Dog

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Carnivore or omnivore

The classification as a carnivore does not necessarily mean that a dog's diet must be restricted to meat alone. Unlike a true obligate carnivore, such as a cat, a dog is able to healthily digest a variety of foods including vegetables and grains, and in fact requires a large proportion of these in its diet. Wild canines typically get such nutrients from the stomach contents of their herbivorous prey, which they consume eagerly. Dogs can survive perfectly well on a reasonably carefully designed vegetarian diet, particularly if eggs and milk products are included. On the other hand, dogs are natural carnivores, and the experience of extremely stressful conditions such as the Iditarod race, as well as scientific studies of similar conditions, suggest that under such extreme stress, high protein diets (which implies a lot of meat consumption) help prevent damage to muscle tissue.

Related Topics:
Meat - Cat - Vegetable - Grain - Herbivorous - Vegetarian - Egg - Milk - Iditarod

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