Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Healthy Natural Dog Food - Humans vs Dogs Part 1

 

Nothing but the Best for your Dog's Tummy

Choosing a dog food is much like choosing a spouse. Lots of
choices but very few quality ones. I have always had a
passion for making sure my dogs only eat the very best but
in order to do that we need to know a little bit about what
makes dogs different from us. Having that knowledge will
allow us to understand why dogs actually need higher
quality proteins than humans. Let's help them live longer
happier lives by feeding them healthy natural, and
preferably human grade dog food.

Let's start with the teeth and jaw. Dogs have 42
well-spaced teeth. People have 32 and our teeth are close
together. The space between dogs' teeth allows food to
enter quickly. Dogs' mouths are funnels to get food into
the stomach as quickly as possible. Your dog gulping his
food is his natural way of eating. He has fewer taste buds
than we do, so there appears to be no need for him to savor
his dinner! Our canine friends also lack the ability to
grind food. Their jaws work only up and down. Side to side
movement is impossible for your dog's jaw. They also do
not predigest starches in the mouth like we do. We get
cavities. Dogs get more tarter build up, but no cavities!

Food travelling from their mouth to their stomach takes
only about 5 seconds. Once in the stomach, the food is
stored and digestion begins. Dogs have more acid in their
stomachs than people do and this allows them to break down
bacteria more effectively than we can. They also have this
antibacterial ability in their saliva.

The small and large intestine in the average human is
approximately 36 feet long. That's roughly the height of a
four storey building! A 70 lb dog has a 6-foot long
intestine therefore dogs need high quality proteins to be
able to digest them quickly. People can digest raw fruits
and vegetables better because of our longer digestive
systems. Give a dog a piece of whole carrot and it comes
out the other end much the same way it entered!

Digestion of complex carbohydrates and vegetables is more
difficult for your dog, therefore in a perfect world they
would be cooked and pureed to simulate predigestion.
Cooking keeps the glycemic index low to help maintain even
blood sugar levels. This causes less stress on the
pancreas and liver and less chance of developing diabetes.

If you are like me and have your dog sleeping on the bed
with you it's not a great leap to understand that after
being domesticated for thousands of years dogs, while
different from humans in many ways, are similar in others.
Just like us needing healthy natural whole foods to thrive
in today's environment your dog needs a healthy natural dog
food as well.

Look for more info on dogs vs humans in upcoming segments.

Dr. Janice Elenbaas

Always remember, Health comes from the inside out!

About the Author:

Dr. Janice Elenbaas DC - The first woman recognized to
adjust animals in Canada and a founding member of the
Ontario Veterinarian Chiropractic Association is a
passionate advocate of the benefit of whole foods for both
humans and animals. Her company Lucky Dog Cuisine provides
all natural HUMAN GRADE cooked meals for dogs. For more
info or to receive her FREE INFOSERIES on dog nutrition
please visit =>
http://www.luckydogcuisine.com

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