Vegetarian dog food?

[dealrocker Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close dealrocker]

I am a pure vegetarian and want my dog to be at least vegetarian. I understand dogs are not exactly meant to be vegetarian, but I want to feed him only veggie food. Wondering what brand of food would you recommend.? Well, I have seen Natural Balance and AvoDerm at Petco, but I would like recommendations from people who have used the food and know a lot about dog nutritions.

[SunnyPaw Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close SunnyPaw]

Re: Vegetarian dog food?

I am a pure vegetarian and want my dog to be at least vegetarian. I understand dogs are not exactly meant to be vegetarian, but I want to feed him only veggie food. Wondering what brand of food would you recommend.? Well, I have seen Natural Balance and AvoDerm at Petco, but I would like recommendations from people who have used the food and know a lot about dog nutritions.

Hi Dealrocker,
I am not familiar with Avoderm personally, and none of our family dogs have ever tried it. I know that it is for sale in large chains, like Petco. There is a statement by the ASPCA regarding avocados: "The toxicity of avocado to dogs is under question. Although one case report indicated that two dogs developed fatal heart failure after ingesting a “large amount” of avocados, most dogs who eat avocado suffer no serious injury. However, until the susceptibility of dogs to persin is further investigated, it’s safest to avoid feeding avocado to your dog..."..http://www.aspcabehavior.org/article...-to-Dogs-.aspx

Does anyone have any personal experience with this food?

Best of luck in your search!

[jremstuart Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close jremstuart]

Some dogs will not respond well to vegetarian dog food, even when it does contain animal byproducts. So one should consider that one might ultimately have to feed the dog a meat-based food. If one would like to switch a dog to vegetarian dog food, one should purchase only food that has been AAFCO tested and meets all nutritional standards for dogs. There are many brands that offer this certification, and one can find the most variety at feed stores, or at large pet stores. There are also books devoted to making vegetarian foods for your dog. Some of these recipes may also meet AAFCO standards.

[mynwworld5 Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close mynwworld5]

I think it is not healthy to feed your dog vegetarian food. As we know dogs are omnivores, and opportunistic eaters, when dogs eat dog food, the most important component is making sure that the food meets safety standards. If you really want to give vegetarian food to dog you should purchase only food that has been AAFCO tested. AAFCO means Association of American Feed Control Officials. Take care of your dog if you see any signs like vomiting or diarrhea, hair loss, loss of energy, then it means your dog is not gaining good food.

[nelsonfobbs Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close nelsonfobbs]

I always give food to my dog from this http://www.nutrecare.co.uk/. This site has good stuff of pets. I hope it helps you.

[hershey20 Cub Find all posts View Profile Close hershey20]

Feeding companion animals commercial pet foods may be jeopardizing their health. Supermarket pet foods are often composed of ground-up parts of animals that U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors have deemed unfit for human consumption. The flesh of animals who fall into one of the categories of the four D’s—dead, dying, diseased, or disabled—is what often goes into pet food. One Food and Drug Administration (FDA) specialist says that the unrendered protein in food may come from heads, feet, viscera, and other animal parts.

[vernahll3 Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close vernahll3]

You may be vegetarian out of choice. But dogs are by nature omnivores, they have a natural instinct for preferring meat. Hence most dogs find it difficult to adapt to vegetarian food. But I guess you could give purely vegetarian food a try. Or try to make a gradual switch to veg food.

[jessewills Cub Find all posts View Profile Close jessewills]

Re: Vegetarian dog food?

My friend has recommended Vegetarians food for my dogs:
Broccoli, green Beans Sweet potato and suggest to avoid mushrooms and onions.

[David Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close David]

Re: Vegetarian dog food?

What is the purpose of forcing a dog to be a vegetarian, when it is clearly against their nature?

[Toni Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Toni]

Re: Vegetarian dog food?

If you are vegetarian by choice that's great, but you should give your dog the same opportunity to make that choice, why not place 2 bowls in front of him one veg and one non-veg but you already know what will happen LOL

[jessewills Cub Find all posts View Profile Close jessewills]

Re: Vegetarian dog food?

Diet also determine the behavior of the pets and there learning speed in the training sessions. Recently there was an article which said that now peoples in US are turning to Vegan diet patterns and the same for there pets too. This shows the growing awareness in the food chain.

[bhawk Cub Find all posts View Profile Close bhawk]

Re: Vegetarian dog food?

I agree with the last two posts on the first page, do not force an unnatural diet on your dog because of your beliefs. Dogs are naturally omnivores and capable of digesting carbohydrates, but the majority of their diet should still consist of meat. You are effectively risking your dogs health for your personal ideals, that is irresponsible.

[crystalgirl Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close crystalgirl]

Re: Vegetarian dog food?

Hi

I only learnt the other day that they now consider dogs omnivores,I always thought that they were carnivores ,inherited from the wolves, so really confused now crystalgirl

[jessewills Cub Find all posts View Profile Close jessewills]

Re: Vegetarian dog food?

I would never say to force your pet to be on vegan diet pattern. We all love our pets and the food should be the one that ones pet likes. The lineage of the dogs do belong to wolves but the feeding pattern would primarily depend upon how you make him since his upbringing. The feeding pattern can be designed.

[bhawk Cub Find all posts View Profile Close bhawk]

Re: Vegetarian dog food?

They have long been thought of as purely carniverous, but in light of new research it shows that one of the differences between wolves and dogs is down to their ability to process carbohydrates.
While they are still evolving this capability, they are still predominantly carnivores. Forcing an unnatural diet on another living thing to be seems somewhat selfish. I have seen one extreme of this in sierra leone where locals had caught an eagle, one which had been a nuisance, they then kept it as a "pet" and tried to "teach" it to live on rice, safe to say by time i saw the bird it was emaciated and only hours from death, the locals thought its condition was it just becoming more tame!