Vegan dog food?!?!?!?!

I just saw a segment on the morning news talking about how people are now being more conscious of what there pets eat. And they were talking about "vegan" dog food. Personally I think that this is an abomination. If you want to eat nothing but lettuce thats fine. But dogs were not meant to be vegetarians! Just take a look that their teeth! Vegetables were not meant th be eaten by dogs, end of story. What do you guys think?

[yourchoice]

Originally Posted by Nefari0us

Personally I think that this is an abomination.

I couldn't agree with you more.

[hammondc]

I think it will lead to some very unhealthy dogs. By nature, they are carnivores. I am very specific about what I feed my dog, but this is just so far off base.

[bigdix]

I have a chihuahua. He is only fed live cattle.

[G G]

Originally Posted by bigdix

I have a chihuahua. He is only fed live cattle.

Mine too woohoo.

My dog eats what I eat for the most part. She gets dry dog food and usually some meat (minus seasonings) that I'll cook just for her when I cook dinner

[Subvet642]

A vegan diet can kill a dog. There are vital proteins and amino acids that are only available from animal sources.

Originally Posted by Subvet642

A vegan diet can kill a dog. There are vital proteins and amino acids that are only available from animal sources.

I'm not sure about the physiology of canines but we humans form most of the proteins and amino acids we need within our own bodies. The rest can be easily supplemented with nuts and a few other foods.

I have no position on the vegan dog issue but I imagine it could be perfectly healthy for dogs. Doesn't most dog food come out of a can or bag anyway? If the dog enjoys it and the food provides what it needs does it matter whether it contains meat products? These questions obviously have no bearing on those whom feed their dogs actual meat.

[SvilleKid]

Originally Posted by Subvet642

A vegan diet can kill a dog. There are vital proteins and amino acids that are only available from animal sources.

Yep. This is well documented. The only problem..... Ever read the ingredient label for most dry dog foods? Almost all are nearly "Vegan" already. Full of a bunch of grains, very little meat-based proteins.

My dog(s) get table scraps, supplemented by good quality dog foods when needed. Most of my dogs live well past the normal live expectancy, so the diet must be working. Including the poultry bones. Never had a dog choke on a bone in the 50+ years I've been feeding them to dogs. Checked with my mother. She's 81. Fed their dogs scraps all their lives, never had one choke on a bone. Lots of good iron and protein in the marrow of those bones!!!

[OLS]

I jumped out of my chair when I saw this title....then it sunk in that maybe
you were as outraged as I was. Our society has several dangerous segments
and growing tendencies. Doofus-ism seems to be one of them. I can fully get
behind some idiot's desire to be a walking advert for agressive family planning,
I can even understand some of the reasons to eat less meat, but if any human
being thinks they are going to improve the life choices of their Freaking dog by
showing them the virtues of the vegan lifestyle, I'd like to feed them to their
dogs one chunk at a time. F&$#ing California.

Originally Posted by OLS

I jumped out of my chair when I saw this title....then it sunk in that maybe
you were as outraged as I was. Our society has several dangerous segments
and growing tendencies. Doofus-ism seems to be one of them. I can fully get
behind some idiot's desire to be a walking advert for agressive family planning,
I can even understand some of the reasons to eat less meat, but if any human
being thinks they are going to improve the life choices of their Freaking dog by
showing them the virtues of the vegan lifestyle, I'd like to feed them to their
dogs one chunk at a time. F&$#ing California.

Well said!

[neoflex]

Originally Posted by OLS

I jumped out of my chair when I saw this title....then it sunk in that maybe
you were as outraged as I was. Our society has several dangerous segments
and growing tendencies. Doofus-ism seems to be one of them. I can fully get
behind some idiot's desire to be a walking advert for agressive family planning,
I can even understand some of the reasons to eat less meat, but if any human
being thinks they are going to improve the life choices of their Freaking dog by
showing them the virtues of the vegan lifestyle, I'd like to feed them to their
dogs one chunk at a time. F&$#ing California.

People are out of control. It could just be my experience but did you ever notice that people who follow a vegan lifestyle always feel the need to share it with anyone and everyone ? "Yay, good for you!" I don't go out with friends for dinner and feel the need to announce "I will eat everything and anything put in front of me." I bet some of those same people go home and hide in a closet and gnaw on a rib. I can care less what lifestyle you choose but it just pisses me off when the same people try and convince you that you need to follow their same lifestyle. Now we have idiots trying to have their pets follow their lifestyle even though it could be detrimental to their health.

[OLS]

Originally Posted by Nefari0us

and usually some meat (minus seasonings) that I'll cook just for her when I cook dinner

I am a bad boy...my dog eats meat covered in RUB, cause that's the way it's cooking,
and I give them a lot of meat off the grill when I smoke ribs and butts. I KNOW garlic is not
good for them, and there is a garlic component in the rub. However I have never seen a
dog killed by rub or chocolate or anything like that. But I think I will start leaving the
scraps intended for the dogs un-rubbed. My sisters dog once polished off 4 easter baskets and
the accompanying foil during the space of one church service and showed no ill effects, so
I think the tests they run in those dog lags must be pretty intense. "Chocolate, when shoved
into a dog from both ends, can cause discomfort and even death if at least 100 lbs of fine
chocolate are used daily for three weeks in a row."

[OLS]

Oh, and I do not hate California. That part was satire. My departed father, however,
used to call them "Those California Radicals". This was back in the late 60's and early
70's. I don't remember him ever capping on hippies, though.

As for the argument Carlos put forth, this is very true, most cheap dog food is heavy
on grains and vegetable meal anyway. And most people tend to buy the cheapest or
cheap to middle-est dog food they can find. So it gets worse. I don't even own dogs,
I feed my landlady's dogs with food she buys, or as I said, right off the grill on the
weekends, which they love. She buys them IAMS, although I would not. At least not
all the time. If I was those dogs, I would revolt. You should see the ravenous behavior
they exhibit when she runs out and I buy them some carryover of Beneful from Biglots in
a small bag. The aromas, tastes and textures drive em nuts.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by OLS

I am a bad boy...my dog eats meat covered in RUB, cause that's the way it's cooking,
and I give them a lot of meat off the grill when I smoke ribs and butts. I KNOW garlic is not
good for them, and there is a garlic component in the rub. However I have never seen a
dog killed by rub or chocolate or anything like that. But I think I will start leaving the
scraps intended for the dogs un-rubbed. My sisters dog once polished off 4 easter baskets and
the accompanying foil during the space of one church service and showed no ill effects, so
I think the tests they run in those dog lags must be pretty intense. "Chocolate, when shoved
into a dog from both ends, can cause discomfort and even death if at least 100 lbs of fine
chocolate are used daily for three weeks in a row."

Are we talking about the "Swiss chocolate", so to say?

[357]

It's a pretty rediculous concept. The same arguement you made can be made for human diet as well. We, like all other mammal predators, have our eyes in front of our head for depth perception used in hunting, we have "canine" teeth for tearing flesh, and our ears are angled forward so we can pinpoint where sound is coming from (works kinda like visual depth perception).

Not to mention predators have large brains and tend to be much smarter than their prey given their high protien / high fat diets. Such diets are vital to brain development.

[AD720]

Vegan humans usually supplement their diets in certain ways to make up for the loss of proteins and amino acids.

I would hope that Vegan humans that have vegan dogs are also aware of those dietary limitations.

Our cats, like me, are omnivores.

[Blueface]

I wouldn't go that far with mine to put him on a veggie diet.
That is nuts.
Dogs are still 99% wolves.
Wolves eat meat.

I do however have mine on an all natural raw meat diet.
It is comprised of raw meat along with organic vegetables.
He loves it.
Use to be stubborn to eat, now can't wait for the next meal.
Comes frozen and I thaw out 24 hours in advance, in one ounce cubes.
Recommended by vet and makes total sense when you think about it as grain in the food is used as a filler and not good for them as not intended to be digested by them.

[chenvt]

I'm more conscientious about what my dog eats which is why I feed him top level dog food with a high protein content.. and bacon

but vegan dog food? Please..

[mosesbotbol]

Vegan dog food is good for a dog with a food allergy and helping figure out which meat may be an issue. One may go with Vegan dog food and just feed pure meat treats to target specific nutritional needs as well.