Is your dog an omnivore or carnivore animal?

Dogs belong to the canine family, the order of carnivores, but this does not always imply specific behavior, anatomy, or food preferences.

Judge for yourself

Some animals can look like predators and behave like predators. But are they really predators? It's up to you to judge.

• Wolves attack herbivores, but they primarily eat the contents of their stomachs, as well as the insides of these animals. 1
• Coyotes consume a variety of foods, including small mammals, amphibians, birds, fruits, and herbivore feces.
• Pandas also belong to the order of carnivores, but they are herbivores and mainly consume bamboo leaves.

Finding out the truth

• The term opportunivore best describes a dog's natural desire to eat what it finds - plants as well as animals.

Severe or true predators such as cats have a higher requirement for taurine (amino acid), arachidonic acid (fatty acid), and certain vitamins (niacin, pyridoxine, vitamin A) that are available in animal protein and fat sources.

Omnivores such as dogs and humans do not have a high requirement for taurine and certain vitamins and can independently produce arachidonic acid from vegetable oils.

Omnivore characteristics

There are other dietary, behavioral, and physical factors that separate the two worlds - omnivores and carnivores:

• Dogs have teeth (molars) with relatively flat surfaces designed to grind bones as well as fibrous plant material.
• Dogs can digest nearly 100% of the carbohydrates they consume. 2
• In dogs, the small intestine occupies about 23 percent of the total volume of the gastrointestinal tract, which is in line with other omnivores; in cats, the small intestine is only 15 percent. 3.4
• Dogs can make vitamin A from beta-carotene in plants.