Can dogs go vegan? Ins and outs of vegetarian diet for dogs

When you decide to add a dog to your family unit, there are a lot of additional decisions that need to be made. Where will the dog sleep? Should I consider taking the dog to obedience classes? Perhaps the most important decision to make is what type of diet you will feed your dog. If you’re a vegan, you may be asking yourself, “can dogs go vegan?”

Dog food products have expanded significantly in the last decade or so. Gone are the days of relying on dog chow as the “one-stop shop” for your pet’s diet. The drive to bring dogs back to a more natural, even ancestral way of eating is growing stronger among today’s pet owners, and frankly kibble and canned wet food no longer ‘make the cut.’

Here’s what the vets have to say about vegetarian diets for dogs:

“Dogs are opportunistic carnivores, which means they will eat meat when they have the chance or when no other type of food is available. For wild dogs, prey is not guaranteed, so especially in the colder seasons dogs will eat more plants and vegetables as meat is difficult to find. As for pet dogs, they can easily be converted to vegetarians, and if done properly, it is just as healthy as an omnivorous diet is for a dog.” – Dr. John Bauer, Professor of Clinical Nutrition at VetMed [source]

Raw dog food diets are becoming increasingly popular, as are commercially available dry dog food options that are made with all-natural, organic ingredients. But, can dogs go vegan? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the vegan diet for dogs.

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Can Dogs Go Vegan? Ins and Outs of Vegetarian Diet for Dogs

Why vegan?

Many owners are turning to a less common dietary option for their dogs – the vegetarian or vegan option. Dog owners have many reasons for feeding their pup a vegetarian diet. These reasons can include ethical beliefs and the desire for the overall health of their pets.

Generally, a vegan or vegetarian diet for dogs remains a subject of heated debates about pet nutritionists, animal scientists and veterinarians. An article related to vegan dogs on a TUFTS University website brings up some great points about the pros and cons of going vegan/vegetarian with dogs, and what pet owners should be aware of.

One thing pet owners often forget about besides nutrition itself is all those other aspects that dogs get from their food and its composition, such as beneficial bacteria and enzymes. Studies have shown the importance of this part of dog food, and many vets have confirmed that we should be taking a closer look at this when feeding dogs.

“Animals that do eat foods like leaves and hay, such as horses, goats, cows, and the giant panda, have bacteria and other microscopic creatures in their intestines that do have the enzyme and these tiny little “friends” are the ones that actually break down the cellulose in their diet, freeing up nutrients for the animal.” – Dr Cailin R. Heinze, VMD, MS, DACVN

Still, others are switching to this type of diet due to the allergies or ailments that their dog may be suffering from. When compared to regular commercial dog foods, BARF and general raw dog food diets, while the ingredient list has improved, still contains byproducts and other items that can cause allergic responses in dogs.

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Many surmise that the uptick in these allergies (primarily skin allergies), as well as degenerative disease and gastrointestinal issues are all due to the meat-based byproducts in commercially available dog food.

Your pup can be healthy and in reality, can flourish on a vegetarian or vegan diet as long as his nutritional needs are met.

Dogs require a significantly higher daily protein intake than humans do. Diets such as the raw dog food diet often require pet owners to invest in massive quantities of expensive meat to supplement these homemade dog food meals, all based on their dog’s nutritional needs.

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But with a vegetarian diet for dogs, there are other items you can give your pet that will help provide protein and other nutrition.

This concept of a vegetarian diet for dogs might seem counterproductive. Surely dogs are carnivores, aren’t they? It’s evidenced by their teeth – they have sufficient teeth for ripping into meat.

So, can dogs go vegan? In reality, biologically speaking dogs are omnivorous. This means that, like humans, their bodies can successfully process both animal and plant nutrition to meet their dietary needs.

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