I used to feed my doggy poison. :D

[HeartOfCoal]

Dogs and cats are not people, and carnivores do not need to eat vegetables.

... I thought dogs were omnivores. I could be wrong, but that's what I thought.

[Soruc]

Yes, dogs are considered omnivores. Cats are carnivores.

[HeartOfCoal]

Oh. That would explain it. I know nothing about cats, so the comment confused me a little. Now it makes more sense.

[IAmLink]

No, dogs are carnivores. They can eat fruits and vegetables and grains, but it is not necessary to their diet and in some cases, especially grains, it can cause allergies.

http://rawfed.com/myths/omnivores.html

[Soruc]

Either way, some vegetables aren't going to kill them. They shouldn't be fed ONLY vegetables, but it shouldn't hurt them.

[IAmLink]

Either way, some vegetables aren't going to kill them. They shouldn't be fed ONLY vegetables, but it shouldn't hurt them.

No of course vegetables aren't going to hurt them . It's just a very common myth that dogs are omnivores. Dogs are incredibly adaptable, but they don't absolutely need fruits and vegetables like we humans, as actual omnivores, do.

[Jazi]

Hippos are herbivores but regularly steal kills from lions and participate in killings at a water source and eat part of the corpse, as well as scavenge and consume each other's dead bodies from time to time. Just because a creature can and does eat something doesn't necessarily mean it should. My parents' dog loves to eat rabbit poop out of the yard, but that's obviously not very good for her.

Dogs are carnivores, take a look at their teeth. While wolves do consume grains, fruits, and veggies in the wild, it's in incredibly small amounts and already partially digested most of the time because they're eating that by consuming their preys' stomachs. That gives them whatever supplements they need. A bit of it in their food won't hurt them, but the best diet is going to be a mix of meat, bone, and organ. As carnivores, plants are a lot harder for them to digest and some plants can't even be digested by them and go out in the same form as the way they went in. Whole corn kernels are commonly avoided because they don't get broken down when fed in large amounts (and occasionally don't break down at all), and they'll cut up a dog's insides. Not really something I'd like to feed my pal.

Now, some plants can be beneficial. I've found that mixing a pinch of cooked rice in with a meal will keep their poo solid if they've got the runs, and the dogs I've trained have all loved pieces of carrots as treats. Some plants can be absolutely terrible; grapes and chocolate are the first to spring to mind as fruits and plant-derivatives that should never be fed to a dog. But as a whole a dog does not need those things at all and would do significantly better on a proper diet :3

[bellatrix2002]

We feed are working (hunting, herding) dogs CO-OP Stamina Blend. They love it. We had them on Purina One, but it was upsetting stomachs.

[Toru]

Just because some raw feeding site claims dogs are carnivores doesn't make it true. Dentition isn't really a great way of classifying something as carnivore or omnivore. Herbivore or carnivore, sure, but it's much less obvious when trying to determine if something eats only meat or if they eat both meat and plant matter. Take a look at a Gray Fox skull, for example. They are an omnivore, and during some parts of the year their diet can consist almost exclusively of plant matter.
http://img2.etsystatic.com/il_fullxfull.261067294.jpg

Looking at how a wolf eats is also very poor reasoning for how to feed a domestic dog. They aren't wolves, aren't really related to wolves any more closely than a variety of other wild canids, and haven't been wolves for a very long time. That is, if they ever even were wolves. There are 26 different DNA sequences between dogs and wolves, which is actually quite significant, and the exact wolf (if it was a wolf) has yet to be determined. It is entirely possible that the dog has always been a dog; that the original "dog" that was domesticated is simply extinct.
The original site of domestication has been suggested for re-evaluation with new findings in Africa: http://www.genomeweb.com/african-dog-ge ... ion-needed
Interestingly, unlike other domestic animals, when dogs have been breeding feral for generations their appearance does not revert back to its proposed ancestor (the wolf). Instead they take on a look not overly dissimilar to the Canaan Dog.

Dogs can digest plant matter, selectively eat it, and are capable of living off a plant-only diet. They are omnivores, of the opportunistic feeder style (AKA scavenger). Feral dogs don't form packs and hunt down caribou, they scavenge whatever they can off human areas like they've done for the past X amount of years. When they eat meat, it's either small things they manage to catch or rancid/by-product meat found in garbage bins.
For domestic dogs years ago, the diet would have been similar. Meat is a precious item, and wouldn't have been wasted on the dogs. For American breeds, the diet would have likely been very high in corn bread and (when they got meat) things they caught on their own or useless trimmings/rancid meats. If they were not omnivores from the beginning, we created them as one by selecting for dogs that worked the hardest on those kinds of diets.

Can they survive as carnivores? Yes. Can they survive as herbivores? Yes. Being a scavenger, the dog's digestive system is adaptable to a very wide variety of diets. Doesn't mean those diets are optimal or provide the best results, but it can be done and there are people who choose to feed their dogs that way. It's their dog, so it's their choice.

[Jazi]

Technically, as they are part of the order "Carnivora" (which has obligate carnivores [cats] and more omnivorous carnivores [dogs]), and are classified as canis lupus familiaris and canis lupus dingo, I would say most scientists believe that the grey wolf, canus lupus is a common ancestor to most if not all dog breeds and that dogs are definitely carnivores. While, as I said, they will seek out and eat other foods, they are not nearly as necessary in such large amounts of their diets as people think. Just because they can adapt to a diet that might not be the best for them (which is what this topic is about) doesn't mean that's what they should be fed. After all, rancid, rotting meat is not very high up on the list for what's healthiest for our pets, but as you described they can and have survived on it. As said before, hippos will also scavenge meat, even steal kills from lions, but are classified as herbivores. And as herbivores, while they've obviously made it plain that they can and will survive eating meat, they are better left to be fed the staple diet of an herbivore with some supplements added in if necessary.

I don't think anyone's said that no one should ever feed their dog things that aren't inherently dangerous (such as grapes or chocolate), and that no one should be allowed to decide for their own dog. If you think your dog is happy, healthy, and fine eating cooked rice with a little bit of carrots and potatoes, be my guest. However I'd prefer to only feed my animals the best diet I can possibly afford, regardless of whether or not I can "make do" since their stomachs will "adapt anyway".