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The Dog's Mechanics For Eating
from: Kyle BesserMany dog owners think that different breeds of dogs must be fed differently, but the eating behavior of dogs is characteristic of the whole species, not of any individual breed. All dogs eat the same way.
There are certain general considerations to take into account when feeding any dog. A dog cannot eat its food the same way a person does. A dog has no hands. A dog's jaws are suited for biting and cutting rather than chewing. A dog's teeth are few in number and poorly equipped for chewing. Dogs have fewer gag reflex nerves at the back their mouths than a person has at the back of the throat. A dog has fewer taste buds on its tongue but a much greater sense of smell than a person has. There are many other differences as well.
While the eating behavior of a dog may seem strange or awkward to some dog owners, to the dog it is the most comfortable and satisfactory way of getting its food from its bowl into its stomach. The normal pattern of swallowing in a dog is often described as "bolting." The dog picks up a piece of food with its front teeth and with a short, quick thrust of its head, tosses the piece of food back onto the top of its tongue. The piece of food is then rolled without being chewed to the back of the mouth. As the piece reaches the base of the tongue, a reflex causes the back of the tongue to push the food upward and backward into the esophagus. From there it is carried directly into the stomach.
When a piece of food is too large to be swallowed, the dog holds the food with its paws and uses its front teeth to tear off smaller pieces that can be swallowed. If the food is too tough to be torn, the dog will carve it into pieces small enough to be swallowed using two specialized jaw teeth.
These teeth are called carnassial teeth and have large shearing surfaces that act like scissor blades which can cut through tough substances such as muscle, hide, gristle and even bone. While the powerful jaw muscles of a dog are useful for cutting chunks of food into swallowable size, these muscles are used very little for actually chewing those pieces.
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