How lucky cows are. They can chew on grass all day and find it tasty.

But we have to eat yummy stuff. How about dogs? Can they taste what we
taste? Like sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and yummyness?

>How lucky cows are. They can chew on grass all day and find it tasty.
>
>But we have to eat yummy stuff. How about dogs? Can they taste what we
>taste? Like sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and yummyness?
>

I'm pretty sure dogs can taste what they're eating. However what they find
palatable and what we would find palatable are two different things. My dog
for example hates apples but she likes to eat bugs. We had another dog when I
was younger and one time during the winter when there was snow on the ground my
mom threw out an old fruitcake for the birds. Well the birds never got the
fruitcake. Our dog ate the whole thing except the red candied cherries. It
was kind of funny seeing those bright red blobs in the white snow.

"DJS0302" > wrote in message
...
: >How lucky cows are. They can chew on grass all day and find it
tasty.
: >
: >But we have to eat yummy stuff. How about dogs? Can they taste
what we
: >taste? Like sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and yummyness?
: >
:
: I'm pretty sure dogs can taste what they're eating. However
what they find
: palatable and what we would find palatable are two different
things. My dog
: for example hates apples but she likes to eat bugs. We had
another dog when I
: was younger and one time during the winter when there was snow
on the ground my
: mom threw out an old fruitcake for the birds. Well the birds
never got the
: fruitcake. Our dog ate the whole thing except the red candied
cherries. It
: was kind of funny seeing those bright red blobs in the white
snow.
======

Oh my stars that's funny!!!!

Our silly dog eats bugs too. Ewwwwwwwwww!

Hmmm, yep, I could Maxi-dog eating fruitcake but spitting some
little something or other out... <snort> Too funny! Come to
think of it - last year one of the local squirrels drug in one of
their ears of corn... Max chewed off the little kernals of corn
off of it but left them on the ground. Presumably, she was
leaving the corn for the squirrels... FOR BAIT!! She absolutely
despises squirrels.

--
Cyndi
<Remove a "b" to reply>

(Kenneth Leja) wrote in message . com>...
> How lucky cows are. They can chew on grass all day and find it tasty.
>
> But we have to eat yummy stuff. How about dogs? Can they taste what we
> taste? Like sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and yummyness?

You wouldn't happen to know a putz named Anthony Gazza, would you?

In news:rec.food.cooking, ospam (DJS0302) posted on 22
Nov 2003 03:36:05 GMT:

> I'm pretty sure dogs can taste what they're eating. However
> what they find palatable and what we would find palatable are
> two different things. My dog for example hates apples but she
> likes to eat bugs. We had another dog when I was younger and
> one time during the winter when there was snow on the ground
> my mom threw out an old fruitcake for the birds. Well the
> birds never got the fruitcake. Our dog ate the whole thing
> except the red candied cherries. It was kind of funny seeing
> those bright red blobs in the white snow.

I sometimes like to entertain my friends my feeding the dog his
meat'n'gravy and I'll throw ten english peas into the mix. I'll count
them out as I drop them in. The dog eats. I guarantee my friends that
at the end of his meal, the bowl will be clean save for exactly ten
english peas. The dog ate. We counted. Ten english peas were in the
bottom of his bowl. :-D How a dog can slurp like that and pass up
english peas is a real mystery to me. They must have really sensitive
tongues.

Damaeus

"Kenneth Leja" > wrote in message
om...

>Like sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and yummyness?

I like the term "yummyness" much better than "umami".
It is way easier to grasp.

--
Tank

This Space To Let

http://www.petngarden.com/cats/index.html

DO DOGS AND CAT HAVE AN ACUTE SENSE OF TASTE ?

Dogs and cats have a keen sense of smell, way more performing than humans,
but on the other hand, their sense of taste is less well developped.
Nevertheless, they use it for:
- testing the palatability of offered food, refusing some,
- stimulating the salivary, gastric and pancreatic secretions.

Gustative receptors

These receptors or €œ taste buds €�, are included in the gustatory papilla.
They are located on the upper face of the tongue, the mucosa of the palate, the
epiglottis and the pharynx. The dog has got more taste buds than the cat.

Species Number of taste buds Cat 473 Dog 1706 Man 9000 Pig 15000 Goat 15000
Calf 25000 >From Leibetseder (1978)

These receptors are functional from the birth, but they require a few weeks to
get completely mature. The keenness of taste would then go down in older
animals. Some diseases (diabetes, hypothyroidism€¦), special drugs
administration, change the gustative sensitivity.

These nervous cells are connected to the brain. Then, gustative sensations can
be registered: according that a food is ranked as a €œ good one €� or a €œ
bad one €� when first ingested, it will be either accepted or refused later.

The role of the experience

The maternal food influences the composition of the amniotic liquid, and of the
milk consumed by puppies or kittens. It is the first step on the way of taste
development. After birth, conditioning influences the dietary preferences, but
dogs and cats stay attracted towards something new. If the new food proposed is
more palatable than the former one, it has great chances to be easily adopted.
It is the €œ neophilia €� phenomenon. The opposite, or €œ neophobia €�, is
much more unusual. The refusal of a new food, even palatable, happens mainly in
a stressful situation (i.e: brutal change of the diet and of the environment).

If a cat was sick following the ingestion of a toxic product, he learns to
avoid it in the future. This aversion behaviour remains during several weeks. A
dog forgets way more quickly: 24 hours later, he is able to consume it again.

Special preferences

Dogs and especially cats are very sensitive to the bitter taste: they dislike
it very much. For example, they clearly reject food containing artificial
sweeteners which have a slight bitter taste (like saccharine).
Of course, the sense of taste varies according to the individuals, but dogs and
cats present a certain number of basic differences.

Dogs preferences

A dog is able to show a preference for a meaty diet rather than a meatless one,
even if he is deprived of the smell sense. But he cannot make a difference
between species (beef, pork, poultry€¦), without the help of the smell. The
dog appreciates a high-fat diet, providing the fat are of good quality: rancid
fats induce food refusal.

The dog is more able than the cat to appreciate a sweety taste: this aptitude
may have been developped when he was an occasional fruits consumer. He also
detects the presence of salt at a lower concentration than the cat does.

Cats preferences

The cat, strict carnivorous, is very sensitive to the presence of some
amino-acids associated with animal proteins. On the contrary, it is false to
say that all cats prefer fish to meat. This preference varies a lot with the
individuals.

The cat has his own classification for testing fats according to the length of
fatty acids chains. For example, he rejects the middle-chain fatty acids
contained in some vegetable oils (coprah, palmiste).

The cat pays a great attention to the texture and the granulometry of the
kibbles: he hates the very small particles.

Conclusion

To decide of their food uptake, dogs and cats use taste and smell in
association. They have marked preferences towards products from animal origin,
so it explains that most of the digests and aromas used in petfood industry are
processed from animal ingredients.
---



---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

In article >, Damaeus
> writes:

>I sometimes like to entertain my friends my feeding the dog his
>meat'n'gravy and I'll throw ten english peas into the mix. I'll count
>them out as I drop them in. The dog eats. I guarantee my friends that
>at the end of his meal, the bowl will be clean save for exactly ten
>english peas. The dog ate. We counted. Ten english peas were in the
>bottom of his bowl. :-D How a dog can slurp like that and pass up
>english peas is a real mystery to me. They must have really sensitive
>tongues.

Why do you think all those old biddies have poodles?


---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

Damaeus > wrote in
:

> In news:rec.food.cooking, ospam (DJS0302) posted on 22
> Nov 2003 03:36:05 GMT:
>
>> I'm pretty sure dogs can taste what they're eating. However
>> what they find palatable and what we would find palatable are
>> two different things. My dog for example hates apples but she
>> likes to eat bugs. We had another dog when I was younger and
>> one time during the winter when there was snow on the ground
>> my mom threw out an old fruitcake for the birds. Well the
>> birds never got the fruitcake. Our dog ate the whole thing
>> except the red candied cherries. It was kind of funny seeing those
>> bright red blobs in the white snow.
>
> I sometimes like to entertain my friends my feeding the dog his
> meat'n'gravy and I'll throw ten english peas into the mix. I'll count
> them out as I drop them in. The dog eats. I guarantee my friends that
> at the end of his meal, the bowl will be clean save for exactly ten
> english peas. The dog ate. We counted. Ten english peas were in the
> bottom of his bowl. :-D How a dog can slurp like that and pass up
> english peas is a real mystery to me. They must have really sensitive
> tongues.

I thought my Champ was the only one who did that!
He absolutely hated peas and would do the same thing, leave
a pile of peas and eat the rest.
My current 3 dogs, however, will eat anything except for
fresh grapefruit.

The list includes salad, (onions and all),and any fruit. Fresh tomatoes
are particulary tasty to them and they'll sneak into the bucket
on the floor and grab the skins when I'm canning, if I'm not diligent
enough.

Terri

dogsnus > wrote in message >...
> Damaeus > wrote in
> :
>
> > In news:rec.food.cooking, ospam (DJS0302) posted on 22
> > Nov 2003 03:36:05 GMT:
> >
> >> I'm pretty sure dogs can taste what they're eating. However
> >> what they find palatable and what we would find palatable are
> >> two different things. My dog for example hates apples but she
> >> likes to eat bugs. We had another dog when I was younger and
> >> one time during the winter when there was snow on the ground
> >> my mom threw out an old fruitcake for the birds. Well the
> >> birds never got the fruitcake. Our dog ate the whole thing
> >> except the red candied cherries. It was kind of funny seeing those
> >> bright red blobs in the white snow.
> >
> > I sometimes like to entertain my friends my feeding the dog his
> > meat'n'gravy and I'll throw ten english peas into the mix. I'll count
> > them out as I drop them in. The dog eats. I guarantee my friends that
> > at the end of his meal, the bowl will be clean save for exactly ten
> > english peas. The dog ate. We counted. Ten english peas were in the
> > bottom of his bowl. :-D How a dog can slurp like that and pass up
> > english peas is a real mystery to me. They must have really sensitive
> > tongues.
>
> I thought my Champ was the only one who did that!
> He absolutely hated peas and would do the same thing, leave
> a pile of peas and eat the rest.
> My current 3 dogs, however, will eat anything except for
> fresh grapefruit.
>
> The list includes salad, (onions and all

Onions are toxic to dogs, and even more so to cats. They cause heinz
body anemia (hemolytic anemia). The affect is cumulative, as well.

http://www.lclarkecushingvmd.com/sho...D=32&Private=0

-L.

"dogsnus" > wrote in message
...
: Damaeus > wrote in
: :
:
: > In news:rec.food.cooking, ospam (DJS0302)
posted on 22
: > Nov 2003 03:36:05 GMT:
: >
: >> I'm pretty sure dogs can taste what they're eating. However
: >> what they find palatable and what we would find palatable
are
: >> two different things. My dog for example hates apples but
she
: >> likes to eat bugs. We had another dog when I was younger
and
: >> one time during the winter when there was snow on the ground
: >> my mom threw out an old fruitcake for the birds. Well the
: >> birds never got the fruitcake. Our dog ate the whole thing
: >> except the red candied cherries. It was kind of funny
seeing those
: >> bright red blobs in the white snow.
: >
: > I sometimes like to entertain my friends my feeding the dog
his
: > meat'n'gravy and I'll throw ten english peas into the mix.
I'll count
: > them out as I drop them in. The dog eats. I guarantee my
friends that
: > at the end of his meal, the bowl will be clean save for
exactly ten
: > english peas. The dog ate. We counted. Ten english peas
were in the
: > bottom of his bowl. :-D How a dog can slurp like that and
pass up
: > english peas is a real mystery to me. They must have really
sensitive
: > tongues.
:
: I thought my Champ was the only one who did that!
: He absolutely hated peas and would do the same thing, leave
: a pile of peas and eat the rest.
: My current 3 dogs, however, will eat anything except for
: fresh grapefruit.
:
: The list includes salad, (onions and all),and any fruit. Fresh
tomatoes
: are particulary tasty to them and they'll sneak into the bucket
: on the floor and grab the skins when I'm canning, if I'm not
diligent
: enough.
:
: Terri
========

Our female Boxer, Maxi-dog, LOVES peas; especially, if they're
still slightly frozen!
--
Cyndi
<Remove a "b" to reply>

Our dog only seems to have one set of taste buds to detect whether her
people have eaten this or not. I've NEVER before seen a dog who would
eat frozen green beans or frozen berries!

--
Sylvia Steiger RN, homeschooling mom since Nov 1995
http://www.SteigerFamily.com
Cheyenne WY, USDA zone 5a, Sunset zone 1a
Home of the Wyoming Wind Festival, January 1-December 31
Remove "removethis" from address to reply

Our dog has never met ANY Food he doesn't like
Loves fruit and little carrots. Steals tomatoes & green beans out of the
garden etc....
He is a 90 pound black lab
"Sylvia" > wrote in message
...
> Our dog only seems to have one set of taste buds to detect whether her
> people have eaten this or not. I've NEVER before seen a dog who would
> eat frozen green beans or frozen berries!
>
> --
> Sylvia Steiger RN, homeschooling mom since Nov 1995
> http://www.SteigerFamily.com
> Cheyenne WY, USDA zone 5a, Sunset zone 1a
> Home of the Wyoming Wind Festival, January 1-December 31
> Remove "removethis" from address to reply
>

Sylvia wrote:

> Our dog only seems to have one set of taste buds to detect whether her
> people have eaten this or not. I've NEVER before seen a dog who would
> eat frozen green beans or frozen berries!

My dog loves frozen peas.

>
>
> --
> Sylvia Steiger RN, homeschooling mom since Nov 1995
> http://www.SteigerFamily.com
> Cheyenne WY, USDA zone 5a, Sunset zone 1a
> Home of the Wyoming Wind Festival, January 1-December 31
> Remove "removethis" from address to reply

--
Tom Royer
Lead Engineer, Software Test
The MITRE Corporation
202 Burlington Road
Bedford, MA 01730
Voice: (781) 271-8399
FAX: (781) 271-8500


"If you're not free to fail, you're not free." --Gene Burns

"Tom Royer" > wrote in message
...
: Sylvia wrote:
:
: > Our dog only seems to have one set of taste buds to detect
whether her
: > people have eaten this or not. I've NEVER before seen a dog
who would
: > eat frozen green beans or frozen berries!
:
: My dog loves frozen peas.
:
:<snip>


Yep, mine too! In fact, there isn't a whole lot of anything that
Maxi-dog won't eat!

--
Cyndi
<Remove a "b" to reply>

Never met a black lab I didn't like and never met a black lab that didn't
like all the foods that I like.
Ken (currently putting the finishing touch on a book about a cainine
companion).

sean wrote:
> Our dog has never met ANY Food he doesn't like
> Loves fruit and little carrots. Steals tomatoes & green beans out of
> the garden etc....
> He is a 90 pound black lab
> "Sylvia" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Our dog only seems to have one set of taste buds to detect whether
>> her people have eaten this or not. I've NEVER before seen a dog who
>> would eat frozen green beans or frozen berries!
>>
>> --
>> Sylvia Steiger RN, homeschooling mom since Nov 1995
>> http://www.SteigerFamily.com
>> Cheyenne WY, USDA zone 5a, Sunset zone 1a
>> Home of the Wyoming Wind Festival, January 1-December 31
>> Remove "removethis" from address to reply