The Eating Behavior Of A Dog

A lot of dog owners actually think that every breed of dog has to be fed differently. This is further from truth, the eating conduct of a dog is the same throughout the entire species, not an individual breed, and since all dogs pretty much eat the exact same way. But, there are certain considerations that generally can be made when feeding any dog.

A dog does not eat his food the same way a human does. Since a dog does not have hands, its jaws are equipped for biting and cutting its food rather than chewing. There's not very many "gag" reflex nerves in a dog's throat, but there are many in a human's throat. A dog's sense of smell is very strong, but it actually has fewer taste buds than humans.

How A Dog Eats

Although, the eating conduct of a dog seems strange and awkward to some humans, it is a natural, comfortable and satisfying way of eating his food. The most common pattern of eating his food is by swallowing it whole; this is called "bolting." A dog will pick the food up, and swallow it whole, the only time you really ever see a dog chew is if it has something chewy and is sticking to his teeth.

If the food is too large for the dog to swallow he will hold the food with his paws and use his front teeth to rip and tear off littler pieces so it can be swallowed. He has special teeth he uses to cut the food if it is too hard to be torn; these teeth are located in his jaw and are called carnassial teeth, with their large shearing surfaces they act like sharp scissor blades that can cut through tougher substances such as muscle, hide, gristle, and even bone.

Most of the dog's teeth are for tearing, and cutting larger food into smaller sizes so that it can be swallowed. Rarely are they ever used for chewing.

With most hard dog foods a dog will pick it up and crush it and then swallow it.