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.

As a PP mentioned one big argument for ethical and sustainable living is to not have pets in the first place. I obviously don't follow that principle as I am happy to have a dog as a pet.

Would it not be better for your dog to find a meat/fish based food that is locally produced from sustainable sources with minimal transportation?

You can source ethical dog food without needing to go veggie.

Although there is veggie food eg Yarrah, Benevo, Lily’s Kitchen. However it is very contentious in dog food and may impact on health.

Consider animal testing ,consider animal welfare of meat used in food eg no caged rabbits (A major source of caged rabbits are used in animal food or factory farmed meat

Dry food has a lower carbon foot print than wet food due to weight and processing of the food

Consider the packaging of the food can it be recycled etc or not plastic
What is the palm oil content and has that been ethically sourced
Organic food by definition tends to be higher welfare.

I would argue having a rescue dog is ethical

So dogs are actually omnivores - which means they can eat both meat and vegetarian food. When i lived in India, where it is normal to feed dogs veggie food, we fed our pomeranian a completely vegetarian diet for his whole life - he was very healthy and happy and lived to a grand old age. Now i have a dog that is fed mainly meat. But he doesnt like meat kibble and will often leave it uneaten. We have tried different high quality brands and flavours but he goes off them after a while. I also want to be able to feed my dog ethically sourced meat because i dont want to make other animals suffer in tiny cages with no daylight. However, ethically sourced meat is a bit more expensive. So the solution i have hit on is to feed him a high quality veggie kibble plus add a bit of ethically sourced meat wet food to it. I use Solo Vegetal, which is a complete veggie kibble that is recommended by vets. He seems to like this better than the meat kibble so far, and he loves it when it is topped with wet meat. My dog has a sensitive stomach, so i think swapping from meat kibble to veggie could make his meals easier on his stomach too.

I'm another vegetarian whose dog eats meat.

The insect food is £££ and can hardly be called vegetarian.

Beco do free range chicken / turkey flavoured dog food www.becopets.com/collections/healthy-dog-food

The threads 2 years old but WTF Dogs eat meat. Rabbits eat grass.

Please don’t.

Dogs eat meat, they can survive without it but their bodies are adapted to do best with meat and their behaviour and build very clearly shows they are predators.

Everything in their behaviour screams meat eating predator - getting excited with squeaky toys, shaking toys, disembowelling toys, sniffing the air, being movement motivated and enjoying chasing things and so on.

You wouldn’t feed a rabbit meat based food because it isn’t their natural diet.
It isn’t what they want to eat, it isn’t what their bodies are made to eat and unless it’s extremely highly processed and complete and utter laboratory frankenfood will make them ill.

Just because science means you can doesn’t mean it is right to do so.

Me and DH are vegetarian, we have a dog.
We wouldn’t ever consider feeding her a vegetarian diet, just as we wouldn’t feed a rabbit or guinea pig a meat based diet.

Don’t be so bloody selfish.

Feed the dog meat and when it dies pick a vegetarian pet next time.

I love these threads where completely unqualified people tell your their opinions as total fact.
Dogs are omnivores and when first domesticated and reliant on humans for food would likely go for extended periods without meat.
A dog fed mindfully on a meat free diet is 100% healthier than a dog on tinned crap. Most cancers in dogs (like humans) are diet related and these cancers have increased since the introduction of 'specialist' dog food.

Google it or contact an animal nutritionist who specialises. If your dog currently eats meat you will have to change very slowly. I do make my own but has taken a while. Well worth it and not neglectful or denying a dog's true nature (wtf) at all.

“Dogs are omnivores”

Their teeth, gut length and how poorly they process nutrients from plants would very much say otherwise though.

I know a vegetarian dog (to my surprise, the owner is a friend that I didn't think would go down this route) I only found out he was veggie when she was worrying about him eating other dogs poo and I enquired about his diet as that can be a sign of missing nutrients and she told me.

He's actually doing ok now as an adult dog but I do think it was quite unfair of them to raise him as a pup entirely meat free when they need the nutrients to help develop physically. Good suggestions for more ethical options here, I am sure a lot of adult dogs could manage ok on lower meat diets, but I'd be wary of none at all, especially before being fully grown.

Dogs are omnivores and when first domesticated and reliant on humans for food would likely go for extended periods without meat
A dog fed mindfully on a meat free diet is 100% healthier than a dog on tinned crap. Most cancers in dogs (like humans) are diet related and these cancers have increased since the introduction of 'specialist' dog food
What a load of bollocks.

Dogs are descended from wolves, wolves eat berries and vegetation occasionally but they are very much carnivorous animals.

Dogs are similar enough genetically to wolves that any breed of domestic dog can mate with a wolf and produce fertile offspring.

Dogs might be able to survive without meat if necessary but they are not omnivores at all.
If you compare their teeth (to cite one example of their physiology) to genuine omnivores, like bears, it is crystal clear that dogs are intended to eat an almost exclusive meat diet.

And as for not having much meat when domesticated, a lot of researchers believe that wolves actually became domesticated in the first place because hunter gatherers had too much meat to eat and shared the surplus with wolves which became tame.

And as for the cancer nonsense, dogs used to be fed primarily fresh meat scraps.
Then dry food came about and then tinned; both of which are heavily processed, don’t use fresh meat, often have a very low meat percentage and are usually full of chemicals to preserve the product, many of which are proven carcinogens.

@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.

Then don't get a dog. It's not ethical to feed a dog a wholly vegetarian diet. Dogs are not naturally vegetarian. Get a rabbit next time. Your plan for partly vegetarian & partly raw food seems batter than a wholly vegetarian diet. Try to get ethical / wild caught / pasture raised food if it bothers you.

YES..

it's called a Hepatic Diet, some dogs have liver issues where they cannot process or break down proteins and therefore can only have a diet of 12% or less protein.. The signs are fits and losing consciousness struggling to breathe .. very distressing and awful for the dog.

You can buy low protein food from Royal Canine, however, this is a Vet Diagnosed Diet, and I agree with everyone on here, that if your dog is fit and well, then you should not be on a Hepatic Diet.

I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted people to know that there is help for your Pet should you need it.

I posted 2yrs ago and friends vegan fed dog is still going strong at 15, it's above average for the breed, none of mine lived past 11.

I'm veggie but as far as I'm aware dog foods usually made from byproduct/waste of human food industry, what doesn't meet human consumption standards goes to animals.

I wouldn’t even consider it. I don’t eat meat though

My dog won’t touch fruit or veg so she’d be in trouble if we made her turn vegetarian.

Bloody zombie thread.

@magicstar1

My dog won’t touch fruit or veg so she’d be in trouble if we made her turn vegetarian.

mines was the same for ages.. she's a yorkie and was very unwell with fits etc..

Vet recommended Hepatic, and it did take a while, she was refusing to eat for what felt like forever.. now she's happy and healthy.. no more fits and it costs a lot more but she's our baby

You could feed your dog sustainably & ethically by sourcing wild caught venison, rabbit, squirrels etc. Helping people who are culling wildlife that are degrading habitats. Get a big chest freezer, find a local contact (butchers & farmers are good places to start, also try the Woodland Trust to see who they use for deer stalking) & fill up your freezer with fresh raw wild meat. Good for your dog & the environment.

(is keeping a pet really ethical anyway?)

Oh FFS, didn’t spot that it’s a ZOMBIE THREAD. Why!?

ZOMBIE THREAD

🤣

@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.

Then you shouldn't have got a dog.

Don't inflict this on your dog. I say this as a vegetarian.

@Powertothepetal

And as for the cancer nonsense, dogs used to be fed primarily fresh meat scraps. Then dry food came about and then tinned; both of which are heavily processed, don’t use fresh meat, often have a very low meat percentage and are usually full of chemicals to preserve the product, many of which are proven carcinogens.

It's also possible that any increased incidence of cancer in dogs is due to a) increased inbreeding (which is known to shorten lifespans) and b) longer lives - a dog which was crippled with arthritis would once have been quietly taken behind the barn and shot whereas now it's kept going contentedly on Tralieve etc and then gets cancer.

There's better diagnosis of cancer too - years ago dogs just died for no obvious reason and it was put down to old age etc

I doubt there's any good data on the incidence of cancer in dogs over time - if there was it would be fascinating to find out if there was a rise in cancer rates in dogs.