Poll: Are Wolves/Dogs Carnivores or Omnivores?

[Sevre]

I'm going to say Carnivore because they eat mostly meat.

 

[CoziestPigeon]

Wolves don't eat anything other than meat. House dogs only eat other shit because they can. If given the choice, a dog will ALWAYS take a steak over a cookie. Dogs just eat other shit because they are stupidly curious

 

[Aimless Flea]

hey, my dog eats everything from meat to STEEL WOOL(it wasnt my fault!).

 

[Mr0llivand3r]

almost any animal that can eat meat has the ability to eat plants / non-meat stuff without toil.

it's the opposite for herbivores. their teeth / their body composition has a lot of difficulty stomaching (no pun intended) meat.

 

[Macar]

The tricky part is that wolves (canis lupus) are carnivores:

Gray wolves are carnivores. They hunt prey on their own, in packs, steal the prey of other predators, or scavenge carrion. Prey is located by chance or scent... A wolf can consume up to 9 kg of meat at one meal. Wolves usually utilize the entire carcass, including some hair and bones.

Dogs (canis lupus familaris) are a subspeciese- but considered omnivores. For anyone who wants a more reliable source than wikipedia, check this out: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Canis_lupus_familiaris.html

 

[megapenguinx]

Omnivores, but they need to eat meat. I don't think they can survive on grain alone (and still be strong).

you can get vegetarian dog food

Hence the bit at the end. I don't think it's healthy to make your dog a vegetarian.

 

[Abedeus]

I'm going to say Carnivore because they eat mostly meat.

Are humans carnivores because they mostly eat meat?

NO!

But the main mistake is the poll itself - wolves are carnivores and they often eat from corpses.

Dogs can eat anything. Wolves can't eat vegetables, dogs can.

Omnivores, but they need to eat meat. I don't think they can survive on grain alone (and still be strong).

you can get vegetarian dog food

Hence the bit at the end. I don't think it's healthy to make your dog a vegetarian.

It's not. Dogs can't adapt to being only vegetarians. They have different bodies than humans and honestly? I think that's a case of animal cruelty.

 

[Hitman 43]

Omnivores.

 

[antipunt]

They're naturally carnivores, but will eat most things if necessary. Domesticated dogs are more omnivorous, but that's not natural.

This.

This is definitely true. When you feed a dog veggies, you have to make sure they are the right kind and also grind them up in a special way because their stomachs/teeth aren't made for it

In other words: they are naturally carnivorous (teeth are the biggest giveaway), but you can feed them veggies, sure. Just gotta be smart about it

 

[spuddyt]

Naturally eat both, omnivorous with a slant towards eating lots of meat (because that is the primary food source

 

[Gruthar]

FWIW, my parents feed one of their dogs veggies (canned sliced carrots, green beans, spinach) along with the rest of his food. He was somewhat overweight and had a couple of lipomas, so the vet recommended cutting down on his food and giving him veggies to satiate his hunger. Seems to have done the trick, as he's lost ~10lbs and the lipomas have softened.

Their other dog likes to eat mesquite bean pods when nobody's watching him. Neither dog has trouble digesting the plants they eat.

 

[rampantcreature]

Scavengers, but almost positive they are carnivores

how in gods name are the scavengers? I'm not saying that they wouldn't eat a dead deer they found lying around but wolves do their own hunting.

Have you ever read about the success rates of wolves hunting? (for example this book and study [http://books.google.com/books?id=_mXHuSSbiGgC&pg=PA137&lpg], even if it's from the 70's) Yeah, they hunt but they're pretty terrible at it. Even in packs. Kind of like lions.

 

[Snowalker]

A lot of people are throwing the word FACT around, but why can't we question what Fact is? I mean sure scientist say Wolves are Carnivores, but what do you think? If you believe it just because they said it and don't reason it out for yourself, then we turn into mindless people. I just wanted to know what you guys thought. Omnivores or Carnivores. Thats why that poll is there.

 

[Abedeus]

I'm going to say Carnivore because they eat mostly meat.

Are humans carnivores because they mostly eat meat?

NO!

But the main mistake is the poll itself - wolves are carnivores and they often eat from corpses.

Dogs can eat anything. Wolves can't eat vegetables, dogs can.

Omnivores, but they need to eat meat. I don't think they can survive on grain alone (and still be strong).

you can get vegetarian dog food

Hence the bit at the end. I don't think it's healthy to make your dog a vegetarian.

It's not. Dogs can't adapt to being only vegetarians. They have different bodies than humans and honestly? I think that's a case of animal cruelty.

yes feeding them soley a vegetarian human's diet would be wrong,

feeding a dog a humans diet is wrong to boot, however the beautiful thing about the anatomy of most animals is that its not suposed to get the correct diet

your body would never get the optimal nutrients required for a perfect diet in the wild, so it accepts this, the body is far more versatile than you can imagine, as are all animals

and i find it amusing that you believe that feeding an animal a slightly different diet is animal abuse, compared to having thousands of cows in steel cages overfed and then slaughtered

I never compared slowly killing animals' bodies by changing their natural diet to caged cows.

You are have mistaken human body, capable of adapting to almost every diet, with dog diets. For instance, to get proteins, you need to eat a lot of meat, like dogs do. If they change dog's diet to a vegetarian one, what are they going to eat? Grass? NUTS!?

 

[lleihsad]

Wolves are carnivorous (occasional berries and such notwithstanding), but I'm pretty sure most breeds of dog would count as omnivorous. Countless generations of breeding have done a lot for their digestive versatility.

 

[Abedeus]

I'm going to say Carnivore because they eat mostly meat.

Are humans carnivores because they mostly eat meat?

NO!

But the main mistake is the poll itself - wolves are carnivores and they often eat from corpses.

Dogs can eat anything. Wolves can't eat vegetables, dogs can.

Omnivores, but they need to eat meat. I don't think they can survive on grain alone (and still be strong).

you can get vegetarian dog food

Hence the bit at the end. I don't think it's healthy to make your dog a vegetarian.

It's not. Dogs can't adapt to being only vegetarians. They have different bodies than humans and honestly? I think that's a case of animal cruelty.

yes feeding them soley a vegetarian human's diet would be wrong,

feeding a dog a humans diet is wrong to boot, however the beautiful thing about the anatomy of most animals is that its not suposed to get the correct diet

your body would never get the optimal nutrients required for a perfect diet in the wild, so it accepts this, the body is far more versatile than you can imagine, as are all animals

and i find it amusing that you believe that feeding an animal a slightly different diet is animal abuse, compared to having thousands of cows in steel cages overfed and then slaughtered

I never compared slowly killing animals' bodies by changing their natural diet to caged cows.

You are have mistaken human body, capable of adapting to almost every diet, with dog diets. For instance, to get proteins, you need to eat a lot of meat, like dogs do. If they change dog's diet to a vegetarian one, what are they going to eat? Grass? NUTS!?

hense why you buy the vegetarian dog food specially not throw lots of green stuff at it

The question is... why would you do that in the first place?

Animals don't think about the global domination of people or animals eating meat. They don't care about it. They also don't benefit from it. Bah, it might even be harmful!

My point stands - forcing an animal to eat something that he might not like or may harm is animal cruelty. Same as feeding your children vegetarian food. Or worse, vegan, as it may exclude MILK...

 

[Shapsters]

Biologically speaking, they are carnivores. Just look at the teeth, designed to rip and cut flesh.

Bears have claws and teeth that are even more fearsome, but they are omnivores. I would say that wolves are carnivores and dogs are omnivores, they are different animals keep in mind.

 

[keptsimple]

give your dog some beer and watch them go to town.

DO NOT give beer to your dog. Hops, which are used to make beer, can cause malignant hyperthermia in dogs, likely resulting in death. You do not need to give your dog enough beer to get it drunk to trigger this reaction.