Soy Milk And Other Vegetarian Alternatives Ok?

[Emma Dee]

Hello

So I'll start by saying, I would never attempt to actually keep my dog on a vegetarian diet on a full time basis (largely because I'm hopeless when it comes to nutrition and would never feel comfortable that he is getting everything he needs - not because I believe it is necessarily impossible to do so).

But in terms of giving my dog scraps such as a bit of musli and banana with soy milk for breaky or a bit of tofu or fake chicken etc is there anything in particular that I should avoid? I feel guilty because most dogs will get a nice steak or sausages during the week and it would be good to mix up his chicken necks and kibble with a nice warm *fake* roast and vegies once a week.

This is an example of common ingredients in fake meats and chicken:

Water, Vegetable Protein (20%) (Soy Protein, Wheat Gluten), Wheat Flour, Vegetable Oil (Sunola, Canola), Starch (Tapioca, Maize, Wheat, Potato), Egg White, Flavours (Contain Wheat, Milk, Egg and Soy), Salt, Sugar, Tapioca Flour, Minerals (Zinc Gluconate, Ferrous Gluconate), Wheat Fibre, Spices, Rice Flour, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Vegetable Gums (466, Guar, Locust Bean), Yeast, Soy Flour, Herbs, Emulsifier (Non-Animal) (481), Colours (102, 110), Flavour Enhancer (Sodium Ribonucleotide), Vitamin B12. MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF PEANUTS AND SESAME (added sulphites <10mg/kg).

I'd be grateful for any feedback

[Flaves]

Um, not sure if they are ok to feed but i still dont understand why?

WHy not just give your dog raw meat?

They are fine having dry and chicken necks you dont need to vary the dogs diet but adding mince or sardines or an egg is great.

[Miranda]

I am a vegetarian myself but I would never feed a dog a vegetarian diet, dogs are carnivores with a totally different GI tract to a human and they just aren't designed to handle large amounts of carbohydrate. I feed my dogs a super premium kibble and lots of meat and bones. I also feed raw eggs, cooked liver, canned fish (salmon, sardines, tuna or mackerel), yoghurt and a few vegetables now and again. They get cheese or cabana for treats and the occasional piece of toast.

Personally I wouldn't feed a dog anything containing soy, it's very hard to digest even for a human and IMO is totally unsuitable for dogs. Fruits and vegetables in moderation yes, but I'd keep grains to a bare minimum and wouldn't feed tofu or any other soy derived product.

[Emma Dee]

Um, not sure if they are ok to feed but i still dont understand why?

WHy not just give your dog raw meat?

They are fine having dry and chicken necks you dont need to vary the dogs diet but adding mince or sardines or an egg is great.

I really don't have a particularly profound reason for wanting to know if I can feed my dog certain scraps when I eat my dinner, I was just wondering if anyone knew if it was safe to do so.

He gets raw meat, mince, sardines and eggs.

[Emma Dee]

I am a vegetarian myself but I would never feed a dog a vegetarian diet, dogs are carnivores with a totally different GI tract to a human and they just aren't designed to handle large amounts of carbohydrate. I feed my dogs a super premium kibble and lots of meat and bones. I also feed raw eggs, cooked liver, canned fish (salmon, sardines, tuna or mackerel), yoghurt and a few vegetables now and again. They get cheese or cabana for treats and the occasional piece of toast.

Personally I wouldn't feed a dog anything containing soy, it's very hard to digest even for a human and IMO is totally unsuitable for dogs. Fruits and vegetables in moderation yes, but I'd keep grains to a bare minimum and wouldn't feed tofu or any other soy derived product.

I wouldn't actually feed my dog a vegetarian diet, I was more after whether the occasional vego meal or scrap would be harmful so that's good to know about soy being hard to digest.. Probably should rule out fake meat too just to be safe then. Oh well, no tofu for Carson something tells me he may not be too upset about that loss hahah Thanks Miranda

[Miranda]

Actually Emma Dee I don't eat that fake meat myself, soy milk, tofu and tempeh yes, but I think those fake meats are yuk

[B-Q]

I'm also a vegetairan, I won't risk Buster's health for my belief though.

I spend half my time in the butcher or browsing the meat section of the supermarket.

He LOVES tofu though, he isn't mad on sloppy meats like some chicken necks though. He has the occasional peice because he gets my dinner scraps.

He gets lots of things now, chicken frames, necks, wings, drumsticks, turkey necks, beef soup bones, marrow bones, fish, or I cook up mince with vegies.

He gets high quality kibble for breakfast, and sometimes gets an egg or some yoghurt over it.

He's enjoying his food much more now there is a big variety.

on fake meats, I've tried a few. Most of them just don't taste like meat at all, which I'm thankful for because one mince that did taste like meat I couldn't swallow.

Edited February 12, 2008 by busterlove

[Emma Dee]

I'm also a vegetairan, I won't risk Buster's health for my belief though.

I spend half my time in the butcher or browsing the meat section of the supermarket.

He LOVES tofu though, he isn't mad on sloppy meats like some chicken necks though. He has the occasional peice because he gets my dinner scraps.

He gets lots of things now, chicken frames, necks, wings, drumsticks, turkey necks, beef soup bones, marrow bones, fish, or I cook up mince with vegies.

He gets high quality kibble for breakfast, and sometimes gets an egg or some yoghurt over it.

He's enjoying his food much more now there is a big variety.

on fake meats, I've tried a few. Most of them just don't taste like meat at all, which I'm thankful for because one mince that did taste like meat I couldn't swallow.

Me too, I swear I buy more meat than non vegetarians That's so cute your dog eats tofu... I wish I loved tofu lol

I certainly would never attempt to give him a vegetarian diet, Carson already has a very healthy and varied diet as is, I was just curious whether dogs could actually eat the stuff because it's always around.

I kinda like some of the fake meats now. I didn't for ages but as a lazy vegetarian who doesn't like vegetables I've been forced over the years to eat it

[B-Q]

I hated tofu when I first ate it. Its really nice if you slice it thin and sit it in sweet soy sauce (the gluggy stuff) lemon juice, some garlic, mustard powder and herds for a while then fry it. Best in salads.

I did a test with him, put a piece of raw tofu on the ground next to half a chicken neck. He took the tofu first. He's such a weird lttle dog.

[Flaves]

Sorry Emma Dee was not trying to be smart, i just didnt understand why soemone would want to give a dog a partly begetarian meal.

BUT since reading your other post, i understand that is not what you wanted to do.

Soy can be pretty bad for dogs as Miranda said.

Good luck

[HeartandSoul]

Royal Canin make a vegeterian dry food that you can access through vets

If its within your beliefs you can also feed potato and fish diets

[julesluvscavs]

Actually Emma Dee I don't eat that fake meat myself, soy milk, tofu and tempeh yes, but I think those fake meats are yuk

I actually love those 'fake meats' i thrive on them ! (the good quality brand ones)

I rarely feed my dogs my food tho, there's never any left over ! LOL (they have had the occasional left over small bit of soya sausage, schnitzel etc)

I never knew soya was hard to digest. I don't have a great working pancreas (due to having cancer a long time ago), but i have never had trouble digesting any of my soya food 'Normal' food i do !

Interesting thread

Edited February 12, 2008 by JulesLuvsCavs

[Guest Tess32]

Royal Canin make a vegeterian dry food that you can access through vets

If its within your beliefs you can also feed potato and fish diets

Potato?

[Emma Dee]

Actually Emma Dee I don't eat that fake meat myself, soy milk, tofu and tempeh yes, but I think those fake meats are yuk

I actually love those 'fake meats' i thrive on them ! (the good quality brand ones) :rolleyes:

I rarely feed my dogs my food tho, there's never any left over ! LOL (they have had the occasional left over small bit of soya sausage, schnitzel etc)

I never knew soya was hard to digest. I don't have a great working pancreas (due to having cancer a long time ago), but i have never had trouble digesting any of my soya food :D 'Normal' food i do !

Interesting thread :D

I love the fake roast, I always cook it up with the roast vegies and carve it up like it's lamb roast haha how sad!

I think the soy sausages usually have onion in them so I've avoided giving him them but he's stolen one or two in his time and nothing's come of it so I guess it's fine? I'm trying to figure out why soy would be hard for them to digest...it's high in protein low in carbs so I was thinking it might have even been good for them...I shall look into it!

[The Spotted Devil]

Emma Dee - I remember one of my nutrition lecturers saying he was surprised that soy products are fed to kids with allergies instead of dairy products as soy is actually more likely to trigger allergies....sorry, nothing more specific that I can remember

[morgan]

Soy should never be fed to dogs in any form.The phytoestrogens in it are not good for dogs or even people for that matter, and many dogs are allergic to it. Soy milk is especially high in these and should never be consumed.

http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/articles/DogFish.htm

Obviously the occasional mouthful won't hurt him, but don't make a habit of it Soy consumption is especially linked to infertility in animals and people, but if your dog is desexed that probably won't worry you

[puggy_puggy]

I wouldn't be feeding your dog your scraps, that's how dogs get fat.

Um I don't know of many dogs, only fat ones that aren't looked after properly, that get sausages, roast meat and roast vegtables once a week or more. All of this is full of fat and totally inappropriate for dogs.

If you want to feed your dog vegies then either blend them up in a food processor the BARF diet way or chop them up and steam them in the microwave for a few minutes.

As for meat. Chicken necks are great if you really can't handle your dog having red meat bones.

I don't eat red meat but eat chicken and fish.

[julesluvscavs]

Soy should never be fed to dogs in any form.The phytoestrogens in it are not good for dogs or even people for that matter, and many dogs are allergic to it. Soy milk is especially high in these and should never be consumed.

http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/articles/DogFish.htm

Obviously the occasional mouthful won't hurt him, but don't make a habit of it Soy consumption is especially linked to infertility in animals and people, but if your dog is desexed that probably won't worry you

[/quote

oh that's interesting morgan , i never knew that ! (not that i could understand it all )

it won't bother me then, since i can't have children anyway ... if anything it's improved my hormone problems !

still it sounds like it's best not to give to dogs anyway, just in case..

Edited February 13, 2008 by JulesLuvsCavs

[Emma Dee]

Soy should never be fed to dogs in any form.The phytoestrogens in it are not good for dogs or even people for that matter, and many dogs are allergic to it. Soy milk is especially high in these and should never be consumed.

http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/articles/DogFish.htm

Obviously the occasional mouthful won't hurt him, but don't make a habit of it Soy consumption is especially linked to infertility in animals and people, but if your dog is desexed that probably won't worry you

Gah! Thanks so much Morgan...no soy milk for Carson! And maybe no more for me...lol

[Guest Tess32]

I wouldn't be feeding your dog your scraps, that's how dogs get fat.

Um I don't know of many dogs, only fat ones that aren't looked after properly, that get sausages, roast meat and roast vegtables once a week or more. All of this is full of fat and totally inappropriate for dogs.

If you want to feed your dog vegies then either blend them up in a food processor the BARF diet way or chop them up and steam them in the microwave for a few minutes.

As for meat. Chicken necks are great if you really can't handle your dog having red meat bones.

I don't eat red meat but eat chicken and fish.

Actually I think both Billinghurst and Lonsdale are fine with some table scraps being fed to dogs - you just have to factor it into the overall diet.

I personally don't though, cos they already get training treats on top of their regular meals.