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Wolf Knows - All About Food
- Barbara "BJ" Andrews
When do you feed your dogs? Before
you go to work or after you come home? Do you feed kennel dogs
in the morning before it gets too hot or, risking that you might not
notice if a dog bloats, do you feed at night after it cools off?
Do you change the time of day in winter, moving the morning feeding
back until daylight or the temperature has climbed above freezing?
Do you stick to an absolute schedule that
does not vary? Did someone tell you that it upsets the dog to
be fed on an irregular basis? Why not ask Wolf? Would he
agree that canines are creatures of habit must eat at the same time
every day?
 Of
course you feed the best food. You probably change brands now
and then as something new comes along. You know all about the
advantages of adding supplements and raw foods. Whether you listen
to long time successful breeders or the dog food companies, that's
up to you but if you listen to common sense, you know that dogs,
like every other carnivore including man, needs fresh fruit, some
vegetables including roots (that would be carrots and stuff) and of
course, they need good wholesome meat.
Ok, so what are you doing wrong?
Probably the same thing we did for years, until we used some common
sense. We were feeding without any thought as to how dogs would be
getting that food we didn’t set the bowl in front of him!
I know PETA might be listening but
carnivores eat meat. Meat comes from animals. Those
animals were once living. In the natural scheme of things,
carnivores must chase and kill their prey. Since the first
fish grew legs and crawled onto land, no carnivore has had its food
handed to him in a stainless steel bowl!
Carnivores eat herbivores. Herbivores
walk around and eat all day. They only run for fun or to
escape being eaten.
Carnivores chase herbivores.
The rabbit or moose gets a good shot of adrenaline and if he is fit,
he survives. The carnivore, if he is strong and healthy, runs
down or wears down, then enjoys his meal. If he’s not strong,
if he’s unskilled, or just plain unlucky - he goes hungry.
There is no clock to say when he eats. Doesn’t matter whether
it is Monday morning or Sunday evening. If he gives a good
chase, if he’s strong and cunning and using his brain and his four
good legs, he eats. If not, he tries again.
If he hasn’t eaten for a while and he comes
across a meal just lying there in his path, he will eat it but not
with the same excitement associated running his prey down, perhaps
done battle with it, and finally, adrenaline levels dropping and
gastric juices flowing, settling down to a hard-won meal.
Don’ t take my word for it. Think.
What does the normal undomesticated carnivore do? Chase prey.
Catch Prey. Eat. Sleep. Play and Procreate.
Become Restless. Hungry. Repeat.
What does your dog do? Just prior to
feeding time or whenever he perceives there is about to be food
available, he goes through some sort of “chase” and activity
behavior. Watch your dogs prior to feeding time. They
become restless, then increasingly more active. They will
“chase” and then “kill” their toys. Or they will fence fight.
Or jump up and down by the kitchen counter. Or fixate
longingly on the refrigerator. Whatever. They will show
displaced chase and catch behavior.
They won’t get the gastric juices flowing
to the same extent as a wolf that chases a caribou. They won’t
get the adrenaline levels up as much as a Coyote who just fought
Eagle over the remains of the wolf’s kill. But make no
mistake, there's a world of difference in the physiological
reactions to chasing and catching one’s own dinner as opposed to
being roused from the sofa and called to the plate. You don’t
have to be a vet to understand that one way is healthy while the
other leads to physical and mental stagnation.
Exercise your dogs before
feeding. (Never, ever, after eating or drinking a large
quantify of water.) Kennel dogs will charge up and down or
fence-fight. We turn ours into a 1/2 acre paddock where on a
good day, they might actually scare up a rabbit or a field mouse.
The dogs in the adjoining paddocks become jealous and excited and
run twice as hard as the dog that gets to chase the game. But
they all succeed in performing the ageless ritual and they all
receive the benefits.
They come in panting, tired, anxious to get
back in their runs or the house where, like a real family “pack”
they all “wolf” down whatever is in those shiny bowls.
We figure it is the best of both worlds and
our big dogs, medium dogs, and tiny little house dogs all agree!
And then they sleep. Just like a pack
of wolves.
reprinted with permission
August 2000
Copyright © 2000 Barbara J. Andrews. All rights reserved except for brief reference quotations
citing author and source. Article Reprint rights granted only
when working link to this page is provided or if print media,
TheDogPlace.org is listed as source. No portions may be
otherwise stored, used,
or reprinted in any form without prior express written consent of
Barbara J. Andrews. |
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