top of page
Search

Are our dogs and cats supposed to eat raw food?

Updated: Sep 17, 2023

A crucial question to paw at for every pet parent. Let's dive into the theory that evolution determines the biological make-up of our pets, and whether its important in deciding their diet.


The rundown

  1. Dogs and cats, due to their evolutionary designs, are best fed a diet of raw, whole foods

  2. Synthetic or processed foods, such as most commerical kibbles, should be seen as an inferior alternative

  3. Raw food feeding might be seen as an alternative, but is the most natural and beneficial way to feed pets

Are our furry companions naturally aligned to raw, whole foods? Seems a bit far-fetched? As most veterinarians advocate, aren't they meant to munch on kibble, canned food, or pre-made cooked food?


Indeed, convenience stores and the veterinarian industry broadly promotes processed foods as the staple diet for our pets, suggesting that deviating from it may risk their health. But where does the truth trail lead?


Do we serve raw, whole food, going against the firm advice of vets and bypassing oh-so-easy convenience shopping? Or do we stick to the norm – ultra-processed, cooked, dehydrated kibble?



Let's go on this dietary journey by understanding the relevance of evolution to our pets' food choices.



Who holds the answers?


Dogs and cats are not designed to use carbs as their primary energy source. Ignoring this can lead to regular vet visits, as their bodies need more than just carb-loaded fuel. If you feed them improperly, you might be signing up for a life of health issues and a reduced healthspan for your pets, often in the form of degenerative diseases.


Now, who holds the blueprint to our pets' evolutionary design? Evolution of course, has sculpted our pets over a long period of time, with food being a significant factor. This leads us to ponder the concept of a "nutritional genome", that part of a pet's DNA that's been shaped by the foods consumed over evolutionary time.


To ensure our pets' health and longevity, we need to understand what evolution teaches us about our pets’ diets. By examining their evolution, we can identify the foods that best meet their design specifications.








Dogs and their digestive systems evolved from wolves


Did you know that dogs are actually descendants of ancient wolves? Over millions of years, their diet has evolved and changed to meet their nutritional needs. Because of this, what a dog eats today isn't exactly the same as what their wolf ancestors ate.


There are five key eras in canine evolution that have shaped your dog's nutritional needs:


  1. Pre-human era spanning almost 50 million years.

  2. Camp-following era lasting several hundred thousand years.

  3. Domestication era going back about 14,000 years.

  4. Breed development era only a few hundred to a thousand years old.

  5. Pet food era dating back just 50 to 150 years.







Each of these eras provided a different food environment, which then had an impact on the food choices appropriate for dogs today. Two important factors when considering these eras are:

  • the length of time each food environment lasted

  • how close or far away that timeframe is to the present day


Raw food has been a staple for canines for over 3 million years, embedding it deeply into the canine genome. This suggests that dogs are designed to eat raw food. Cooked food is a much more recent introduction and hasn't had a significant impact on the dog's nutritional genome.


Processed pet food, being a recent development, has had little impact on the dietary genome or design of dogs. However, a food environment that's persisted for a long time, like the raw food environment, continues to greatly impact the dog's nutritional genome.


Looking at each era, we see that dogs' ancestors, from the first true mammals, were obligate carnivores - designed to eat only other animals. 40 million years ago, the first true dog-like creatures also followed this diet. About 1 million years ago, the first true wolves appeared, primarily hunting and scavenging other animals.


An important point to note is that their food was rich in microbes, providing the foundation for their intestinal microbiome.


Will you shift your mindset and view raw food feeding as the primary, rather than alternative method of feeding your pets? Based on the science of evolution, it seems that pets are evolutionarily designed for raw food after all.



The Raw Down


Sources: dr ian billinghurst | science.org | sciencemag.org | molecular ecology |

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is intended solely for educational and informational purposes and should never be used as a substitute for professional veterinary advice, diagnosis, or treatment. While we strive to provide accurate and up-to-date information, the content on this site is not meant to replace the guidance of a qualified veterinarian or other pet care professional. Visitors to this website should always consult with their veterinarian or a qualified pet health care provider for personalised recommendations and care tailored to their individual pet's needs. Reliance on any information appearing on this site is strictly at the user's own risk. We accept no responsibility for any loss, injury, or damage incurred as a result of using or misinterpreting information on this site.


bottom of page