Vegan Dogs?

2Greys said:
My friends vegan & her 3 dogs are fed a vegan complete dry though I can't recall the name. They're all seniors & look in good health, it wouldn't be my choice but tbh some normal dog food has very little meat in it & may also be full of colourings & other crap.
Click to expand...

Agree wrt some normal dog food. Some of it is really not an ideal dog diet! Good to hear some positive vegan feed stories too, thank you.
 
Orca said:
I believe they have not sought vet care because had they done so, they would not have been told their seven year old was dying of old age - which is what they believe. They expect him to go any day now and certainly aren't fighting for him.
Click to expand...

If they really haven't they really do need reporting if at the very least it means they get some proper advice. There could be anything wrong with him.
 
Orca said:
As I said in my OP, it could be anything but the situation did get me wondering about feeding dogs a vegan diet and the possible impact of doing so.

I believe they have not sought vet care because had they done so, they would not have been told their seven year old was dying of old age - which is what they believe. They expect him to go any day now and certainly aren't fighting for him.

I do know them directly and will be attempting to chat with them some more about his age v his state of health, regardless of his diet. I think I was so taken aback when I saw him (and their take on his current state) that I wasn't quite sure what to do.
Click to expand...

This is so sad, the poor dog :( And as for mongrels being weaker - have they not heard of hybrid vigour? Please please please talk to them and get a vet to the poor dog. I feed my dog wainwrights meat and biscuits, which is one of the better (best?!) off the shelf dog foods out there - providing dog hasn't got anything else going on and needs a special diet. I've been a veggie my whole life, and vegan every so often (skin doesn't like dairy) and I wouldn't dream of making my dog vegan, the same as I wouldn't feed my horse a steak (although I did have a pony who at a hamburger once, but thats a different story!)
 
It seems utterly ridiculous that anyone would get themselves a carnivore pet and then refuse to feed it meat. I am veggie. My dogs are not.
 
7 is not old for a dog.

In order to let it slip away peacefully due to old age then they at least need to be certain that it is old age! They need to have the dog assessed by a vet and if they do not and allow it to continue to decline then this is cruel and I would be seeking to report them to a suitable authority.

Dogs are perfectly able to have a vegan diet. There are lots of vegan and vegetarian dog food brands out there. For some dogs it can help with skin conditions and is actually a better food. It isn't what I would feed mine but it isn't cruel in itself.

Cats on the other hand do definitely need meat and to deny them this would be cruel.
 
Orca, please just report them. The diet may not be the cause of this dogs decline, but something is and it is against the law for them to withhold veterinary care. On top of that and equally worrying, is that they have a kitten...cats really should not be on a vegetarian/vegan diet only and they could be doing untold damage.

To lose weight and be doing so poorly, that dog is probably in considerable pain and discomfort, so by being aware of this and not reporting them, you are unfortunately contributing to that pain. It's not nice to say that, but you really can't do nothing here...it's not fair to the dog at all. You are concerned and rightly so, so do something constructive, report them and let the dog get some veterinary attention.
 
Don't worry, GG, inertia isn't at play here. In the moment I was shocked (still was when I wrote my OP) and consequentially floundered but posting here helped clarify my thoughts. Wheels are in motion (unfortunately, this isn't the first time I've had to make that call - different people, different dog and a very sad situation that time too). I should know more tomorrow wrt the outcome. Thank you all for sharing your views on vegan feeding and for separating the issue at hand from that.
 
I don't think feeding dogs a vegan diet is as odd as it sounds. It's probably better for the environment and they can be kept perfectly healthy on it - there shouldn't be any need for their health to suffer. As for it not being natural, well that's true, but neither is feeding tinned meat or biscuits. So long as the dog is healthy and happy, I don't see the problem.

I used to be involved with an animal sanctuary in Spain that fed its cats and dogs a vegan diet. They are quite militantly pro-vegan and I didn't always see eye to eye with them on that, BUT they do a fantastic job rehabbing and rehoming animals that have been abused, abandoned or neglected and the animals in their care are always in a lovely condition. The reason I became involved with them in the first place is because I rescued a cat while I was living in Spain and had a huge amount of trouble rehoming him before I left because he had feline leukemia. No-one was interested in him, not sanctuaries or private homes, because of his health and I was really worried I'd have to have him put to sleep when I left (I was on my year abroad) because I couldn't afford to bring him back to the UK. Then someone put me in touch with this organisation and they agreed to take him. They have special set ups for cats with feline leukemia and for those with FIV. When I went to go and see the sanctuary I was blown away by how well run it was and by how happy all the animals were. They didn't have a cage/ kennel set-up because many of their animals were long term residents. The leukemia cats, for example, lived together in a group of 6 or 7 in a small one-room house (where a volunteer slept) with a large outdoor run. It was better than I could ever have imagined it would be. He was there for 3 years before he sadly died due to complications with his leukemia, but he absolutely flourished while he was there. I have some before and after photos if anyone would be interested to see what he looked like after a few years on a vegan diet! I suppose my point is that it might be an unusual diet, but it should not be detrimental to an animal's health.
 
Cats cannot live without taurine which is found in certain parts of meat...offal etc.so a vegan/vegetarian diet will consistenly cause heart failure at a young age in cats...
its also a risk on some all fish diets as well.

Dogs techically can survive on a vegetatian diet but it has to be very carefully balanced...or theres a serious risk of nutritional deficiencies. Gi wise they are much more of a carnivore then humans-do those teeth look like they belong to herbivores :p

commerical foods sold as dog foods in the eu are expected to meet certain minimum nutritional standards before they can be called "complete" though.
This is partly due to the fact that several commercial cat foods caused mutliple deaths from taurine deficiency before the industry was regulated.
 
Orca said:
Don't worry, GG, inertia isn't at play here. In the moment I was shocked (still was when I wrote my OP) and consequentially floundered but posting here helped clarify my thoughts. Wheels are in motion (unfortunately, this isn't the first time I've had to make that call - different people, different dog and a very sad situation that time too). I should know more tomorrow wrt the outcome. Thank you all for sharing your views on vegan feeding and for separating the issue at hand from that.
Click to expand...

Brilliant - hope they sort the kitten out as well....it doesn't bode well for a kitten to be on a vegetarian/vegan diet. It has nothing to do with me being a meat eater, I don't care what any person chooses for themselves, I just take issue with risking the health of animals who can't speak up for the sake of personal preference.
 
Aru said:
Cats cannot live without taurine which is found in certain parts of meat...offal etc.so a vegan/vegetarian diet will consistenly cause heart failure at a young age in cats...
its also a risk on some all fish diets as well.

Dogs techically can survive on a vegetatian diet but it has to be very carefully balanced...or theres a serious risk of nutritional deficiencies. Gi wise they are much more of a carnivore then humans-do those teeth look like they belong to herbivores :p

commerical foods sold as dog foods in the eu are expected to meet certain minimum nutritional standards before they can be called "complete" though.
This is partly due to the fact that several commercial cat foods caused mutliple deaths from taurine deficiency before the industry was regulated.
Click to expand...

Possibly I misunderstood then (my Spanish isn't always amazing) but I know you can buy specialist vegan cat food with added taurine and I did assume this was what they fed. The cats certainly seemed healthy on whatever they were eating (it was definitely cat food, not human food!) and many had been on it for years, including a number of immunodeficient cats. I have sent my friend at the sanctuary a message to ask. My own cats eat meat, but I don't particularly see a problem with feeding a vegan diet assuming it can be done without causing health problems. I can't understand why anyone would think that a cat could survive on rice milk, potatoes and pasta as in the link Thistle posted though :(
 
Meat = protein etc. Which some how could I am sure they could get from a vegan diet with supplementation. It's not natural but if done PROPERLY these days should be 'possible'. The question is, is the poor little thing being fed vegetables and nothing else (don't mean to sound disrespectful to vegans just it could be possible). My friends jrt was diagnosed with lymphoma nearly 2 yrs ago and despite chemo is on top form at 12! 7 is no age for a jrt.
 
I can't see any circumstances where it's ok to feed a vegan or vegetarian diet to a dog! dogs should be fed a high meat content food preferably raw meat! If that's not possible then s biscuit with high meat content (NO GRAIN) and some veg should be fed. There is far to much ignorance around about what our dogs need!
 
happyhacking:) said:
I can't see any circumstances where it's ok to feed a vegan or vegetarian diet to a dog! dogs should be fed a high meat content food preferably raw meat! If that's not possible then s biscuit with high meat content (NO GRAIN) and some veg should be fed. There is far to much ignorance around about what our dogs need!
Click to expand...

Dogs who are intolerant of animal protein, even novel proteins such as Kangaroo. Vegetarian is the right option in that case
 
happyhacking:) said:
I can't see any circumstances where it's ok to feed a vegan or vegetarian diet to a dog! dogs should be fed a high meat content food preferably raw meat! If that's not possible then s biscuit with high meat content (NO GRAIN) and some veg should be fed. There is far to much ignorance around about what our dogs need!
Click to expand...

Hold up, there are some new studies which suggest that grain is actually good for dogs. Some studies also mention that veg is pointless. There are previous posts in this thread about the most common allergens for dogs-top two meats are chicken and pork. Not all dogs do well on raw-was it Corvuscorax's GSD that was scratching like mad on raw food?

Raw is not for everyone, so I'm not sure telling us that it's the best thing for dogs is the correct advice at all, particularly as some people have said their dog can't tolerate meat. We have manipulated dogs so much over the years that some can no longer eat raw meat.
 
Feeding cats or dogs a vegan diet, unless there is a reason for it and the owner is advised by a vet/nutritionist, is akin to animal abuse to me.
 
equi said:
Feeding cats or dogs a vegan diet, unless there is a reason for it and the owner is advised by a vet/nutritionist, is akin to animal abuse to me.
Click to expand...

I agree. I can't understand, if you disagree with meat, why you would get an animal that requires you to handle it daily. Get a guinea pig instead.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top