Vegetarian dog food

[fivecupsoftea]

Does anyone give their dog vegetarian food? If so, which one would you recommend? I saw the thread below about insect food and that looks expensive and is not available in any of my local shops.

[tabulahrasa]

Nope, dogs are carnivores...

[BiteyShark]

No sorry I wouldn't because I don't see anything wrong with eating meat myself so I wouldn't restrict my dogs eating either.

[BlackSwan]

This is madness. Dogs are obligate carnivores. If you have problem with feeding them meat, you shouldn't own a dog.

[orangeshoebox]

why?
dogs are carnivores and need meat.
if you can't deal with giving your pet an appropriate diet then you shouldn't keep a pet.

[adaline]

No, dogs are carnivores. They are designed to eat meat.

Feeding a dog a vegetarian diet is neglectful and abusive ime. If you don't want to feed your dog meat, don't get a dog.

[Floralnomad]

Why are insects different to cows / chickens etc it’s all living creatures .

[ItWentInMyEye]

I'm a vegetarian and my dog Eats meat.... what's your reasoning behind it? He does love cold cucumber though

[MyGirlDaisy]

Goodness, didn’t know such a thing existed but a quick google tells me it does. Looks expensive and I don’t think my carnivorous dog would be impressed!

[BiteyShark]

I am not sure my dog could be vegetarian even if I wanted him to be which I don't as he eats anything he finds on a walk including rotten mice, deer etc. He also likes flies, beetles, ants and other insects. He is good though will eats his vegetables alongside his other food

[pigsDOfly]

Dogs aren't obligate carnivores, unlike cats, and can survive on a vegetarian diet, cats of course, cannot survive without meat.

However, they are meat eaters and most dogs love meat. In a wild setting dogs would look for meat as the main part of their diet. To force an unnatural wholly vegetarian diet on a dog is unfair to say the least.

If you want to stick to a meat free diet that's your choice, the dog has not been given that choice and if it were to be asked, I think we all know what its answer would be.

[Crazzzycat]

I’m a life long vegetarian, but I wouldn’t feed my dog vegetarian dog food. I just don’t think it’s healthy for them.

If it makes you feel better, dog food is usually made from all the stuff humans won’t eat, so no cows/pigs/chickens etc are slaughtered specifically to make dog food. Think of it as your dog helping with the recycling.

[Lilyrose90]

Completely understand a person’s choice to be vegan/veggie but to enforce it on a dog? It’s wrong.

[OrangeSwoosh]

Dogs are obligate carnivores

They aren't. But just because they can survive on a vegetarian diet it doesn't mean they will necessarily thrive. I've known one truly vegetarian dog (medical reasons, severe food allergies to a number of animal proteins and on the verge of euthanasia, owners tried a vegetarian diet out of desperation).

If you want a vegetarian pet, get a rabbit

[Soubriquet]

Don’t feed your dog a vegetarian diet

You will do more harm than good unless it’s under a vets advice and strict observation

Instead go for the best quality food you can afford

[MrsMozartMkII]

Barking mad, unless it's for some serious medical reason and directed by the vet.

We raw feed our dogs. Even my vegan daughter raw feeds hers.

The dog needs to be fed as per its species, not by what we decide to feed ourselves.

[Scattyhattie]

I think its Benovo my vegan friend feeds her dogs, they've been on it for years & are very healthy.

Given there's many popular dog foods on market with barely any meat content & load of unnamed fillers, pointless colourings & potentially harmful preservatives, I can't see that the veggie/vegan ones are that bad personally.

[TheoriginalLEM]

Why would you do that?

[tabulahrasa]

“Given there's many popular dog foods on market with barely any meat content & load of unnamed fillers, pointless colourings & potentially harmful preservatives”

I wouldn’t feed those either though.

And I’m pretty sure they’re not often fed by people as a deliberate choice to feed a bad diet, they think dog food is dog food...

[MissShapesMissStakes]

I’m veggie and did have a struggle about this before we decided to get a dog.
I choose to feed ddog a food that’s good quality dog food but the meat in it is more (not perfect) ethically sourced. It has line caught fish, free range birds etc.

I try to keep his treats meat free but they aren’t always. He loves scrambled egg, cooked carrot, apple, banana, sweet potato, yogurt and peanut butter.

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

I'm veggie, and DDog eats meat.

He used to be fed (before I was responsible for his diet) on low quality low meat high grain kibble. Since switching him to higher quality higher meat diet, everything from his coat to weight to behaviour has improved.

[fivecupsoftea]

My reason for considering vegetarian dog food is my wish to live ethically and sustainably as producing meat is far far worse for the planet than vegetarian food. This article suggests that a vegetarian diet is ok for dogs: m.petmd.com/blogs/nutritionnuggets/jcoates/2014/jan/can-dogs-stay-healthy-on-a-vegetarian-diet-31188

One option I might consider is one veggie meal a day and continue with her raw food for the other meal.

[BiteyShark]

I have read that blog before but to me it lacked concrete facts and figures like comparing the nutrients of a high meat diet with a purely vegetarian one to show that there isn't any difference.

I am not saying it isn't possible but that blogg didn't convince me other than them saying yes you can. If someone pointed me to a medically backed research paper showing a comparison of a number of dogs on a meat diet with a number on a vegetarian diet with measurements that compared health in a non subjective manner then I would be more interested.

[iklboo]

You might want to live ethically. Your dog probably doesn't.

[orangeshoebox]

ethically would be giving your pet a diet that is appropriate.
for a dog a meat containing diet is healthy and ethical.

[Perunatop]

If you want to live ethically and sustainably then don't keep pets. Instead you could do something to help wildlife.