Is it reasonable to expect dogs to go vegan?

[IndianVegan]

I feed a few street dogs with Pedigree dog-food everyday. Unfortunately, chicken is listed as one of the ingredients. While I have been vegan for a few months now, is it reasonable to expect dogs to go vegan?

 

[Brian W]

I feed a few street dogs with Pedigree dog-food everyday. Unfortunately, chicken is listed as one of the ingredients. While I have been vegan for a few months now, is it reasonable to expect dogs to go vegan?

My opinion is no. Dogs are physically capable of living on a plant based diet but when I consider the amount of bad-tasting meat substitutes I have had to throw away while trying to avoid animal based foods it seems unreasonable to me that one of the few things an animal has to look forward to in life is replaced with bland vegan "meat." I think it is unvegan to force your carnivore and omnivore pets to live on it when they wouldn't do so if they had a choice. We also don't know what a high fiber diet does to a dog's insides and it cannot tell us if it is in pain. There are plenty of humans with IBS and other health issues who have difficulties on a vegan diet and end up with bad stomach aches at best. Why risk inflicting that on an animal that is not naturally vegan? I know there will be those who will quote me and try to slap me down with "arguments" based more on emotion than fact and I will probably get the occasional red "X" but I will always stick to this, precisely because I care enough about animals to do so.

 

[Lou]

My opinion is Yes .
but there are plenty of caveats.

First off, we used to have a member (might still but I haven't seen her around lately, named @Vegan Dogs.
Anyone interested in the subject should search, find, and read her posts. She is our resident expert.

Secondly, I have friends with vegan dogs. They are fine.

@Brian W is maybe the first person who suggested "taste" as an argument for not converting a dog to veganism. I think that is the worst argument there is. Has he ever tried a spoonful of the commercially store bought food. It tastes terrible. Also dogs are about the least likely connoisseurs. even pet dogs like to raid garbage cans when they get a chance.

My friends who have vegan dogs give them home cooked meals. Which they gobble right up and I have tasted it - it tastes pretty good.

And the fiber argument is also very weak.

Anyone interested should go back thru Vegan Dogs' posts. Or maybe not. I just tried it and she had been a very prolific poster and not only on vegan dogs. I just wanted to find her posts about her own dogs but I can't find them among the almost 500 posts she wrote. So maybe just google it. If you google it you will need to be somewhat skeptical. there is plenty of misinformation out there on the subject. One quick tip, is you should stop reading anything that describes dogs as carnivores. They are not. They have been omnivores (just like us) for tens of thousands of years. Anyone who suggests they are carnivores is displaying their ignorance.

A dog should not be covererted to a vegan diet without a transition. (just like us). And a check up before and after is a good idea (just like us). finally, not every dog will do well on a vegan diet (just like us). But most will and many do even better (just like us). And (just like us) a vegan dog's diet will need supplements. A vet may be the best source of how much - but they will need B12 and Omega 2 (just like us). Also the amino acids Taurine and L-carnitine. Commercially store bought Vegan food contains these supplements. My friends include these supplement in their home made dog food.

This is a well plowed subject so I won't write anymore on it and leave it to IndianVegan to do his/her own research. But to help them get started...

Could A Vegan Diet Actually Be Better For Dogs Than Meat?

More people are adapting their dogs' diets to be plat-based. But is it safe for dogs to be vegan? What are the health benefits and risks?

plantbasednews.org

Can a Dog Be Vegan?

Many humans practice a vegan lifestyle—but how does that affect their dogs? In this article, Dr. Jamie Lovejoy gives an overview of vegan foods for dogs, and if a dog can safely be vegan.

www.petmd.com

 

[g0rph]

First of all, no dog (or cat) will ever be vegan. It's a really silly term to use when we are talking about what we as their guardians feed them.
It's a "plant-based diet".

Both animals can thrive plant-based, but of course with cats it's important they get the taurine etc which usually comes from animals (but can be synthesized also. There are some successful plant-based cat foods out there nowadays.

But both will do what many animals do. i.e. Hunt and kill. They will also gladly accept non-vegan items if offered.

So, neither will ever be "vegan".

I might be being pedantic, but I find this quite irritating "My dog is vegan"...NO HE ISN'T, YOU ARE FEEDING HIM a plant-based diet.



By the way, we have a small dog. And mainly because my family is not vegan, but also due to his insane fussiness and lack of plant-based options in the area, he eats standard dog-food
When I say fussy...He doesn't like any standard dog-treats. I bought him some (quite nice looking) plant-based chews...he sniffed one and looked at me as if to say "what the **** is that?" and walked away.

The only saving grace, if at all, is that he weighs like 6 or 7 kg and doesn't eat much.

 

[Lou]

First of all, no dog (or cat) will ever be vegan.

Yes. you are right.

I might be being pedantic,

Yes, you are. but in your defense it IS important to use the correct terminology. But I thought this discussion was just about information not a debate so I overlooked the misuse of the word. I knew what he meant. And being that the word vegan is commonly substituted for a person consuming a plant based diet I thought it best to let it slide.

By the way, we have a small dog. And mainly because my family is not vegan, but also due to his insane fussiness and lack of plant-based options in the area, he eats standard dog-food

Well, you do what you want but just in case no one has pointed it out to you - you can make your own home made plant based dog food. You can make a big bowl of it and keep portions in the freezer. Being that its make from Whole Foods and not ultra processed its both tasty and nutritious.

 

[g0rph]

Well, you do what you want but just in case no one has pointed it out to you - you can make your own home made plant based dog food. You can make a big bowl of it and keep portions in the freezer. Being that its make from Whole Foods and not ultra processed its both tasty and nutritious.

I often do, but I am also worried that he will not get a nutritionally balanced diet. I did speak to the vet about it, but they were not particularly helpful.

I have tried sourcing a good plant-based kibble online, but so far most seem to be too high in protein (his breed calls for a little less to avoid kidney problems)
I have tried a few recipes, and the one he likes uses a soy minced meat substitute, but I avoid it too often as it contains onion powder
Only using beans, etc, he won't touch it. Like I said, he's extremely fussy.

And because my family is not vegan, they simply buy him standard kibble and wet food

 

[Lou]

I often do, but I am also worried that he will not get a nutritionally balanced diet. I did speak to the vet about it, but they were not particularly helpful.

Yeah, a lot of vets are not particularly interested. I find it weird that vets are not ALL vegan.

I have tried sourcing a good plant-based kibble online, but so far most seem to be too high in protein (his breed calls for a little less to avoid kidney problems)

I don't know anything about vegan kibble but.... V- Dog Kind Kibble has been recommended. I have no idea what its protein content is.

I have tried a few recipes, and the one he likes uses a soy minced meat substitute, but I avoid it too often as it contains onion powder
Only using beans, etc, he won't touch it. Like I said, he's extremely fussy.

This is the recipe that is most often recommended.

Adventures With Vegan Dog Food - Singing Vegan

It's easy to pick up bags of highly processed dog food. But if I don't feed processed food like that to my family, why would I feed it to the dog?

www.singingvegan.com

further reading

Vegan dog food

Hello We have two dogs adopted from a shelter in spain. They are amazing! So far they have been given animal products. Its the only animal products we buy and I dont feel good about it. I don't easily find vegan dogfood around here. Most of the time it's also very expensive (I live in...

www.veganforum.org

 

[g0rph]

Yeah, a lot of vets are not particularly interested. I find it weird that vets are not ALL vegan.

I don't know anything about vegan kibble but.... V- Dog Kind Kibble has been recommended. I have no idea what its protein content is.



This is the recipe that is most often recommended.

Adventures With Vegan Dog Food - Singing Vegan

It's easy to pick up bags of highly processed dog food. But if I don't feed processed food like that to my family, why would I feed it to the dog?

www.singingvegan.com

further reading

Vegan dog food

Hello We have two dogs adopted from a shelter in spain. They are amazing! So far they have been given animal products. Its the only animal products we buy and I dont feel good about it. I don't easily find vegan dogfood around here. Most of the time it's also very expensive (I live in...

www.veganforum.org

Thanks for the link.
That recipe though...looks far too low in protein at first glance. I want something around 25-28% protein.

But it's certainly worth a try.

 

[Col]

I don’t see why anyone would be upset if you fed street dogs something like this:

Benevo Vegetarian (Vegan) Adult Dog Food 2kg - Aistra

Benevo Vegetarian (Vegan) Adult Dog Food is a nutritionally complete & balanced wheat-free formulation featuring a powerful 27% protein & added prebiotic.

myaistra.com

if it is available near you and affordable,
as it would help the homeless dogs and as much as possible not hurt anyone else.

Best wishes with helping the street dogs

 

[g0rph]

I don’t see why anyone would be upset if you fed street dogs something like this:

Benevo Vegetarian (Vegan) Adult Dog Food 2kg - Aistra

Benevo Vegetarian (Vegan) Adult Dog Food is a nutritionally complete & balanced wheat-free formulation featuring a powerful 27% protein & added prebiotic.

myaistra.com

if it is available near you and affordable,
as it would help the homeless dogs and as much as possible not hurt anyone else.

Best wishes with helping the street dogs

Indeed.
I'm sure most street dogs would lap it up.

On a side-note, as plant-based dog food is not available near me, I ordered some. (Omni adult)

I did as instructed and mixed with his original kibble (Royal Canin)...

What was left was all the Omni on the rug, and the Royal Canin eaten )
(He has always been very fussy).

I keep trying, but even if that's all I leave him...he goes hungry

 

[Graeme M]

First of all, no dog (or cat) will ever be vegan. It's a really silly term to use when we are talking about what we as their guardians feed them.
It's a "plant-based diet".

Both animals can thrive plant-based, but of course with cats it's important they get the taurine etc which usually comes from animals (but can be synthesized also. There are some successful plant-based cat foods out there nowadays.

But both will do what many animals do. i.e. Hunt and kill. They will also gladly accept non-vegan items if offered.

So, neither will ever be "vegan".

This is a good point though I agree with Lou that in the context it wasn't something I thought was careless. But I do find myself wanting to correct people when they talk about say cows being vegan, or people eating a vegan diet etc. I use the term "vegan-friendly" for anything other than a human being. As to what to feed companion animals, I think that just as with people, the diet should be healthy and nutritionally adequate first of all, and then depending on one's circumstances sourced from the most vegan-friendly options available. Given most of us are not nutrition experts, I'm not sure how to be confident that vegan-labelled commercial foods are in fact good for our pets. They probably aren't any worse than a lot of commercial pet foods anyway!

I guess I wouldn't try to feed a cat anything other than meat or an appropriately designed commercial pet food and would tend to prefer to feed a dog a diet mixed with meat. My solution is not to own a pet in future, however for now we have a dog and we feed him a mix of vegetables and meat, though we can usually source the meat from our farmer friend.

I think dogs and cats hunting and catching things according to their nature are effectively "vegan" anyway, given that veganism is primarily about making the fairest choices we can. While we humans can choose, the rest of nature just does what its own nature drives it to do, so that's sort of a natural fairness anyway. But in no way do I think animals can ever be vegan according to the actual meaning - it's entirely a human concept about what humans do.