Discussion Board

Is anyone feeding your dogs vegan dog food?
Is there any evidence that this a good thing to do?
I have an aging 12 yr old golden retriever whom I have always fed what I would call premium brand standard dog food. He also seems to love sweet potatoes and veggies
Any thoughts?

doesn't it seem to you that dogs are probably supposed to eat meat?

i'm vegan, and my "pack" is mostly opportunistic in terms of dietary intake. they officially get kibble that's "food quality" from whole foods, and the occasional dropped carrot or romaine leaf....

My understanding is that dogs are also omnivores meaning they do not require meat

I have been feeding my Cardigan Welsh Corgi V-dog (a vegan food) for about a month now. I changed from Taste of the Wild. Her coat looks great, she loves it, she also loves any veggies I feed her - no change in her energy levels at all. The company was great to order from - got it here (NC) in about 3 days. My only concern is that I camp extensively in the summer and may not be somewhere I can get it. They are in Ca and say they are hoping to get into Whole Foods mkt.

Dogs are omnivores, not carnivores. Several years ago, I tried feeding my dogs a vegan diet, and they weren't having any. I got a book that had vegan dog recipes in it, and cooked for them and everything. They were not impressed. I cook chicken and brown rice or whole wheat spaghetti for them, and have for years now, and they do very well on that. All of my dogs have lived to 15 and 16 years old, so I guess it agrees with them. Being a vegan, I find it very hard to cook chicken, though, so the "yuck" factor is there. I buy Halo dry dog food, since one of my dogs likes crunchy things, but the other dog could care less. I'd love to have had my dogs go vegan, but the struggle to get them to eat vegan got very tiring.

Have you tried one of the commercial vegan foods? They might like that better. I know Lark has occasionally not wanted to eat it, so I just put some hot water in it and she is fine. FYI - this is the first commercial bagged food I've ever tried that I didn't gag as I opened it and dished it out!

Dogs shouldnt eat grains.

My puppy eats grain free kibble currently and when's she's no longer such a puppy, meaning she stops putting her mouth on everything, shell be on a raw mostly meat diet.

They are not obligate carnivores like felines, but they are meat eaters first. Just because a species CAN eat something (think humans and SAD) doesn't mean they should and ill health will eventually follow. Maybe not in a month or even a year or two.

Want a vegan pet get a bird

Yes, I've tried the vegan dog foods too, and they weren't having any of that either. My one dog would probably eat it, but the other one doesn't like dog food at all...vegan or otherwise. I know what you mean about gagging when you open the bag....YUCK!

I've read that dogs don't need grains, which is probably why they shouldn't eat dog food with "grain" as it's main ingredient. I know dogs prefer meat, but I really do think they can survive very well without it. That's just what I've read, and I'm no expert. Cats are a different story.

Yes they can "survive" just fine eating anything, as can humans. But for how long healthfully? I want my animals to thrive not just survive, kind of like me and my fam.

Surviving is great in an emergency but not long term with full health


And I dont think it's a matter of not needing grains, grains cause allergic reactions in animals and also inflammation. Skin allergies run rampant in dogs and cats fed food with grains.

We raise our own grass fed beef for our dogs and feed plenty of raw meaty bones and green tripe. We plan on expanding the green tripe production into a co-opt within the year...

I feed my dog various premium grain free dog foods like Taste of the Wild. We also give him small pieces of dates, bananas, apples, strawberries, peanut butter and squash. He seems to love this as much as the meaty dog food. The way he gobbles down dates and bananas makes me think he's part monkey.

My dog has always eaten what i thought was a "quality" commercial kibble, but she developed mast cell tumors. During my research of how to try to prevent more mast cell tumors, I learned that dogs need primarily protein and fat. Carbs are not necessary for a dog's health and people say "carbs feed cancer". Though i have been vegan for years, from what I've learned I would think feeding a dog a vegan diet would be a very unhealthful diet for them, and I would never do that to any of my dogs. I feel that people can make the choice to be vegan because they do not need meat to be healthy. But in my opinion, I do believe that dogs need mostly meat to be healthy.

I'm glad there are a few raw food dog owner's speaking up. Dogs are 98.8% identical to the gray wolf, they are carnivores, not omnivores. I've seen plenty of footage of wolves hunting, not rooting through a vegetable patch.

My husband and I are vegan, but there's a ton of chicken, fish, pork, and beef in our house for our dogs. They used to be on an espensive grain free kibble until I realized it was just the doggy version of processed junk food.

Check out www.rawmeatybones.com for more information. Dr. Lonsdale is the Dr. McDougall of the pet world. And my dogs have never been healthier since I found his books.

I was making my dogs food with meat but due to expense lately I'm feeding her vegan but also giving her occasional meat treats, such as rawhide and jerky. I had been giving her a really cheap meat and wasn't feeling altogether good about it.

I'm thinking of getting some freeze dried meat though, the good kind sold at natural pet stores, and supplementing her diet with it. Right now she gets brown rice, lentils, peas & carrots and nutritional yeast.

I don't feel right giving her kibble either, I just feel that's an inferior form of food.