I've been vegan for a year, vegetarian for two. My dogs currently eat a diet that consists of half meat and half vegetarian food- obviously I'm pushing for them to be full-on vegetarians, as that is ethically important to me. We adopted one from a rescue organization and got another about 2 and a half years ago (before my brother and I went vegetarian) so, naturally, we fed them the meat dog food. My parents are somewhat unsure of just switching them to a vegetarian dog foog but I really think that would be in the greater interest of not only the dogs, but of the animals who are dying to feed them. Note that my sister still eats meat and will give them her scraps so they will never be fully vegetarian...but I'm just wondering how to go about fully switching them to vegetarian food and if this is, in fact, safe and healthy.
Dogs can be vegetarians. I have heard the oldest alive is vegan. It is easier for a dog to be vegan than it is a cat..which I don't recommend. Be aware that some vegan dog food is very low quality with cooked hydrogenated oil and by products just like regular dog food. As always, it is best to spend the extra dollar or 2 and go organic whether the food is vegan or not.. and it can make a huge difference in the long run. If I had a dog, I would feed him human grade organic food, what I eat basically...which is a balanced vegetarian diet with an emphasis on raw organic food...and a lot of blended food and fresh juice/herbal tea if they like it. Not all herbal tea, I wouldnt give him yerba matte cuz of the mateine, but a lot of tea is great for dogs. I might feed him some organic pet food just to give him variety, because that's an important key to health, and dog food is usually fortified with vitamins that are good every now and again. If I was raising him as a vegan, I would put a little more care into fortified foods and a variety of certain foods...and I would probably read up on it on google as well. I would also give him/her bottled water and never ever tap water which is filled with heavy metals from leeching pipe systems, chlorine, fluoride, and god knows what else. I give my cat bottled water everyday and I think it is definatley worth it. You might also consider supplementing your dog's diet with herbal supplements from my site here - http://174486.amazonherb.net/amazon_pets-whichherb.aspx You can sneak them into their food or just give them to them topically. I give certain herbs and other foods to my cat topically frequently, like calmazon, organic spirulina, and flaxoil/hempoil and other things he doesnt like to eat but needs to be healthy. I hope this helped
Thats definitely something you should research before doing it because you don't want your pets to be unhealthy!
I've seen raw dog food before too...that's been dehydrated. I think you can get a coupon for it if you go to http://www.organiccoupons.org
I feed my dogs this: http://www.nlpp.com/products.html?topic=vegetarian All three of my babies are very happy and healthy dogs with bright eyes and shiny coats. Natural Life does not conduct animal testing, and they do not outsource any portion of their production. The food is pretty expensive, but I don't have to worry about rat poison, e coli, etc.
I just recently (about 3 months ago) adopted two boston terrier mixes from a local shelter. They were originally on Purina One. It took about 3-4 weeks to gradually work in their vegetarian commercial brand formula, but they've completely transitioned over now. For anyone interested, here is the brand that I'm currently using (it says vegetarian but I was assured from a Nat Bal representative that they use no animal-based ingredients): http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?R=8601&Nav=1&N=0&Ntt=vegetarian&sku=899070&familyID=10962& Also, I thought a vegetarian diet would have been the less preferable route, considering that almost all commercial brands contain some sort of meat-based protein source. However, after consulting with my veterinarian I was informed that a vegetarian diet would have no health restrictions as long as they are getting an adequate amount of protein (which is a positive with the Natural Balance).
I have 2 healthy, happy veg dogs. I feed them Natural balance vegetarian formula. Our larger dog (16-20 lbs) is muscular, lean, has a very soft coat, and his doctor said he's in great health! Please research it, don't just throw him/her some tofu and rice. Their diet (like ours) MUST be balanced, but also like ours, can be completely happy and healthy as vegetarian. That being said, the dogs actually do love tofu and veggies.
