Discoveries

February 27, 2023

The Begging Question

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It’s not such a bad idea to give puppies some of the leftovers. In fact, a new research paper suggested it could be good for them.

Scientists found that young canines that ate table scraps, meal leftovers and raw foods experienced fewer gastrointestinal issues later in life compared with those that primarily ate dry foods, the Smithsonian Magazine reported.

For their study, a research team looked into why the animals develop gastrointestinal issues in their adulthood and whether commercial dog food has any impact on their health.

They analyzed survey data from more than 7,000 dog owners in Finland between 2009 and 2019. The survey asked owners what they fed to their pooches and if they observed any stomach ailments.

The results showed that 22 percent of puppy owners and 18 percent of owners of adolescent dogs reported gastrointestinal issues in their pets.

But the team also found that young dogs eating non-processed foods – such as bones, cartilage, red meat and berries – were 22 percent less likely to develop tummy issues as adults, compared with those that ate dry kibble.

Meanwhile, they also noticed that puppies chewing on rawhide – dog chews made from dried animal skins – had a very high chance of developing stomach ailments in adulthood.

Still, the authors cautioned that more studies are needed to properly establish the relationship between processed dog food and stomach problems.

This story originally appeared in the February 27, 2023 newsletter, Man and Country.