Dogs CAN digest CARBS. .. Wolves CAN'T

Published: Tue, 09/23/25

Updated: Tue, 09/23/25

CAN DOGS DIGEST CARBOHYDRATES ?

THE ANSWER IS A RESOUNDING

YES

For over 11,000 years, our dogs ate what we ate. The more affluent we were, the better off our dogs fared. The diet of a typical working-class dog that lived a couple of centuries ago may have consisted of bread, potatoes and boiled cabbage, while the elite and privileged would lavish their dogs with roast duck and consommé. Table scraps and grains had not yet become bad words.

Nowadays, there’s a popular assertion stating that dogs

should eat mostly protein.

Some dog food brands contain 90% protein!

It’s based on the premise that the wolf is the dog’s closest relative and, therefore, dogs are virtually wolves.

Internet sites will assert that dogs don't have the enzymes to digest starch so they shouldn’t be fed carbohydrates.

I’ve seen how adamant people can get about their dogs’ diets. We can become awfully opinionated about our diets with one fad replacing another.

We seem to get just as dogmatic, forgive the pun, about our dog’s diets.

Dogs were domesticated and began living lives that were quite different from their wild wolf cousins well over 100 centuries ago. A lot can change in the canine genetic makeup over that period of time, and it seems that it has.

Our dogs have co-evolved, along with us, to be able to eat what we eat.

Early on, novel adaptations in their genes allowed the ancestors of modern dogs to digest and assimilate starches.

Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in the DNA that affect the the expression of the gene. The term 'epigenetics' literally means "above the genes'.

Epigenetics refers to changes that affect the way your genes work.

Let's think this through......

Do you think ancient cavemen gave their dogs the steak and ate the potato?

MAYBE THE DOG GOT A LEFT-OVER MEGALOSAURUS BONE

IT WAS PROBABLY A DOG THAT THOUGHT OF THE

'WHERE'S THE BEEF' COMMERCIAL AND HELD IT IN HIS PRIMORDIAL BRAIN FOR GENERATIONS

Where's the Beef?

So let’s move away from Internet supposition to scientific fact.

Here's some pretty impressive genetic research done in Sweden.

Eric Axelsson, an evolutionary geneticist at the Uppsala University in Sweden, compared the DNA from dogs and wolves. Unlike wolves, dogs had developed genes for digesting starch. Dogs have up to 30 copies of the gene that makes amylase, a protein that starts the breakdown of starch in the intestine, while wolves have only two copies. The multiple genes for amylase are 28 times more active in dogs, showing that our canine friends are many times better at digesting starches than wolves.

There’s also another gene that codes for an additional enzyme— maltase—important in the digestion of starch. It was found that dogs produce a longer version of the maltase digestive enzyme. In fact, it’s the same type of elongated version seen in herbivores, such as cows and rabbits, making it even more efficient in its ability to digest starch.

Geneticists and evolutionary biologists became very excited about this rather recent discovery.

The bottom line is that dogs can eat starches and they have adapted to a diet that’s quite similar to a balanced human diet.

Most of us know that what we eat affects the pH of our bodies.

It's the same with dogs and cats. Watch for my newsletter that will explain how pH is affecting the health of our dogs and cats.

Deva Khalsa VMD

DeservingPets, 1560 S Myrtle Ave, Clearwater, FL 33756, USA

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