Some backgroud before my question. My dog just got back today from surgery. She had 1 tooth removed that was infected and rotting. When she was a puppy she got kicked in the face by a horse and it knocked some teeth out. Her upper left side specifically. Her canine was one of those teeth that got kicked out. Now the one that was removed today was one that was very close to the set of missing teath so that now theres an even bigger gap. They gave me instructions on what to do since i got her back. It was the food instructions that gave rise to my question.

Dogs teath are designed to tear as opposed to say human teeth. Tearing meat notably. Since my dog is already missing so many teath my question is this.
Whats the logic in today's dog food? why can we feed our dogs real meat that they would normally eat in the wild? if dog's teath are sharp and meant to tear whats the logic of feeding them these crunchy pellets? seems to me that my dog (with her situation) would be better off eating some meat might be a little easier for her.

thanks for your comments

A lot of people actually do feed their dogs raw meat and bones, as the major component of their diet. Commonly referred to as the BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods, also referred to as Bones And Raw Foods) diet, those who feed their dogs this way are in fact using the same logic you did in asking your question, as to what our dogs' ancestors would have done in the wild.

In addition to preparing your dog's food yourself, which takes some research in order to learn about balancing ingredients, etc., pre-made raw food diets are also available (though generally very costly, especially if you have a big dog!). There are lots of sources of information online; if you're interested in finding out more, you could do a search under "BARF" (as an example), and do some reading. (Since I don't feed raw myself, I can't point you to the very best sources, but I know there's a lot of good information out there to be found. )

It shouldn't be any different from cats to dogs; the crunchy pellets help keep their teeth clean of plaque and such, and it's convenient for owners. Real cat people (and my cat guide) say to feed cats what they would eat in the wild--moles, fish, etc. [Edit to add: as StarStuff says, raw-food diets.) My cat Westy lived to 19 and was missing a bunch of teeth by then--my father gave him only canned food, protein being the important ingredient. Most vets agree that dry food is like candy and not very nutritious. CAP will not accept dry food with red coloring. The better brands treat it like dry cereal for us humans--spraying it with vitamins.

If it were my dog, I'd be feeding him soft canned food. Why make him uncomfortable?

NC More, wherever she is, is a big dog person, and would probably have some good advice, too.

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Die Sonne scheidet hinter dem Gebirge. In alle Täler steigt der Abend nieder
mit seinen Schatten, die voll Kühlung sind.

Actually, my neighbors have a cat with some kind of liver malfunction who currently has to be force-fed. This is so much easier to do using canned food. They also always look at the proportion of protein in the food they feed their ferrets; some is a lot better than others. (You certainly can't feed ferrets on cat food.)

As to why we feed pets prepared food instead of what they eat in the wild, well, it's just a heck of a lot easier. (Cheaper, too.)

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"

Not to mention the fact that a 20 pound bag of kibble left on the counter for three days will smell a LOT different than a 20 pound bag of hamburger.

There is a show on Animal Planet about an emergency vet office in Colorado. One show had a Yorkshire Terrier that had it's entire lower jaw torn off by another dog. The little Yorkie eventually figured out how to eat dry food again, by scooping one up with its tongue and grinding it on the ground. At least that's how it looked.

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Yeah--my handy-dandy kitty food dispenser would not be possible with meat instead of kibble.

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"

My cats luvvvv Friskies Sliced Chicken or Beef. These canned foods are made as they are for humans' benefit, as they don't smell like the inside of a mole. It's that simple. The additives, preservatives, and fragrances make Friskies not the most terrible thing for me to eat should I need to. The smellier the food, the more likely the better it is for your pets, but I admit, I can't deal with the smell.

We had two cats, two dogs, and two horses at one point: the cats brought the Retrievers dead animals, then the dogs rolled around in and played with the dead animals, while the horses just stood around in their dung swatting flies. I house-sat a cat who once left me half a bunny for a welcoming present (I figured out what it was because of its little cottontail, as the upper half was missing.)

My cat did live to 19 on store-bought canned food, no IAMS or anything fancy, though I suspect since he was an indoor/outdoor cat he did get some good protein. Once a squirrel.

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Sunset

Die Sonne scheidet hinter dem Gebirge. In alle Täler steigt der Abend nieder
mit seinen Schatten, die voll Kühlung sind.

Thanks, I like that characterization...far better than my son's "crazy dog lady" description.

Why kibble? Basically, it's a safe and convenient way of seeing that the dog gets proper nutrition, provided that you feed a good quality kibble with meat as the primary ingredient, and a low level of grain (rice being better than corn). Good kibble isn't cheap, the cheap stuff is doggie "junk food". The reasoning behind the crunchy pellets is that the crunching promotes dental health. In the BARF diet the dog gets bones as part of the program, but doing BARF properly isn't all that easy. I feed kibble, but also give my guys raw bones as well. Canned food is ok nutritionally, but it's not good for teeth, that may be why firstcontact's Vet is not in favor of canned food here...remember if the dog has rear molars he can still crunch the kibble.

Also, having your dog's teeth cleaned by the Vet is a very good idea. If you feed them correctly, cleaning teeth every other year should be enough. I rotate my two so that I only do one each year. Some people brush their dog's teeth, I don't, as I find the raw bones take care of that quite well. Now, if I had a dog with dental problems I'd probably do the daily brushing.

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Melusine wrote

What is "CAP" and what do they have against red?

I realize the color is just to make it look nice to humans, but I suspect that there is no sound reason to think that red coloring will harm a cat or dog.

Our cat will not eat canned moist food; she will lick it until the "gravy" is gone, and nibbile the edge a bit, but that's it. Our vet feels that her dry food is quite adequate nuitition.

When she first came out of the woods to adopt us, she ws starving and ate anything she could get (including a toaster waffle, which was all I had at the time). Once she was comfortable, she settled on dry food and part of an occasional mouse, though she "plays" with them more often than eats them.

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We currently have three cats, none of whom are interested in wet food. We had a fourth, who was interested in wet food, but he died last fall.

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Each of my six lifetime cats had been on commercial or vet dry cat food throughout their lives. None liked wet to any real degree, although they've all liked various kinds of real meat as occasional treats.

My current one (12 and counting) goes bat-fit crazy for tuna, fresh turkey, and spicy pepperoni fresh off the bbq (although she gets very little. I suspect it's not very good for her.) My previous feral (16.5 years) certainly enjoyed leftover french-toast milk-and-egg when she could get it. (She was one of the rare cats who aren't lactose intolerant, apparently.)

But both were fine, long term, on commercial dry, so long as I could keep 'em active and exercised, and keep my father from re-feeding them.

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Our cat was on dry food for most of her 13 years and did just fine. Recently her vet suggested switching to moist as her teeth and kidneys get older (more moisture in the wet food). She seems quite happy with that too.

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Would wet foods for cats be akin to raw meat for dogs?

So we got Nutrition, dental health, and odor as some reasons, although the odor part might not be such a big deal if kept refrigerated rather than left in a corner for 3 days heh. I can understand the nutrition and dental health though but my dog prior to this surgery would only eat the dry food in her bowl (which is usually not the fancy shmancy stuff mostly just a 25$ bag from grocery store) only once every day to a day and a half because she never really liked dry food. she would hold out for some better food from the table. when i say better i mean tastier

over time due to the design of doggy and cat teeth to me it seems like the crunchy food might dull the sharpness? you might be able to respond by letting it gnaw on a sharpening stone (bone) but i dont know if that might be a fallacy.

thank for the responses

My kitty deems all abandoned dishes to be his personal domain--though his definition of "abandoned" may be different from the person whose plate he raiding's. He is particularly fond of jalapeno chile, which must be bad for him--I came home once, and his paws were all red, which freaked me out until I realized that it was chile.

D gets dry food because a) it's cheaper, b) it's what my mom's kitties have always lived on, and c) I can't be trusted to feed him reliably. If I'm depressed or in pain, I'm a lot less likely to worry about whether the cat has food or not, funnily enough. (Though he always lets me know!) With dry food, he's got one of those big jar dispensers, and I only have to be reliable once a week. (Though I need to give him water and scoop his litter more regularly.)

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"