Ancient Dog Food (Roman / Greek History)

In our last video we discussed the lives of pet dogs in ancient Rome. People really seemed to enjoy it and post some great questions. Today I wanted to follow up on one of these in particular that I picked out from the comments section. What kind of dog food did they use? That's an interesting one, as properly feeding a dog is hugely important, especially today, when you find all kinds of brands at the grocery store marked out for your dog in particular. This idea of feeding a dog is properly recognized by people in the past, and is nicely stated by Xenophon who says quote, As a rule when they are hungry, the master should feed the hounds himself. For when they are not hungry, they do not know to whom that is due, but when they want food and get it, they love the giver. Our own dogs today are used to eating specifically formulated mixes poured out into bowls. Added to this is the occasional treat granted as a reward, or stolen from the kitchen. In the past, dogs were also given formulated meals, though to a lesser degree than what we see today. Two hunting manuals by the Greek historians Xenophon and Arian give us some insight into these matters. Apparently, it was customary to give young puppies barley bread softened with cow's milk or whey. A slightly more enhanced version of this involved using sheep or goat's milk instead. Additionally, a little blood might be added to the mix. For hunting dogs, this would have been blood from the animals they were being raised to chase. When the dogs grew older, ancient manuals recommend that they be given a more varied regimen. During mealtime, this might include scraps of food, bone, or grease soaked bread. The occasional meat broth was also suggested. For hunting dogs, it was also customary to share part of the catch with your canine companions. This might include anything from rabbits to stags or boars. As a treat, such as during a banquet or sacrifice, our sources recommend giving your dog a lump of ox liver coated in barley meal and roasted over the coals. Yum. For the more refined tastes of an aristocrat's lap dog, treats might include cake, wine, and garum-garnished treats. Additionally, regardless of what might be prepared for them at home, dogs would munch on other foods to sate their appetite. Funnily enough, we even find Aristotle referring to their habit of eating grass and vomiting in one of his books. It's interesting to note as well that there were specific foods recommended to treat various dog ailments. For worms, for instance, they were to be given artemisia, or essentially wormwood. For excessive barking, apparently, feeding them a live frog would do the trick. So at this point, we might ask whether dogs back then or today had a better diet. Well if lifespan is anything to go by, then it seems like the old-fashioned way of doing things worked out just fine. Aristotle remarks that Laconian hounds typically lived to be around 10-12 years old, while other breeds often reached around 15 years of age. Definitely an older dog by today's standards. Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed this quick follow-up on the subject of dogs. We've got a lot more content in the works, so stay tuned. I love reading your questions, so be sure to submit those below, and we'll see if we can't spin those off into a video of its own. Thanks so much, see you in the next one.