Dogs Are Not Wolves: Understanding the Evolutionary and Dietary Differences
When discussing the Canine Ancestral Diet, a critical starting point is recognizing that dogs are not wolves. While modern dogs and wolves share a common ancestor, their evolutionary paths diverged thousands of years ago. Dogs are believed to have descended from an ancient wolf population that is now extinct, with domestication occurring between 11,000 and 16,000 years ago, with some evidence pointing to an earlier date of 33,000 years ago.
Throughout this long history, dogs evolved alongside humans, adapting to our lifestyles and diets. Early dogs likely began by scavenging human waste, later receiving table scraps, and eventually sharing meals with humans as they became hunting partners and companions. Over thousands of years, dogs ate what was available to their human counterparts. Their diet, much like the diet of humans, varied with the seasons and was influenced by local resources.
Unlike their obligate carnivore wolf ancestors, this evolutionary relationship shaped dogs into omnivores. Even modern wolves, while primarily carnivorous, consume fruits and vegetation when available. Understanding this dietary flexibility is essential when considering what constitutes the optimal Canine Ancestral Diet for today’s dogs.
Adaptive Evolution: How Environment Shapes Genes
While dogs have genetically adapted to their environments over millennia, epigenetics highlights that gene expression is also influenced by environmental factors such as diet, stress, and trauma. These environmental triggers can activate or suppress genes, with effects sometimes passing down across generations.
A well-known human example is the Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944-1945, during which pregnant women were severely malnourished. Researchers later compared individuals exposed to this famine in utero to their siblings who were not. The famine altered gene expression related to metabolism and development, increasing the risk of metabolic disorders in those individuals and their descendants.
This human example illustrates how the diets and stresses experienced by a dog’s ancestors could still influence their health today—a concept relevant when evaluating the Canine Ancestral Diet.
Adaptive Evolution further emphasizes that populations evolve over generations to better survive in their unique environments. Traits that enhance survival become more common, while less advantageous traits fade.
For example:
- Lactase persistence in humans is common in European populations with a long history of dairy consumption, but rare in populations without dairy farming traditions. Also Seen in many dog breeds of European origin, and some dog breeds of African and Asian origin
- High arsenic tolerance evolved in certain populations in Argentina, allowing them to survive drinking water with arsenic levels over 80 times the WHO’s safety limit.
These examples demonstrate how both humans and dogs adapted genetically to not only their regional environments, but also how diet shaped our and our dogs genetics which is integral to understanding breed-specific dietary needs.
Chalcolithic Dogs and Human Socio-Economic Systems
Recent research by Brassard et al. (2023) provides valuable insights into the relationship between dog morphology, and diet, during the Chalcolithic period in Romania (4,550–3,900 BCE). Analyzing dog remains from three Gumelniţa culture sites—Hârşova-tell, Borduşani-Popină, and Vităneşti-Măgurice—the study revealed that dogs adapted both morphologically and dietarily to the lifestyles of the human communities they lived with.
At Hârşova-tell and Borduşani-Popină, where herding and aquatic resource exploitation were the primary subsistence strategies, dogs had a varied diet rich in domestic animals like sheep, cattle, and pigs, with some fish consumption. These dogs had more slender mandibles, reflecting their diet of softer foods.
Conversely, at Vităneşti-Măgurice, a site characterized by a hunting-focused economy, dogs showed lower nitrogen isotope values, indicating a diet based on large wild game such as red deer, aurochs, and wild horses. These dogs also had more robust mandibles, likely reflecting the functional demands of consuming tougher foods and possibly aiding in processing large prey remains.
Importantly, the study highlighted a strong correlation between mandibular morphology and diet, suggesting that the physical traits of these dogs were closely linked to their feeding behavior and role within human societies. This research underscores how prehistoric dogs were not only integrated into human economic systems but physically adapted to their specific environments and roles—whether as hunting partners or scavengers feeding on domestic refuse.
Ancient Dogs: Early Genetic Adaptations to Starch
As humans transitioned from hunter-gatherers to agricultural societies, dogs adapted alongside them. Studies of ancient dog DNA reveal that while AMY2B gene copy numbers varied across populations, many ancient dogs had higher copy numbers than modern wolves.
This suggests that adaptation to starch-inclusive diets is far from a recent occurrence, particularly in dogs living within agricultural societies. Conversely, dogs associated with hunter-gatherer communities retained lower AMY2B copy numbers, more closely resembling wolves.
This early genetic divergence underscores the close relationship between human dietary practices and dog evolution, laying the groundwork for modern breed-specific differences in starch digestion.
Modern Dogs: AMY2B Copy Number Variation by Breed
Further research into modern dogs highlights significant variation in AMY2B gene copy numbers among breeds, directly influencing their ability to digest starch.
Key findings:
- Greenland Sled Dogs have a mean of 4.26 copies of the AMY2B gene.
- English Springer Spaniels have a mean of 17.25 copies.
(Arendt, 2014)
This variation aligns with geographic and cultural dietary patterns:
- Dogs from agrarian societies (e.g., Europe, South Asia) typically have higher AMY2B copy numbers, with a median of 10 copies.
- Dogs from non-agrarian regions (e.g., Arctic America, Arctic Asia, Australia) tend to have fewer copies, with a median of 2 copies.
(Arendt, 2016)
A notable comparison is the New Guinea Singing Dog (median 9.5 copies) and the closely related Australian Dingo (mean 2.1 copies), reflecting dietary adaptation based on their environments.
Graphical analysis of AMY2B copy number distribution across 392 dogs confirms this agrarian vs. non-agrarian split. Dogs from farming regions consistently show higher copy numbers, while dogs from Arctic and hunter-gatherer regions display lower levels. (Arendt et al., 2016)
Microbiome Differences Between Dogs and Wolves
The gut microbiome plays a pivotal role in digestion and overall health. Research comparing the fecal microbiota of domestic dogs and wolves reveals significant differences influenced by diet and domestication. A study demonstrated that while switching dogs from a commercial kibble diet to a raw meat diet shifted their gut microbiota closer to that of wolves, distinct differences remained.
What This Means for the Canine Ancestral Diet
Despite evidence of breed-specific dietary adaptations, modern pet food often follows a uniform nutritional approach. We feed Akitas from Japan the same basic diet as Rhodesian Ridgebacks from Africa. Chihuahuas from Mexico eat the same as Norwegian Elkhounds. This disregards the vastly different ancestral diets these breeds evolved on.
Historically, a Japanese Akita Inu's diet in the mountainous region of Japan likely consisted of wild game, fish, rice, and vegetable scraps, while a Ridgeback’s diet in Zimbabwe would have leaned heavily on game meat, sorghum and millet. Chihuahuas may have consumed diets that contained more maize, and Elkhounds thrived on animal protein and fat from cold climates.
Even within the same breed, genetic differences exist. For example, the Jomon Shiba, which evolved in eastern Japan alongside the Japanese Akita Inu, has fewer copies of the AMY2B gene compared to Shiba Inu whose genetic lineage originates from other regions of Japan, where rice farming occurred at an earlier date. This suggests regional dietary adaptations even within a single breed.
The ancestral diets of all dogs were shaped by regional availability and human practices, influencing not only macronutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates) but also micronutrient profiles:
- Omega-3-rich fish vs. Omega-6-heavy poultry or livestock.
- Starch sources like rice, maize, or root vegetables.
- Protein sources varying from wild game to fish or poultry.
This diversity in ancestral diets suggests that the canine ancestral diet should not be one-size-fits-all. Breed-specific nutrition may optimize health, particularly given the known genetic variation in AMY2B and other nutrient-processing genes such as FADS, with research in humans demonstrating that some are more efficient at synthesizing essential long-chain fatty acids from precursors, which may have provided an advantage in environments with limited access to dietary LC-PUFAs.
Breed-Specific Nutritional Vulnerabilities
Ignoring ancestral dietary adaptations could contribute to breed-specific health issues:
- Northern breeds (e.g., Huskies) are prone to zinc deficiency.
- Dalmatians often struggle with uric acid metabolism.
- Copper storage disease is prevalent in breeds like Bedlington Terriers.
- Certain breeds are genetically predisposed to diabetes.
These conditions could stem, in part, from feeding diets that are not aligned with their evolutionary dietary backgrounds.
Rethinking the Canine Ancestral Diet
Much like humans experience health declines when abandoning their traditional diets, the same principle likely applies to dogs.
While AAFCO, NRC, and FEDIAF nutrient standards aim to cover the average dog’s needs, dogs are not average. A Husky’s nutrient requirements likely differ from a Spaniel’s, and a Chihuahua’s needs differ from an Elkhound’s.
When considering the canine ancestral diet, we need to consider their actual ancestral diet consisted of: not overly simplistic ratios, that also ignore much of our dogs evolutionary history.
- Was the diet higher in fat? What type—marine Omega-3s or land Omega-6s?
- Did carbohydrates play a role, and to what etent? From grains, root vegetables, or rice?
- What was the primary protein source—fish, poultry, wild game, or red meat?
The Future of Breed-Specific Nutrition
One early attempt at breed-specific dietary recommendations was William D. Cusick’s 1990 book, Canine Nutrition: Choosing the Best Food for Your Breed, which provided guidelines for 152 breeds based on their regional origins.
Today, advancements in genetic research and nutrigenomics open new possibilities for tailoring the Canine Ancestral Diet to individual breeds.
Final Thought
“What is food for one man may be bitter poison to others.” – Titus Lucretius Carus
The same holds true for our dogs. The Canine Ancestral Diet is as diverse as the breeds we love. Understanding their evolutionary history is key to feeding them well.
Arendt M, Cairns KM, Ballard JW, Savolainen P, Axelsson E. Diet adaptation in dog reflects spread of prehistoric agriculture. Heredity (Edinb). 2016 Nov;117(5):301-306. doi: 10.1038/hdy.2016.48. Epub 2016 Jul 13. PMID: 27406651; PMCID: PMC5061917.
Axelsson, E., Ratnakumar, A., Arendt, ML. et al. The genomic signature of dog domestication reveals adaptation to a starch-rich diet. Nature 495, 360–364 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11837
Brassard, Colline & Balasse, Marie & Balasescu, Adrian & Radu, Valentin & Ollivier, Morgane & Fiorillo, Denis & Herrel, Anthony & Bréhard, Stéphanie. (2023). Morphological and dietary adaptations to different socio-economic systems in Chalcolithic dogs. Journal of Archaeological Science. 157.
Tonoike, A., Hori, Y., Inoue-Murayama, M., Konno, A., Fujita, K., Miyado, M., Fukami, M., Nagasawa, M., Mogi, K. and Kikusui, T. (2015), Copy number variations in the amylase gene (AMY2B) in Japanese native dog breeds. Anim Genet, 46: 580-583. https://doi.org/10.1111/age.12344