Are Dogs Carnivores?
Are dogs carnivores? Mostly, yes. Dogs are built to eat meat, but unlike cats, they can digest some plants too. That's why many experts call dogs facultative carnivores: meat eaters that can handle other foods when they need to. Others call them omnivores. Either way, meat should be the main event in your dog's bowl.
Carnivore, Omnivore, or Somewhere in Between?
Dogs belong to the order Carnivora, the same family tree as wolves, bears and cats. But that name describes their ancestry, not exactly what they eat. Bears are in Carnivora too, and they eat plenty of berries.
Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they must eat meat to survive. Dogs aren't that strict. They can live on a mix of foods, but their bodies still tell you what they're designed for.
What a Dog's Body Tells Us
- Teeth made for tearing. Long canines and sharp, scissor-like back teeth for shearing meat, not wide flat teeth for grinding grain.
- Little to no amylase in their saliva. Amylase is the enzyme that starts breaking down starch. People have it in their saliva. Dogs have little to none.
- A short digestive tract. Like other carnivores, food moves through a dog fast. Plant-eaters have long guts built to break down fiber slowly.
- No dietary need for carbs. Dogs can digest carbohydrates, but they don't require them. Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition says carbohydrates are "not essential."
The Twist: Dogs Changed Living With Us
Here's where we tell it like it is. A 2013 study in Nature (Axelsson et al.) found that dogs carry extra copies of a starch-digesting gene compared to wolves, likely from thousands of years of eating our scraps. So dogs can handle more starch than their wild cousins.
But being able to digest something doesn't mean your dog needs a bowl full of it. Many kibbles are around half carbohydrates. Your dog will survive on that, but surviving and thriving aren't the same thing.
What This Means for Your Dog's Bowl
- Look for a named animal protein first, like beef, chicken or beef meal, not a generic one like "meat meal."
- Watch for grains stacked at the top of the ingredient list.
- Do the carb math: 100 minus protein, fat, moisture and ash. What's left is roughly the carbs.
- Rotate proteins for variety.
Want the full breakdown with real labels? Read our Canine Nutrition guide.
What About Freshpet?
Freshpet is the refrigerated roll and bag food in the grocery store fridge, and a lot of dog owners grab it thinking it's the "fresh" choice. It's better than some options, but it comes with trade-offs.
with Carrots, Peas & Brown Rice
Better than kibble
- Named meat first, plus liver and eggs
- Gently cooked, not extruded
- Around 14–18% carbs with the water removed vs. 40–60% in most kibble
- More moisture
The problems
- Carrageenan, a thickener that some animal research links to gut inflammation (Tobacman, 2001)
- Synthetic vitamin & mineral pack
- Peas and rice add starch
- "Natural flavors" doesn't say what's in it
- Must be used within 7 days of opening
So is it a trade-off? Yes. If your choice is grocery-store kibble or Freshpet, Freshpet is usually a step up. But it isn't the same as a whole-food raw diet. Think of it as a middle ground, or a topper to add fresh food to a kibble bowl.
Carb estimate uses 1.5–2.5% ash because Freshpet doesn't list it.
Choosing a Prepackaged Raw Food
If you're feeding raw from the freezer section, here's the truth: there is no perfect food. Every brand makes trade-offs. Your job isn't to find a flawless bag. It's to know what you're looking for, decide what you're OK with, and rotate.
- Is it HPP?
HPP (high-pressure processing) uses intense water pressure instead of heat to kill bacteria like salmonella and listeria. Supporters say it makes raw safer. Critics say it changes the food and may destroy natural enzymes and good bacteria, which isn't proven either way. Look for "HPP" or "high pressure" on the bag or the brand's food-safety page. - Is it synthetic-free?
Read everything after the meat. Words like "supplement," "sulfate," "selenite" and "amino acid complex" usually mean a synthetic vitamin and mineral pack. Whole-food brands get those nutrients from organs, eggshell and kelp instead. - Is it mostly meat, organ and bone?
The first ingredients should be animal. A little produce is fine, but it shouldn't be the main event.
Barkin' Beef
Beef Complete
Beef Patties
Pork-Beef-Pumpkin
Elk & Deer
Frozen Raw Beef
See it? Not one of them checks every box. That's normal.
| Brand | HPP | Synthetic-free | Carbs | First ingredients |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bones & Co Barkin' Beef | No (frozen) | Almost (vitamin E only) | Under 1% (brand) | Beef, beef heart, ground beef bone |
| Albright's Beef | Not stated | Yes | ~5.5% dry matter | Beef heart, beef kidney, beef liver |
| Primal Beef Patties | Yes | Yes (their claim) | Not listed | Beef with ground bone, beef livers, squash |
| Northwest Naturals | Yes | Yes, bags dated Oct 1, 2026+ | Not listed | Check the new label |
| Tucker's Pork-Beef-Pumpkin | No | No | 2% as fed (brand) | Pork, beef heart, pumpkin |
| Raw Wild | No | No | Not listed | Elk, deer |
| Instinct Frozen Raw Beef | Pressure-processed | No | Not listed | Beef, beef liver, beef kidney |
Carbs as published by the brand or worked from the label. "Not listed" means the brand doesn't give enough to calculate.
Safe handling for any raw food: thaw it in the fridge, wash your hands, bowls and counters, and pick up leftovers within about 30 minutes.
Prefer Cooked? Look Local.
Healthy Hounds Kitchen in East Sacramento (3608 McKinley Blvd) cooks a different fresh recipe each day with named USDA meats and organs, and no synthetic premix on their ingredient lists. Their Beef & Sweet Potato, for example, is beef, sweet potato, russet potato, carrot, beef liver, zucchini, blueberries and Icelandic fish oil.
The trade-off: cooked recipes like these carry more starch than raw, since each one includes potato, rice, quinoa or lentils. Their online lists also don't show a calcium source, so ask how each recipe is balanced.
Based on each brand's published ingredients and food-safety info, October 2026. Formulas change, so always check the bag you buy.
Variety! Variety! Variety!
FAQ
Are dogs carnivores or omnivores?
Can dogs be vegetarian?
Do dogs need carbs?
Are cats and dogs both carnivores?
Is Freshpet better than kibble?
What's the best raw dog food?
Where can I buy fresh dog food in Sacramento?
Not sure what to feed your dog?
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