like us you may need more information than just that.
There is a lot of information out there surrounding the debate are dogs omnivores or carnivores. This is a tough one at times because sure dogs do eat plant matter and they are surviving but the question to ask around that is, are they just surviving or are they thriving? This is a question we started to ask ourselves when we first started to get into the world of raw feeding and after a lot of research and eventually watching our dogs after we switched them we saw they really weren’t thriving.
The most obvious difference between herbivores and carnivores that you can see are their teeth. Teeth tell a story, they show you how your animal should be eating. Let’s take a cow for example that is a true herbivore and examine their teeth. Cows have flat teeth and wide molars and for a good reason. Herbivores eat plant-based diets and their teeth are designed to grind down the plant material so that their bodies are able to digest it properly. You will watch an herbivore and it looks like they are chewing for an hour it seems. Next time you visit the farm and see cows eating also watch their jaw, they can move it in a circular motion to assist with grinding process.
If you are looking now at your dog’s mouth you will see an entirely different set of teeth. Your dog’s teeth are designed to rip and tear flesh from bone and than they will gulp it down into their stomach. The dog’s teeth are long, sharp and pointed to help them do this. The dog also is unable to move their jaw in a circular motion to grind any plant matter down.
To learn more about this here are some links to really great articles covering this topic and that will discuss more in depth what happens in the GI system of both types of animals. The other thing I will link you to is all about another key significance that is in the mouth and that is the presence of salivary amylase.
Is your loving, kind fluffy dog friend a carnivore or an omnivore? – http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/is-your-loving-kind-fluffy-dog-friend-a-carnivore-or-an-omnivore/
Myth: Dogs are omnivores – http://rawfed.com/myths/omnivores.html
