Ingestion of Food

- The mouth. A dog ingests its food through its mouth. As in all carnivores, the teeth of canines are specialized for their different roles in chewing. These days, however, whether dogs eat household food or commercial dog food, they usually just gobble it down with hardly any chewing, which means there is little or no mechanical pre-digestion.

The paired salivary glands secrete saliva into the mouth cavity. The liquid and mucosal components of saliva moisten the food and help it to pass through the esophagus. When the food is swallowed, the tongue pushes the food into the oropharynx, the epiglottis closes (preventing the food from entering the trachea) and the food is directed into the esophagus.

- The esophagus. The arrival of the rest of the meal, along with the muscular contractions of the esophagus, pushes the food through the thoracic cavity and the diaphragm to the entrance of the stomach, known as the cardia.

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