Is A Vegetarian Diet Safe For Dogs?

Mother Nature Network:

More people are forgoing meat for a whole spectrum of reasons -- from environmental to philosophical -- and now vegetarians are taking a second look at their dogs' meat-based diet -- and cringing. As a result, more owners are putting their dogs on a vegetarian or even vegan diet to bypass the health and ethical dilemmas that come with a side of beef, pork or chicken in their pet's kibble.

Read the whole story: Mother Nature Network

Comments

[Mooninnorfolk]

09:59 AM on 09/16/2010

I've had 2 vegetarian dogs who lived to a ripe old age and my current dog is a healthy and energetic 7-year-old vegetarian. He eats balanced homemade recipes from Vegedog. He gobbles down his food, and also gets lots of treats and table scraps (yes, gasp, he eats "people food"). I don't think he feels deprived in any way, and considering the fact that one of the world's longest living dogs (a border collie named Bramble) lived into his 20s on a vegan diet, I don't think I'm imperiling his health, either.

Far sadder (and unhealthier), in my opinion, are the dogs who eat the same old dry, boring kibble (much of it loaded with artificial colors and preservatives), day in and day out. One kibble-bound dog I know is so desperate for vegetatation and variety that she steals berries and tomatoes out of the vegetable garden. I give these things to my dog--he doesn't have to steal them.

[UrbanAntonio]

07:45 PM on 09/08/2010

Ignorant humans that exploit their pets to satisfy their fiction-based ideologies need to learn some basic science. Or simply spend some time in nature. or read a book. or do some research. or get punched in the face. UNbelievable.

[omsandi]

07:27 PM on 09/08/2010

Oh my... I guess this is the part where we impose our beliefs onto the animal kingdom and tell Mother Nature she's had it all wrong for millions of years, because we know better...

[MuchMadness]

12:43 AM on 08/18/2010

Tying into a provocative theme raised in another Food Section article, I must ask this:
If your dog is not a vegetarian, is it legal to feed him your cat?

[liberalrebuttal]

11:09 AM on 08/17/2010

Oh come on.

[Donna Phillips]

09:55 PM on 08/16/2010

While I can appreciate one's choice for removing all meat protein from their diets, let us not forget that our canine friends were eating meat long before we understood the concept of fire (hence cooking our food). While dogs may be able to survive on an all veg diet, unless supplements are given, they can potentially suffer digestion issues. I know of people who give their dogs nothing but raw meat and veg (as nature intended) and won't touch anything that has been processed for their pets. Little can be said for how much they are concerned about their own food intake.

[Donna Phillips]

09:50 PM on 08/16/2010

A

[Dolphinfan65]

08:42 PM on 08/16/2010

Any animal can be force fed food, what I want to know about is the health benefits. Cats need Meat protein, at least that's, what I thought. I hear what people are saying personally, but what about VETS?

[turboturd]

12:48 PM on 08/16/2010

Evil Vegans. Torturing their poor dogs...

[farmilyman]

11:52 AM on 08/16/2010

That's about as smart as feeding meat to cows.

[Lisa Michelle Baker]

11:12 PM on 09/13/2010

That's back on the table! http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/meat-back-on-menu-for-animal-feed-20-years-after-bse-crisis-2072188.html

[farmilyman]

01:20 AM on 09/14/2010

That's sick. Goes to show.....don't eat any meat unless you know where it comes from and how the animal was fed and treated.

[cyberbrook]

11:08 PM on 08/14/2010

Eco-Eating at www.brook.com/veg - for dogs and their compassionate human companions!

[tones]

10:43 PM on 08/14/2010

soooo here is the problem with all these veg dogs living long arguments. The reason most dogs die at age 10-12 well under the length of their wolf brothers is because of the pet food they are feed and prob lack of exercise. The food is full of chemicals they have several chems just to make the dogs poo hard and able to pick up easy its not all the fiber.

Sooo here i go poking a hole in my veg dog lived so long argument. Your dog lived longer because u were feeding him better quality food and prob more natural food than a bag full of dog food that has had its percentages of good stuff and poo hardening stuff measured by a geek in a white lab jacket. If u did the same thing with a meat diet, as in if u have a shiba inu or a huskie and u put them on a fresh fish diet the returns would most likely be the same and i know for a fact taht with those two dogs their coats sheen would suffer on a veg diet. Either way the way u feel and forcing it onto a dog that has no choice seems ludicrous at best to me.

[thebigbike]

04:58 PM on 08/14/2010

If you want to be vegan, fine, but don't expect that your dogs should be. be vegan and have pets that are naturally vegan vegewtarina lacto -ovo -fisho what ever it is you make exceptions for, but take a REALISTIC HONEST look at that the nature of the animal your desired pet is...Fish can make GREAT vegetarian pets, lots of birds too... although many of them would appreciate an insect or larva or two once in a while--- is it still vegetarian if you eat insects ? Just as another site decries people taking rare wild animals for pets and then ignoring their needs....keep your expectations about what your pets need free from quasi-religious dogma - or catma or....

[Cinnamonape]

08:33 AM on 08/14/2010

The Bible clearly states that dogs can do without meat. Remember that only two - male and female- were originally created. So if dogs were eating meat then they would have wiped out a complete species by eating one of the herbivore mated pair. QED the dogs had to be originally plant eaters. Furthermore, the fact that the dog has carnivorous teeth shows God's infinite wisdom. He planned ahead to give dogs (and lions, tigers, sharks, etc.) teeth that could only br used after the herbivorous levels increased to make herds.

And this happened again after Noah brought two of each kind onto the Ark. The so-called carnivores must not have eaten other animals for the 150 days they were on the Ark, and for perhaps a year afterwards.

That also explains how T.rex didn't kill off all the other animals on the Ark. It was originally a plant-eater.

;-)

[jimboy71]

10:00 AM on 08/14/2010

Awesome. Thanks for making it clear for me! ;@)

[kernel lib]

04:37 PM on 08/14/2010

too bad im not big on the bible ferry tales . you feed you're dog with a cucumbers and lettuce and see and i'll keep his steak diet and enjoy the love he gives back

[jimboy71]

05:51 PM on 08/17/2010

But what about the T. Rex? I worry.

[SteveDenver]

05:16 AM on 08/14/2010

I house-sit three vegetarian dogs and two vegetarian cats. They're ridiculously healthy, good weight, excellent coats. Preparing their food is much more involved than opening a bag or can and slopping them. Pet food is as bad as fast food: tons of filler and, as the article points out, grossly substandard meat products, lots of fat and artificial flavors.

If you wouldn't feed your pet Big Macs twice every day, don't give them factory food. Even though I eat meat, when I'm with "the kids," my eating habits are vastly improved: I prepare their meals and mine at the same time.

[jimboy71]

10:02 AM on 08/14/2010

I agree with you about factory food, and let's not even mention "that place". I, and a lot of peer review will disagree with the vegetarian aspect of the diets. Then again, I think it is cruel not to allow your cats and dogs to forage and hunt a little. I'm glad the animals are thriving, and hope it continues. Please don't refer to them as "vegetarians" though. It implies they had a choice.

[pbh493]

10:43 AM on 08/14/2010

"Please don't refer to them as "vegetarians" though. It implies they had a choice." Whaa? They are vegetarians because that is their diet. Choice has nothing whatsoever to do with it. My dogs are vegetarian because that is what they eat. If they had their choice, I'm afraid the majority of their diet would consist of litter box morsels.

[mothergrace]

03:36 PM on 08/14/2010

Even the article advocating a vegan diet for omnivorous dogs states cats nutritional needs are different. These cats must be hunting or they would be dead.

"Cats are obligate (strict) carnivores and are very different from dogs in their nutritional needs. What does it mean to be an ‘obligate carnivore’? It means that your cat was built by Mother Nature to get her nutritional needs met by the consumption of a large amount of animal-based proteins (meat/organs) and derives much less nutritional support from plant-based proteins (grains/vegetables). It means that cats lack specific metabolic (enzymatic) pathways and cannot utilize plant proteins as efficiently as animal proteins."

http://www.catinfo.org/#Cats_Need_Animal-Based_Protein_

[SparkyGump]

09:37 PM on 08/14/2010

I agree with that. Hopefully, one day soon, a meat substitute that's suitable for cat's and they will eat can be developed. Dogs are like goats and will eat practicly anything while most cats are very picky about what they'll eat.

[MaggieNYS]

12:18 PM on 08/15/2010

I also agree. A dog can live quite nicely on a vegetarian diet. Not so for a cat.