Dogs don't digest starch like humans
 Q:
How do dogs digest starch? Humans have salivary amylase in their
saliva to break starch into sugars. Do other mammals (dogs, cats, etc.)
also have this enzyme? If not, how do they digest starches that are now
part of their diet? Certainly in the deep evolutionary past cats and dogs
did not eat starches. (Steve, Albuquerque, New Mexico)
A: "Salivary amylase is not found in carnivores," says Holly Frisby, DVM, of
Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc. in Wisconsin.
Many mammals have salivary amylase but dogs do not and neither do cats, agrees the Waltham
Centre for Pet Nutrician in Moscow, Russia.
Digestion of starch begins in the mouth for species, like humans, whose saliva contains amylase.
Many dogs bolt their food and maybe lack amylase for this reason.
Dogs and cats digest starches in the small intestine where they use amylase produced in the
pancreas.
Cats, but not dogs, evolved as obligate carnivores: heavy meat eaters that must eat meat to
survive and few foods containing carbohydrates. Consequently, dogs can tolerate more starch
than cats. In fact, a dog's pancreas produces three times more amylase.
(Answered by April Holladay, science correspondent, April 18, 2001)
Further Surfing:
PetEducation.com: Carbohydrates in dog diets
How dogs digest food by Pedigree Breeders Club
What do you know about digestibility? By speedyvet.com
Where do enzymes come from? Hagen for Pets
Figure Caption: [PetEducation.com, Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc] All commercial pet food contains
carbohydrates.
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