“That food was obviously the same kind of food that we were eating,” Axelsson explained, including root plants, porridge, meat, marrow, and possibly even bread. “All dogs studied have this change, which I'd say puts it at least a couple of thousand years back in time,” Axelsson tells NBC News.
Over 2,000 years ago early Romans were feeding their farm dogs barley bread soaked in milk as well as meat scraps. They fed their war dogs more raw meat and garlic doses to strengthen them. During the Middle Ages, European royalty often treated their hunting hounds better than their wives.
Looking at this timeline we can see that dogs, for tens of thousands of years, have been eating a diet of scraps, meat, and bones at the side of their human guardians. Up until the last 100 years, we've always fed our dogs appropriately. It's only been in the last 60 years or so where kibble has become the new norm.
Many early domestic dogs ate almost no meat. Dogs living around 3000 years ago in what is now Spain were instead fed cereals, such as millet, by their owners.
But before the mid-1800s, dogs primarily lived outside and ate raw meat or table scraps. It was only after the Industrial Revolution that the growth of a more affluent middle class led to cats and dogs becoming house pets who were considered more “civilized” companions than their outdoor, working counterparts.
Bramble lived in the UK and held the Guinness World Record for being the oldest living dog at the time. What's the most amazing thing about this story is that Bramble actually lived on a vegan diet of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains (no meat, eggs, and dairy).
It was not until the mid-1800s that the world saw its first food made specifically for dogs. An American electrician, James Spratt, concocted the first dog treat. Living in London at the time, he witnessed dogs around a shipyard eating scraps of discarded biscuits.
Food, water and shelter
Wild dogs feed opportunistically. That is, they will eat whatever is easiest to obtain when they are hungry. They scavenge and will eat animal or vegetable matter, will hunt for live prey, or will eat road-killed animals, dead livestock, and scraps from compost heaps or rubbish tips.
The Shih Tzu shares more DNA with wolves than most other breeds. The only breed group with more shared wolf DNA is the Nordic spitz group (Huskies, Samoyeds, and Malamutes).
Dogs are highly adaptable dietary generalists, so they could survive on a wide range of foods, from plants, berries and insects to small mammals and birds – and perhaps even some larger prey. Post-human dogs would eat whatever they could get their paws on.
The staple food is bran bread, with meat from the chase, and game to be killed specially for them even out of the regular hunting season. Sick hounds may be given more fancy diets, such as goat's milk, bean broth, chopped meat, or buttered eggs.
Potatoes and Cabbage
Since money was tight, these dogs would share their owner's diet. Therefore, peasant dogs ate peasant food. In Europe, this consisted largely of potatoes and boiled cabbage.
Feeding for dogs back in these times is thought to have mainly consisted of meat, bones, and barley. Leading up to the late 1800's, it was clear that the majority of our dogs' diets consisted of table scraps. For those living in cities, horse meat became a common source of protein.
Roman poet and philosopher Marcus Terentius Varro wrote a manual on farming, “Farm Topics,” that advised providing dogs with meat and bones, and barley soaked in milk.
It remained a major ingredient in pet food until at least the 1940s.
The eating of dog meat in China dates back to around 500 BCE, and possibly even earlier. It has been suggested that wolves in southern China may have been domesticated as a source of meat. Mencius (372–289 BCE) talked about dog meat as being an edible, dietary meat.
A wolfdog is a canine produced by the mating of a domestic dog (Canis familiaris) with a gray wolf (Canis lupus), eastern wolf (Canis lycaon), red wolf (Canis rufus), or Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) to produce a hybrid.
Chicken & Turkey Skin, Ham, & Other Fatty Cuts of Meat
These food items contain a high-fat content, which can cause acute pancreatitis, a life-threatening illness with severe complications. Avoid turkey bones too. Dogs can develop severe indigestion or vomiting after eating turkey bones.
According to most raw feeders, dogs should eat muscle meat (hamburger, chicken, turkey), as well as a healthy array of organ meat (heart, liver, kidneys), whole fish, and raw meaty bones (aka, RMBs).
“Dogs require certain essential amino acids in their diets, and some proteins provide more value than others,” adds Dr. Klein. “Meat does provide all of those amino acids, but many plant proteins do not. However, a diet consisting solely of meat products will not meet all of your dog's dietary requirements.”
A similar research conducted by Belgium scientists, titled “Relation Between the Domestic Dogs: Well-Being and Life Expectancy, A Statistical Essay,” revealed that dogs who had a high-quality, homemade diet (not table scraps or industrial, commercial pet food) extended their life expectancy by 32 months.
Bluey, an Australian cattle dog, entered the Guinness Book of World Records by living to the ripe old age of 29 years and 5 months, setting the record for oldest dog ever. The record was set in 1939 and still stands, but many Australian Cattle Dogs have tried to beat it by living good long lives of their own.
🐾 Bobi, the world's oldest dog, eats only human food and loves a good nap. Bobi, the world's oldest dog, is turning 31 this week.