Most vets and dog owners assume dogs should be on low carb

[jnklheimer]

My dog (75lb) gets up to 6tablespoons of white sugar a day. Rest of carbs from white rice. She seems to do pretty well on a high carb, med protein, low-med fat diet. She gets maybe 2g PUFA a day.


Most articles I read insist dogs should be on low carb diets. Is there any good logic behind this?

 

[Hugh Johnson]

They are the descendants of wolves, which I understand are obligate carnivores.

 

[Kram]

I have wondered about this as well. I think @LeeLemonoil is a vet. Do you have any thoughts on whether dogs should be eating carbs?

 

[Donnea]

No logic, just the low-carb mantra that we are all showered in. Dogs are not carnivores like cats.
My two dogs eat a lot of rinsed cottage cheese, eggs (I have my own hens), & root veggies.
I make my own "slop" once a week that I top their food with. It's usually low fat ground beef, kale, egg shell calcium, collagen, , vitamine E, & B vitamins.
I let it all simmer in a large stock pot, add the supplements once it has cooled a little. I uses as little water as possible so I can feed the liquid too. Then I mash in some baked apples, potatoes, acorn squash or something. They like milk a lot too and get some 1% milk almost daily.
Ray Peat said in an interview once that he advised someone to add some sugar to their dog's food for arthritis.

 

[jnklheimer]

They are the descendants of wolves, which I understand are obligate carnivores.

Yeah, but just because dogs/wolves can survive off mainly meat diets, does that mean they wouldn't do better with ample sugars?

 

[LeeLemonoil]

I have wondered about this as well. I think @LeeLemonoil is a vet. Do you have any thoughts on whether dogs should be eating carbs?

Yes, I think they should. And among dog physiologists that’s a topic that sees paradigm change since maybe 2010/12

Some nie recommend 20-50(!)% carbs in the diet. Dogs obviously need glucose and metabolize carbs into glucose quite well.

What forms of carb is another heated topic. Grains might be problematic.

 

[L91]

Animals tend to do better on higher fats than carbs i thought.... and dogs can have a bit more carbs than cats.

 

[AdR]

Carnivorous animals consume plenty of glycogen from fresh meat, but along with it they consume plenty of micronutrients that are depleted as the meat gets old and the glycogen used up. Fresh-frozen meat likely has a lot of this stuff intact. The green tripe company is good/grass-fed organic and also fairly affordable. I am sure there are local options in many counties.

These animals can survive as scavengers, so no carbs might be ok. I doubt white sugar supplementing a diet of kibble or canned stuff will be nearly as good as some of the stuff that is made for well-informed customers.

I also have doubts that white sugar is very good for them to consume chronically. Like cows - and unlike us - they are simple machines.

 

[JamesGatz]

My dog seems to thrive peating - I give her all the same stuff I eat and she's never looked healthier in her life.

Before I found peat I used to feed her more meat and she was probably somewhat low-carb at the time - her behavior was aggressive at this time and she was a bad dog - p*ssing and sh*tting all over the couch and stuff and gnawing on the walls and stuff

Since peating her demeanor is a lot more calm and friendly and she has manners now (she will never damage the stuff in my house and asks to go outside always to deal with her business - I can even cut her nails now without her making a fuss and if i had attempted to do this before she was peating i would need about 3 full grown men to hold her down so she wouldn't kill me

 

[Mastemah]

Worked w many pet owners and pets. Feed dogs closer to how youd eat. Meat milk sugar eggs salt aspirin niacinamide E etc.a little Cyproheptadine now and then. Progesterone. Pet food is a primary cause of disease

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

..

My dog (75lb) gets up to 6tablespoons of white sugar a day. Rest of carbs from white rice. She seems to do pretty well on a high carb, med protein, low-med fat diet. She gets maybe 2g PUFA a day.


Most articles I read insist dogs should be on low carb diets. Is there any good logic behind this?

I give my dog a mouthful of raw honey a couple of times a day and she does well on this dog food I created for her. She also drinks lots of raw whole milk. 4+ years ago, she had a terrible hacking cough, which turned out to be congestive heart failure, which is irreversible the doctor said, and gave 6 months to live. So I took all dog food out of her diet and put her on hawthorn berry extract and no hacking cough! She was the runt of the little nobody wanted, with a "wonky" eye too, and she will be 13 years old this October :)

Just cook the meat and rice combo down until the rice absorbs all the water.

 

[FredSonoma]

How do you get your dog to eat the white sugar? My dog won't eat any fruit or sweet things.

 

[FredSonoma]

My dog seems to thrive peating - I give her all the same stuff I eat and she's never looked healthier in her life.

Before I found peat I used to feed her more meat and she was probably somewhat low-carb at the time - her behavior was aggressive at this time and she was a bad dog - p*ssing and sh*tting all over the couch and stuff and gnawing on the walls and stuff

Since peating her demeanor is a lot more calm and friendly and she has manners now (she will never damage the stuff in my house and asks to go outside always to deal with her business - I can even cut her nails now without her making a fuss and if i had attempted to do this before she was peating i would need about 3 full grown men to hold her down so she wouldn't kill me

How did you get her to eat fruit and dairy? My dog will only eat meat

 

[JamesGatz]

How did you get her to eat fruit and dairy? My dog will only eat meat

She eats the following daily:

For Dairy:

I cut up a bunch of parmigiano reggiano cheese and melt it on top of white rice - I put in a little ground beef as well and she eats it right up

I also give her lowfat A2 milk mixed in with a little coffee and white sugar or mixed with mexican coke - She likes coffee a lot and tolerates it really well and she also likes mexican coke, caffeine has never been a problem for her and I'm convinced it's only dangerous in high amounts (as with humans) - she doesn't really like drinking milk alone however

For fruit (I salt all her fruit):

She likes watermelon A LOT - she will eat it alone

She also eats a little pineapple alone

She likes bananas alone

She doesn't like OJ or tangerine juice and would never drink it alone but if I mix it with a little milk or mexican coke she drinks it right up with no problem

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

How do you get your dog to eat the white sugar? My dog won't eat any fruit or sweet things.

My dog loves if I muddle watermelon, then mix in some water and then strain it. She guzzles it right down!

 

[Regina]

How did you get her to eat fruit and dairy? My dog will only eat meat

My dog(s) was the same.
They way I got him to eat some carbs is:
1) trader joe's dried mandarin slices. I cut a couple pieces inito tiny slices and added to his food. At first, he would leave much of the specks on his plate.
Now he is accustomed to them and eats 5 - 10 per day.
2) Daisy or Friendly brand cottage cheese. Started with one teaspoon after dinner. Now he seeks it and he's up to a couple tbls a day.
3) maple syrup. Again, started very teeny amount. Now, he seeks the mandarin slices over cottage cheese drizzled with maple syrup. He especially loves maple syrup.

 

[ecstatichamster]

My dog seems to thrive peating - I give her all the same stuff I eat and she's never looked healthier in her life.

Before I found peat I used to feed her more meat and she was probably somewhat low-carb at the time - her behavior was aggressive at this time and she was a bad dog - p*ssing and sh*tting all over the couch and stuff and gnawing on the walls and stuff

Since peating her demeanor is a lot more calm and friendly and she has manners now (she will never damage the stuff in my house and asks to go outside always to deal with her business - I can even cut her nails now without her making a fuss and if i had attempted to do this before she was peating i would need about 3 full grown men to hold her down so she wouldn't kill me

that’s fascinating.

 

[ecstatichamster]

..

I give my dog a mouthful of raw honey a couple of times a day and she does well on this dog food I created for her. She also drinks lots of raw whole milk. 4+ years ago, she had a terrible hacking cough, which turned out to be congestive heart failure, which is irreversible the doctor said, and gave 6 months to live. So I took all dog food out of her diet and put her on hawthorn berry extract and no hacking cough! She was the runt of the little nobody wanted, with a "wonky" eye too, and she will be 13 years old this October :)

Just cook the meat and rice combo down until the rice absorbs all the water.

fantastic story. Cute dog. .

 

[FredSonoma]

She eats the following daily:

For Dairy:

I cut up a bunch of parmigiano reggiano cheese and melt it on top of white rice - I put in a little ground beef as well and she eats it right up

I also give her lowfat A2 milk mixed in with a little coffee and white sugar or mixed with mexican coke - She likes coffee a lot and tolerates it really well and she also likes mexican coke, caffeine has never been a problem for her and I'm convinced it's only dangerous in high amounts (as with humans) - she doesn't really like drinking milk alone however

For fruit (I salt all her fruit):

She likes watermelon A LOT - she will eat it alone

She also eats a little pineapple alone

She likes bananas alone

She doesn't like OJ or tangerine juice and would never drink it alone but if I mix it with a little milk or mexican coke she drinks it right up with no problem

Thank you very much. The caffeine thing is interesting, I always read online that dogs shouldn't have ANY at all. My dog got into a coffee once though and was completely fine too.

My dog(s) was the same.
They way I got him to eat some carbs is:
1) trader joe's dried mandarin slices. I cut a couple pieces inito tiny slices and added to his food. At first, he would leave much of the specks on his plate.
Now he is accustomed to them and eats 5 - 10 per day.
2) Daisy or Friendly brand cottage cheese. Started with one teaspoon after dinner. Now he seeks it and he's up to a couple tbls a day.
3) maple syrup. Again, started very teeny amount. Now, he seeks the mandarin slices over cottage cheese drizzled with maple syrup. He especially loves maple syrup.

Thank you! Will try this

My dog loves if I muddle watermelon, then mix in some water and then strain it. She guzzles it right down!

Wow very cool, I'll try that

 

[danishstargazer]

I had the most amazing American Eskimo dog ( male ) for 15.5 years. He ate primarily a diet of a kibble called V-dog which is vegan. He also ate cooked sweet potato and some chicken. He was beautiful and healty.