Quick Question…
14Jun09
Does anyone out there make their own vegan/vegetarian dog food? I’m thinking of switching Barbara off store-bought dog food, but when I asked the vet she said to come up with some recipes and bring them in for approval. All the websites I go to contradict each other, and I have yet to find a recipe that seems like it has enough protein…
Gary, by the way, though a vegetarian for ethical reasons, insists that ‘forcing’ a carnivorous dog to be vegetarian is morally wrong and is determined not to let me go through with it. Opinions? What do your animals eat?
Filed under: snacking | 8 Comments
Tags: Barbara Walters
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I feed Lilly May Natural Balance Vegetarian formula, an all vegan mix. I also will get her cans of soft vegan food now and then as well. I’m not sure about making it homemade, though I’d be interested to do so for Lilly and have been thinking more and more about it. I understand Gary’s concern, but dog’s are actually omnivores. Cat’s ARE carnivores and though some people put their cat’s on vegan diets, I wouldn’t feel comfortable about it without being even more well informed. Dogs can really thrive on a veggie diet. The way I see it is that as long as it has everything necessary for a healthy diet then it’s fine. Especially when you’re comparing kibble. It’s all processed foods in kibble form and has what they need. If one’s more healthy and has less junk and such then I don’t see how it can be a bad thing. Lilly’s doing great and I’ve met a handful of other vegan dogs that are doing great as well.
I know there’s a book that I hear recommended a lot called Obligate Carnivore. I haven’t read it yet, but it seems very informative on vegan diets for dogs and cats. I don’t know if you go to the Post Punk Kitchen forums at all, but there is also a lot of information there in The Yard section if you search through.
i don’t, but julie used to be on Pet Guard’s vegetarian dog food http://www.petguard.com/dog-products/dry-food/petguard-organics-adult-dry-dog-food. she was okay on it for about (6) months and then developed a grain intolerance and started vomitting every day so we had to switch her back to the Pet Guard chicken dog food (and now she feels soooo much better and the vomitting has stoped). she’s happier now, but maybe ms. Barbara would be okay on it! i hear to just watch ‘em to make sure they don’t become intolerant of the grains – what we liked about the Pet Guard was that it was wheat, corn, and soy free – which rocked!
I’ve read before that dogs can be vegetarian/vegan but cats cannot. I don’t remember why, because I am allergic to cats and would never have one. Anyway, I have fixed brown rice in chicken broth, with lima beans or black beans or some sort of bean and added in carrots, english peas, or really any vegetable you want, sauteed in some oil to soften and then flavored with some additional chicken broth. Its obviously not vegan, but they get plenty of protein from the broth and beans. I would feed them this twice a day and they are far from starving
. I guess you could cook the rice in veggie broth and add more beans for protein. I have also given them soy dogs or soy patties which you could put in the above mixture with the beans sans the chicken broth and it would probably work well. See what the vet says about that mixture.
Thanks so much for all the informative comments — I’ll definitely be going to the vet armed with a little more real-life knowledge now… Keep it coming, all you vegan pet owners!
I’ll keep you guys posted on what I end up doing!
My opinion is that you are insane in the membrane. Go with the sensible Irish here!
i think it’s all about balance. human beings are really the only things that can survive on vegetarian or vegan diets. dogs are meant to eat meat. i don’t think you should make your dog 100% vegetarian. but making your own dogfood is an interesting idea. would probably be healthier.
A major issue with not feeding dogs a vegetarian diet is the food on the market for dogs. Canned dog food is especially heinous with the various rendered animals and plastic bits etc etc (it is all very graphic). Plus the majority of dog food brands actually TEST on animals, Iams is one of the worst (and subsequent other companies related to Iams). But on to your actual question lol.
I feed both my dogs vegan diets and they both love it. For dry food (since they have always loved dry food) I feed them Natural Balance Vegetarian (like others have said). I then supplement this food with homemade food for their breakfast and dinner. I follow various combos of rice, quinoa, buckwheat etc along with numerous veggies (carrots, peas etc) and nutrients like wheat germ, nutritional yeast, oils etc etc. There is a lot of information out there, although some can be conflicting. Natural Balance, in my emails to them, has indicated that their dry food contains all nutrients dogs require….however I don’t like dogs eating just dry food.