Vegetarian Daily Diet

Typical vegetarian diet for dogs?

Ok, so I just posted this: http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AgzznoE3yt3Up2qqb9ia44cgBgx.;_ylv=3?qid=20090331011611AARLnBS Apparently it's possible. So what would be a typical daily diet for a vegetarian dog? Not that I plan to try it or anything, my dog is a meat-eater.

Public Comments

1. Ok, for my retriever and my lab, I feed them them vegetarian dog biscuits mixed with egg (egg two mornings a week, not every day), rice and vegetables in the morning. At night, they get just the biscuits mixed with milk (pet milk - dogs are lactose intolerant as a general rule). My puppy eats some meat, to aid in his development. So he has the same thing, only in the morning he also has meat mixed in with his meal. BCS, do you know how much meat is in normal dog biscuits? There are SO many more nutrients in vegetarian/vegan ones. My pets get treated very well, and they don't NEED meat in their diets. That's a common misconception. Dogs are, like humans, omnivores by nature, and as we can, they CAN be vegetarian.
2. One thing that people seem to forget is never mess with nature. The dog is the descendant of the Wolf which is a meat eater (Carnivore) and therefore that is what a dog is. The dogs body is developed/set up to have meat as it's primary food. It is irresponsible for someone who has a belief that eating meat is wrong and cruel to enforce this on a carnivore. The people who do this are actually breaching the animal rights of their dog rather than protecting it.
3. Dogs have a very short digestive system meant to digest meat. They can handle some grain and cooked, mashed vegetables, but it should by no means be the basis of a dog's diet. The teeth are shaped for tearing meat. Ours are shaped for grinding veggies as are plant eaters like cows. (and that is simply one of the indicators that the dog has). And yeah there's those people who make the attempt to argue about how humans lack the proper enzymes to break up cellulose (from plant matter) in our bodies as well, but a huge missed point is the difference in digestive tract lengths. We NEED the roughage to clear out the "tubes" whilst dogs do not. It seems a lot of people feed their dogs vegetarian based foods as an attempt to force their own lifestyle upon their dogs. Simply because one believes that humans shouldn't eat meat, doesn't mean that dogs shouldn't. Even if one does consider a dog an omnivore, that still means that they require protein. A vegetarian diet should only be considered under the strict guidance of a holistic veterinarian. As I am aware that there are some dogs that are in fact very intolerant to certain or nearly all meat sources. I've found a "typical Vegetarian dog's day" from a less than reliable and reputable source. But I figure the food for the day seems valid enough. "Adult Dogs Dogs generally do well on two meals daily, a smallish breakfast and a main afternoon or evening meal, though toy breeds may do better on three or four smaller meals. Breakfast: (morning or midday)...usually wholegrain cereals like muesli, Shredded Wheat, porridge in milk. Dinner: (afternoon or evening) - a selection from the following: Grated cheese, cottage cheese, egg, nutmeat (tinned or home made), textured soya protein, cooked lentils and other pulses, not forgetting baked beans. Together with: Raw (grated or chopped) and/or cooked vegetables such as carrot, cauliflower etc. Other suitable foods 1. Raw chopped or grated fruit, dried fruit. 2. Wholemeal bread (fresh or toasted), Marmite sandwiches, baked rusk. 3. Brown rice, sprouting grains. 4. Remember that dogs need some hard foods to chew to exercise their gums and jaws; perpetual sloppy food leads to dental tartar, pyorrhea and loose teeth. Dogs can chew raw whole carrots, lightly roasted cabbage stumps, nylon bones, raw whole apples, hard wholemeal dog biscuits. 5. Given daily, a teaspoon of uncooked vegetable oil such as sunflower seed oil, by mouth or in the food (but unheated) for a medium sized dog such as a cocker spaniel, or a few drops for a toy poodle, helps provide essential fatty acids (polyunsaturates) to condition the coat. Vegetable oil should be stored in a closed bottle in a cool, dark place (preferably a refrigerator) to prevent oxidation of fatty acids. Oil may cause diarrhoea in a few dogs, in such cases the quantity should be reduced."
4. While a vegetarian diet is something you may choose for yourself, making this same choice for your dog is quite a different matter http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/vegetarian-diet/?main_page=Aug2003.php
5. You would have to have a LOT of beans for a LOT of protein. Basically the dog would only eat beans because a dog's diet needs to be protein based. It might be possible but it's not reasonable.