Vegetarian Dog Food

[Frodo]

Hi! New here, but it looks like a good place to ask serious questions.

My friend is vegan and wants to feed her Shitzu the same way. I told her that's wrong and she'll make the dog ill. There's no way she'll have anything containing meat of any form in her home so can someone recommend a vegetarian dog food that she could feed her little dog?

[witheverythingiam]

Well can't she just feed biscuits???

Dogs are meat eaters - Carnivores. Can't survive on a grain & fruit/vegie diet along. They'll be malnourished. She shouldn't own a dog if she's not going to feed it properly! Disturbing to say the least.

-WithEverythingIAm

[Poodle wrangler]

Dogs are just not designed to have a vegetarian diet.

Can't recommend a good vege diet for a dog as there is none.

Humans can thrive on vegan diets, but not dogs. It's as bad as us eating nothing but meat.

Dogs have those big canine teeth for tearing meat. Their digestive tracts are shorter than ours, too (designed for meat/offal etc. as primary diet).

Chewing raw bones helps clean their teeth.

Perhaps she should not have got a dog if she was not prepared to feed it anything with meat.

[julesluvscavs]

Hi

I'm a vegetarian, have been since i was about 16 (I'm now 42 !! )

But i still feed our dogs, and cat , meat...

I don't inflict my personal choice on others, or on my pets

If you do a search, this topic has been done before, so you might find the responses in there helpful as well

Edited April 19, 2008 by JulesLuvsCavs

[Kissindra]

I believe there are some that do but it involves an awful lot of supliments added and just isn't good for the dog.

[Alison]

I have too agree, if your friend didn't want to feed meat, why get a meat eating animal? It's like getting a fish but not wanting to keep it in water.

[fifi]

I'm a vege, have been for 35 years, but NO way would I impose a species inappropriate diet on a dog - their enzymes/stomach acids ect. are designed for eating prey type food & their contents (in other words - eating vegetarians !!)

mine have fresh meat, offal, quality kibble, vegies, chicken frames, bones ect.

I've seen the results of vegan dogs, and a very sorry sight they are with dreadful coat, sunken eyes, no body condition ect...

tell your friend to buy a rabbit.

fifi

edited to add stuff I forgot !

Edited April 19, 2008 by fifi

[baifra]

I'm a vege, have been for 35 years, but NO way would I impose a species inappropriate diet on a dog - their enzymes/stomach acids ect. are designed for eating prey type food & their contents (in other words - eating vegetarians !!)

mine have fresh meat, offal, quality kibble, vegies, chicken frames, bones ect.

I've seen the results of vegan dogs, and a very sorry sight they are with dreadful coat, sunken eyes, no body condition ect...

tell your friend to buy a rabbit.

fifi

edited to add stuff I forgot !

I agree!

Im also vegetarian but i wouldn't dream of denying my dogs meat.

I have seen some health shops selling vegan dog food. Poor buggers that have to eat it!!

[poodlefan]

Your friend has bought a carnivore. The dog cannot get a balanced diet from non-animal sources.. Some necessary enzymes cannot be derived from non-meat sources. God forbid she tries to raise a puppy on a vegan diet - it will in all likelihood do it irrepairable harm.

Soy the usual source of non-animal protein used in some dog foods. Dogs do not tolerate it well.

If she won't eat animals for philosophical reasons, ask her to contemplate whether denying an animal a species appropriate diet due to her [human] beliefs is yet another from of animal abuse.

Edited April 19, 2008 by poodlefan

[cjm]

I was in picking up my RC and was chatting to the staff about new Royal Canin varieties for this "market" and I don't think this is the one I saw but perhaps similar http://www.royalcanin.us/products/productdetail.aspx?ID=87 but from my (admittedly very limited) understanding, unlike cats dogs are not strictly carnivorous and do cope on a properly balanced veg diet.

Edited April 19, 2008 by cjm

[julesluvscavs]

I was in picking up my RC and was chatting to the staff about new Royal Canin varieties for this "market" and I don't think this is the one I saw but perhaps similar http://www.royalcanin.us/products/productdetail.aspx?ID=87 but from my (admittedly very limited) understanding, unlike cats dogs are not strictly carnivorous and do cope on a properly balanced veg diet.

Their products are usually really good I didn't know about this one??

I've had my dogs, and cat on their other types of dry food ..

Edited April 19, 2008 by JulesLuvsCavs

[westiemum]

I have veggo tendencies but am not a true veggo... and my westies eat plenty of veggies but I would never not feed my guys meat and bones as the primary part of their diet... and they are fit, healthy, excellent weights and bound around like puppies... which isn't half bad for older chooks...

Froddo, I strongly suggest your friend rethinks her veggo diet for her dog - it will hurt him and her vet bills are likely to go through the roof. I suggest you refer her to some of the barf sites like this one - as even if she doesn't use the diet or its principles it talks about the importance of approiate diets for dogs .

Good Luck.

Cheers,

Westiemum

[B-Q]

I've been vegetarian for almost 3 years. While I feel strongly about it myself, I won't risk Buster's health for my beliefs. He's a dog, he's evolved to have a high percentage of his diet be meat (but I think he prefers tofu )

yes a dog will survive on a vegetarian diet, but I wouldn't do it. Good chance the dog will end up malnourished, my guess is she's probably vegan due to moral reasons and IMO feeding a dog on mainly vegies or grain is immoral. It would be hypocritical.

When I can I'll be sourcing as much humane meat as I can for his diet. But he will always be eating meat.

I must look like I terrible vegetarian sometimes, in the kitchen daily, chopping up chicken carcasses and the like. lol

Edited April 19, 2008 by busterlove

[jaegertheweim]

correct me if I am wrong but I remember learning in university that dogs can survive as vegetarians - it's only cats that can't due to their inability to synthesize taurine

Edited April 19, 2008 by jaegertheweim

[poodlefan]

correct me if I am wrong but I remember learning in university that dogs can survive as vegetarians - it's only cats that can't due to their inability to synthesize taurine

Yes, they'll survive. Dogs survive on quite an array of inappropriate diets... eg. all meat.

[charli73]

Vegetarian for 19 years and counting, would NEVER deny my cat or German Shepherd meat, raw or cooked and will happily handle it for the sake of my animals (husband is another story

Your friend is being neglectful and needs to consider the animals needs not his own..

Edited April 19, 2008 by charli73

[Winterpaws]

I remember reading in a book by Dr Martin Goldstein (who is a vet who specialises in holistic animal health) about some vegans bringing him their dog who was ill - he said it needed meat but they refused to feed meat as it was against their beliefs - from memory their dog died

I'd suggest kibble at the minimum

[persephone]

Not allowing her dog to eat what it is designed to eat is unfair on the dog.

The dog doesn't hold her views..it cannot

It may survive... but will not be as happy or healthy, methinks .

Show her this thread

[casowner]

Look at the Royal Canin Exclusive Protein Dry food, it was designed for this type of issue, not that I recommend or condone it, but if it will be done anyway at least it is a recommended food for this.

[Leenie]

Well can't she just feed biscuits???

Dogs are meat eaters - Carnivores. Can't survive on a grain & fruit/vegie diet along. They'll be malnourished. She shouldn't own a dog if she's not going to feed it properly! Disturbing to say the least.

-WithEverythingIAm

Biscuits have meat in them.

Dogs are omnivores, not true carnivores. Cats are obligate carnivores.

I am vegetarian but do not believe that dogs should be fed an exclusively vegetarian lifestyle let alone vegan. If the dog chooses to stop eating meat, then fine, but we should never push our beliefs on to others, especially our pets.

There are meat free foods available for dogs and cats such as veganpet but none that I've been completely convinced by yet. The Royal Canin dry mentioned in this thread looks fantastic but isn't vegetarian. It contains fish oil. Close though! Maybe your friend would consider it? :D Suggest to your friend that she makes up a balanced veggie / cooked lentils / cooked rice mix for dogs, to feed as often as they like plus nutritional supplements (e.g. Greenpet's) PLUS at least a raw meaty bone and some meats throughout the week.

Edited April 27, 2008 by Leenie