I got this emphatic note in response to the column on pet nutrition that I was doing for Organic Spa magazine.
A friend of mine gave me your article Nutrition for Dogs from Organic Spa magazine to read. I’m extremely interested in canine nutrition. I was startled to read in the article that you refer to dogs as omnivores. Dogs are carnivores and will always be carnivores no matter what we feed them. They are meant to eat primarily meat. I don’t understand why you would refer to them as omnivores.
Thank you for your time,
E. Henderson
Hello E. Henderson – from the tone of your note I have to guess you feed only raw food to your dog? Even perhaps the BARF (Bones And Raw Food) diet? While there are numerous controversial topics in pet nutrition, the insistence on designating dogs as obligate carnivores seems to come from those espousing an all raw meet diet as the only viable way to feed a dog. While I have read in a number of places that this controversy exists about how to categorize dogs as carnivores or omnivores, there is no logic or evidence of any such controversy. Dogs — like us — are carnivorous omnivores. They do very well on a variety of foods and food groups in their diets, unlike cats which are genuine obligate carnivores whose entire digestive system is designed only to ingest and digest meat. While I am one of the most visible and vocal critics of most bagged dog foods — and also an advocate for minimizing kibble and including more real meat or other protein source, along with vegetables — I would characterize dogs as omnivores, which is what they are. I raised your question with Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins, who has a law degree in addition to being a premiere veterinarian, known for her work in the field of nutritional education and having attended the pet food recall hearings in Washington, D.C. Dr Elizabeth breeds and shows Ocicats, who are on a strictly raw food diet and she stated very clearly that dogs are carnivorous omnivores, period. If you would like to hear that interview, it is on my new show DOG TALK® & CAT CHAT® which is podcast on the WOR 710 AM website. You can go to “schedules” then “weekend schedule” and scroll down to the page for my show — at the bottom is a place where you can listen right there.
