17 Warnings for Feeding Dogs Fruits and Vegetables

I know that, like me, you want the best for your dogs. The way to give your dog the longest and best life possible is by feeding them a superior diet.

Have you been told that your carnivore needs fruits, vegetables and even grains? Have you been told that your pet carnivore (dog or cat) is actually an omnivore?

In this ever-growing post, I break down the needs of your pet carnivores (yes, carnivores), talk about why the confusion around feeding plant matter lingers and give you scientific sources to dive into, to learn more.

There Are Few Absolutes in Nature When it Comes to Diet

Have you seen the pictures of a deer eating a dead rabbit or the video of a deer eating a dead fish? Better yet, have you seen the pictures on National Geographic’s website of a deer eating a human rib bone?

And did you know that herbivores like cows, goats, camels and rabbits eat their placentas? 

For the sake of survival, nature is somewhat forgiving to animals that accidentally, desperately or even purposfully stray from their species appropriate diets. Cows don’t drop dead after eating their placenta the same way our dogs don’t drop dead after eating a carrot.

Think of the mass casualties in nature if an animal eating something outside of it’s species appropriate diet meant imminent death. Of course, there are cases where animals die from eating something they shouldn’t. I’m generally speaking here.

The point I’m trying to make is that yes, people can choose from a number of different diets for their pets (and themselves) and any potential damage to their health isn’t going to necessarily happen overnight. 

As for my own dogs and those of you who want to feed a superior diet right along with me, let’s hold ourselves to the highest of standards and make no nutritional compromises! 

No Absolutes = Low Standards

Unfortunately, our companion and livestock animals suffer because of the dietary abuse we can pose on them without it instantly killing them.

Most livestock animals alive on this planet today are fed foods they would never naturally eat.

Chickens (omnivores) are fed vegetarian diets, cows (herbivores) were once fed dead cows (Mad Cow Disease was the result), pigs (omnivores) are fed corn and soy, and our dogs and cats (carnivores) are fed plants and plant-based oils.

Why? Because most animals, including people, can survive dietary abuse for extended periods of time.

Humans are Eager to Lower Their Standards

The modern human population as a whole is heavily focused on lowering its standards.

Think of how often you see ads for products that can help you lose weight without changing your diet, get fit by working out 5 minutes a day, get rich quick, etc., etc.

These low standards have not only affected our own health, but they’ve also affected the health of all our domestic animals.

In wanting convenience, the human population has stretched it’s luck extremely thin and is paying the consequences. So are our pets.

Because of the dietary abuse we’re able to put ourselves, our livestock and pets through, we’re now dealing with the ramifications in record numbers.

Heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer rates have not only skyrocketed in humans, we’ve led our animals to the same fate.

In the case of our domestic carnivores, the modern human sees “no absolutes” as an open door for lowering dietary standards.

The Omnivore Lie

The notion that our dogs and cats are omnivores is not science based. In fact, science proves in resounding fashion, the exact opposite.

There are three main groups behind this lie:

• The pet food industry.
• Veterinary institutes.
• Raw feeding influencers.

All three of these groups use the omnivore lie for profitability and popularity.

Let’s face it, the majority of people want to feed their pets foods that they themselves enjoy. Raw meats, bones and organs aren’t as appealing to the masses as cereal looking processed food or fruits and vegetables and all else that we personally enjoy indulging in.

The customer acquisition costs are through the roof when it comes to educating the public on the truth. But lower standards or no standards at all, cheaply attract the masses.

The Arginine Theory

A research summary posted on the Journal of Nutrition’s website states that “It is suggested that the low activities of these enzymes (arginine) corroborate other evidence that indicates that the cat evolved as a strict carnivore. The dog has a requirement for arginine intermediate between the cat and the rat, which is consistent with the dog having an omnivorous diet during its evolution.”

1. What this argument doesn’t take into account is how long, and what all is needed to cause evolution of the body.
2. Evolution of the dog would have required consistency in dietary changes for dogs as a whole. There has been no consistency. Dogs have been raised all over the world on all sorts of different, less-than-optimal diets. Arguing that the dog as a whole has evolved as a whole is misguided.
3. A variation in dietary need can simply come from the fact that smaller cats can’t bring down the same prey as wolves. While cats have evolved over many thousands of years on diets of smaller prey that contain higher levels of arginine, wolves have survived on meats of animals that contain less arginine.
4. A dog having a need for arginine that’s closer to a rat does not automatically place the dog on rat’s side of the spectrum, as an omnivore. All omnivores have differing dietary needs, all herbivores have differing dietary needs and all carnivores have differing dietary needs.

Why are fruits, vegetables, plant based oils and grains so taxing on a dog’s digestive system?

Let’s take a quick look at dogs’ digestion processes and talk about their abilities and limitations.

We’ll start at the beginning…

Saliva: Amylase is something that herbivores and omnivores have in their saliva. This enzyme helps the pancreas break down chemical bonds in sugars and starches. Because carnivores (dogs) don’t have amylase in their saliva the burden of breaking down starches and sugars is entirely up to the pancreas, thus making it work overtime.

What does pancreas burnout cause? Diabetes.

The pancreas is responsible for producing insulin. By feeding your dog plant foods you are overworking the cells of the pancreas to maximum production. Overwork these cells for too long and they will begin to shut down. Once shut down they no longer produce insulin.

The number of dogs diagnosed with diabetes has been on the rise for years and it’s no wonder. The public has been lead to believe that their carnivorous companions need fruits and vegies.

Why? Simple. Plant matter is a cheap filler for dog foods.

What about the BMC Vet Res. study that found sAA in dogs?

This study is brought up frequently by people who want to feed their carnivores an inappropriate raw diet that includes plant matter. Yes, this study did find that the studied dogs had sAA. However, here are some things to keep in mind:

1. The study found that the biomarkers were “similar” to sAA, rather than actual sAA.
2. The number of sAA found per sample size for the male beagles was 50 & 60. A human has 1,500 units in the same sample size.
3. This study was performed by a veterinary institute. Because of the misinformation we’ve been fed by these sources for many years, we need to question any unproven findings.
4. By “unproven findings” I mean that one study does not equal scientific fact. More studies have to be done to prove or disprove the findings of a single study.
5. The dogs used in this study were test animals. We have no way of knowing what stresses they had been through over the years as test animals, before being used for this study.
6. Diet matters. What these dogs ate before (throughout their lives) and during the study is unknown. Their diet would be a factor in the findings.
7. The study itself states the following “The limited number of dogs employed in this study, and the fact that they were only male beagles from a research colony, makes difficult to extrapolate these results to the entire canine population or to real conditions.”
8. We should all have an issue with stressful tests performed on test animals (these male beagles being forced to ejaculate for this study) that live out their lives in labs, only to be used for study after study until they’re worn out and useless to researchers. This is a pretty sick study if you ask me, and it’s disgusting that people lean on a study like this to justify feeding plant matter to their carnivores. 

Jaws and Teeth: Unlike omnivores and herbivores that move their jaws and teeth in a grinding motion, dogs are only able to move their jaws in a cutting motion. Their teeth are designed to cut and slice rather than grind.

Have you ever seen a picture of a wild dog (wolf, coyote, fox) baring their teeth and thought “That dog needs his teeth cleaned!”
Of course not! They have shiny pearly whites.

Domestic dogs on the other hand are riddled with dental issues.

Gum disease and rotting teeth are so common that many vets recommend yearly cleanings.

When a dog is given a proper raw diet of meats, bones and organs, dental issues are non-existent. On the other hand, when fed a processed dog food diet or an improper diet of plant based foods (including fruits, rice, wheat and vegetables) dental issues are inevitable.

Digestive Tract: Carnivores have relatively short digestive tracts that digest food very quickly with the help of hydrochloric acid (responsible for breaking down and killing bacteria such as the kind found in decaying meats). This is unlike herbivores and omnivores whose digestive tracts take longer to break down foods for the purpose of being able to properly digest carbohydrates and plant matter.

Today many dogs suffer from inflammatory bowel disease, hemorrhagic gastritis, ulcers and gastric dilatation at alarming rates. Poor diets are the clear cause.

Pancreas: The pancreas produces trypsin for breaking down protein, but does not readily produce amylase for breaking down carbohydrates, nor does it produce cellulase- essential for breaking down glucose and cellulose.

As we covered above, the pancreas is taxed by its inability to handle plant matter and in more ways than one.

With so many illnesses and diseases plaguing domestic dogs today, every dog owner should be taking a close look at why.

And you don’t have to look too hard to see that inappropriate diets are causing dogs a great deal of harm.

Vitamin D Conversion: The precursor to vitamin D is found in both animal-derived foods and plants, but animal-derived products of vitamin D3 are more absorbable and beneficial for humans.

Why? Vitamin D is made by the body in one of two ways:

• Vitamin D2 — by created by irradiating yeast and other molds
• Vitamin D3 — by created by irradiating animal oils and cholesterol

Our human bodies are able to covert some D2 to be used for body functions but prefer and are more effectively able to use vitamin D3.

This means that carnivores, who utilize animal-derived foods and not plant matter, are likely unable to use D2 at all.

Vitamin D3 (from animal-derived foods) is closest to what sunlight naturally produces in the body. Vitamin D3 has been shown to convert up to 500 times faster than D2. It’s estimated to be four times more effective in humans.