What is a species appropriate diet

A species appropriate diet is a diet that is well suited to the metabolic capabilities of your dog’s digestive system.

Dogs are closely related to wolves, who are well established predators that thrive on a prey-based diet of primarily other small animals.

They have no need for carbohydrates and are poorly equipped to digest them for a number of reasons.

The most obvious tell-tale signs are in the canine mouth . Unlike truly omnivorous creatures (like humans), dogs and wolves have sharp, pointy canines and molars that are designed for hunting, ripping and crunching in a way that our flat molars and jaws simply aren’t.

They can’t move their jaws horizontally, meaning they have difficulty grinding fibrous foods (which is why kibble in vomit is always still whole!), and in fact they don’t even produce the digestive enzymes required to break down carbohydrates in their saliva (salivary amylase) .

Of course dogs aren’t wolves and it can be difficult to imagine an “oodle” or a pug ever sharing bloodlines with the grey wolf, but biologically they are still incredibly alike, and this extends to their metabolic and digestive needs and capabilities.

Dogs can digest some carbohydrate foods, such as small amounts of fresh fruits and cooked vegetables, and these provide wonderful nutritional benefits to them when they do.

But this doesn’t mean they should eat a starch-based diet of heavily processed grains . Like wolves, dogs thrive on an animal-based diet with the bulk of their energy coming from protein and fat.