And now, for some research Rover will love to hear:
It’s okay…
…to feed your dog people food.
Some of it, at least.
While things like chocolate, alcohol, yeast (and I’m also told grapes and tomatoes are no good, either) are still on the blacklist for your buddy’s belly, we’ve taken the specialized dog food mentality a bit too far over the years, says science. And a lot of it has to do with – what else- but money.
When our dog-friends first set out on the path of evolving from white fang to Fido, dog Darwinism flipped to favor the floppy eared cuties. Because they were more friendly to us, they got fed. Keeping in mind we were still drawing penises on cave walls and speaking in phonemes and vocables at this point, we didn’t have much in the way of manufactured mutt meals to offer our new friends. So, guess what they got to eat? Whatever the fluff we were eating.
Alright, then… what changed?
My science brain automatically got out the conclusion mat and jumped to, “Oh! Since the friendlier (less “fit” in the wild) dogs got domesticated, maybe they also came with some less-fit genes that doesn’t let them tolerate as many kinds of food?”
“I can’t… I’m allergic to gluten” – said no dog, ever.
Apparently, no.
Nothing changed about the dogs. What changed was us – our outlook. A sign of wealth back in old timey days became showing that you’d purchased a pooch. And if you were a demigod for whom money was no object – like the Chinese Empress Tzu-tsi – you might feed your Pekinese shark fins, quail, and antelope milk (I’ve never even had that in my animal eating days). Meanwhile, Euro-royalty would feed their four leggers not only the best meats like roasted duck – but confections, too.
Meanwhile, in the USA (actually mayhaps a bit later), there were people who just wanted to look rich but couldn’t really afford the upkeep of the hungry hounds. And where there’s need (or an opportunity to generate a sense of need), there’s a market to be made. So, whether you were just trying to keep your work-dog alive or keep up with the Joneses, entrepreneurs over the years were coming up with everything from books on supplying your pup with energy to earn his keep – to treats made of wheat, beef, and blood.
Eventually, as the depression era waned and there was less an immediate survival need – there became a need for the industry to suddenly survive by making shit up – so it evolved too. Honest science dudes will always tell you – when you get a research paper, flip to the last page and look at who funded it. Then ask why they might fund something that would alter public opinion.
So who funded the research saying that “table scraps are dangerous”?
“What is ‘The Pet Food Institute’, Alex. And I’ll take ‘Corporate Funded Research So People Keep Buying Their Shit Kibble’ for $ Garlic thousand and roast beef, please. ”
I may not be able to afford feeding my pup Nemo.
But it is nice to know that she can share a bit of whatever I’m having for those lonely Friday nights when I dress up and pretend I’m a French Dauphine.
