Interesting comment and very valid. I think years and years ago when dogs were truly *just* fed mostly scraps, we have to keep in mind that back then people were eating much less processed crapola, lots of meat, and like Crystal said - they often gave dogs bones. So, a "meat and potatoes" diet with occasional bones is not too bad, really.
Vet care was less frequent, vaccinations were less ubiquitous (years ago) so vaccinosis was less prevalent (and the diseases that come w/ it). With less vet care, it's tough to tell exactly how "healthy" the dogs truly were. However, with access to a variety of foods and less of a chance of overvaccination - dogs probably had a better chance of getting a somewhat balanced diet over a
number of days (which is actually
normal if you read wolf-care nutritionists' comments). When kibble came on the scene, and vaccines skyrocketed - there was a general decline in health and you can read many papers/speeches about this by vets - actually Dr. Pitcairn has
given great talks in this area.
Since kibbles used to be of terrible quality (and some still are) - and on top of that, generations of dogs were overvaccinated, a dog's health
now could be much more vulnerable than it used to be. That's why I tend to think, more than ever, it's important to avoid certain ingredients, to give a balanced diet, and supplement if needed - bc I think dogs have the potential to be more vulnerable to lots of issues now (just look at all the allergy threads here, which is a sign of immune system vulnerability). Also keep in mind that "back in the day", proper canine nutrition was not much understood or considered. Nowadays, we really *do* know optimal RDAs for canines, the delicate nature of the cal-phos ratio, and we also know the physical results of certain imbalances - plenty of papers there!
We're seeing this in humans too right now. While infectious disease is often dealt with, we now see more allergies, more autism, more obesity, more diabetes, more auto-immune diseases - just more more more. And all of this has given rise to being more proactive about nutrition, exercise, preventive health, proper use of vaccines - about educating ourselves on how to support our systems in a better way. Same with our babies.
Sorry for the long-winded-ness......
