Can I Feed My Dog a Vegetarian or Vegan Diet?
Taking all of the above information into account, it is possible to feed dogs a vegetarian or vegan diet, however, they require careful consideration. It’s much more difficult to ensure your dog gets all of the nutrients they require from solely plant-based sources, so owners must be extremely diligent in selecting a dog food that’s safe.
We strongly recommend choosing a dog food that has a statement from the AAFCO (the Association of American Feed Control Officials). This statement is an indicator of nutritional adequacy – it means your pet’s diet is balanced and complete.
Two good vegetarian options that are AAFCO approved include Royal Canin Vegetarian and Purina ProPlan HA Vegetarian. At Small Door, we recommend these options over other commercial vegetarian dog foods because they undergo rigorous quality control and have been scientifically tested to ensure they provide the required nutrient mix, whilst certain other brands provide a lower amino acid composition than is required.
If you’re looking to feed your dog a home-made vegetarian or vegan diet, we strongly recommend that you consult a board-certified veterinary nutritionist to help design a diet suitable for your pet that includes all of the nutrients they need to thrive. They will more than likely require nutritional supplements in addition to their homemade food, and the nutritionist can help to provide precise ingredient lists and supplement dosage information to help keep them healthy. Your primary veterinarian can organize a referral consultation for this either in-person or via telehealth, depending on the nutritionist.
It’s also worth noting that for some dogs, especially those that have certain underlying health conditions, a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle simply may not suit them. Puppies should also not be fed a vegetarian or vegan diet, as animal-based sources of protein provide them with the best nutrient mix required for their rapid growth.
Always talk things through with your veterinarian before moving your dog onto a vegetarian or vegan diet, and bear in mind that they may require more frequent wellness exams and blood work (at least twice a year), to keep an eye on their overall health and nutrient levels.
Crickets have very real benefits when it comes to sustainability, too. It has been calculated that beef cattle need 8g of feed in order to grow 1g of protein – whereas insects only need 2g to create 1g of protein. Crickets also require much less water, which is already an increasing concern to farmers in many regions.
The kibble, which you can buy online, contains all manner of plant-based ingredients, including marine algae (which Bethencourt says is rich in essential fats). It also has yeast. “A big ingredient is yeast. When you look at biomass, yeast is about 40% protein, and in a good steak it’s about 30%,” he says. Then there’s other fungi – specifically koji, which is a fungus which grows on wheat. Bethencourt say: “Fungi cells are far more closely related to animal cells than they are to plants.” The other benefit to fungi is that it can add a “meaty” umami taste, which the dogs enjoy.
Bethencourt and his co-founder, Ron Shigeta, officially launched Wild Earth in March 2018. He says that he always intended the food to be a complete diet, not a supplement. “The first criticism of plant-based diets is that they’re low protein, so we wanted to make sure that it was a high-protein food.”
Bethencourt was inspired to create an animal product-free food partly because of a series of recalls, some of them because of high levels of contaminants, in the US. “In 2018 we had 100 million units of pet food recalled, partly because some had very high levels of a euthanasia drug, pentobarbitol.”
Cats are a particular challenge because they cannot produce certain proteins – such as taurine – themselves. They instead have to absorb it from their food, with beef, chicken and fish being particularly rich sources. Cats that don’t have enough taurine are at risk of developing a potentially fatal condition called dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), the American Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) says.
Bullen encourages owners to take an active role in their pets nutrition, but she also warns against anthropomorphizing, or giving human traits to animals. “Dogs and cats are vastly different from the human species,” she said. “Your goals [for yourself] are great, but we need to keep the pet happy and healthy.” Working with an expert is the safest way to meet your goals and your pets needs.
The short answer is, its a gray area: Its a possibility for some pets, but not all of them. And its never recommended to switch your pet to a plant-based diet on your own. Plant-based diets are newer to market and the science is still developing. To make sure your pet gets enough of all the essential nutrients youll likely need a little help.
Cats, in particular, need taurine, an amino acid found in meat protein. In fact, they cant live without it; if taurine is not supplemented properly in a plant-based diet, cats can experience poor neural function, reproductive problems and heart disease, Bullen said. Even the wrong mineral balances in a DIY plant-based pet diet can be a problem. The wrong calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, for instance, can increase the risk of fractures in dogs and cats and also stunt puppy or kitten growth, Bullen said.
Bullen even prescribes plant-based diets in certain cases, including for pets that have skin or gastrointestinal food allergies to meat products. (Her own dog has both types of allergies and is on a hydrolyzed soy-based diet.)Related mysteries
Many people who visit Dr. Lindsey Bullen, a North Carolina-based veterinarian and board-certified animal nutritionist, one of about only 100 in the U.S., make this mistake, even though theyre often acting with the best intentions. “I think some clients just feel they can do it better,” Bullen told Live Science. “But they dont actually know what goes into formulating a diet for their pet.”
Can Dogs and Cats Be Vegan?
“A growing body of evidence appears to indicate that dogs and cats can survive, and indeed thrive, on nutritionally-sound vegetarian and vegan diets,” according to Andrew Knight and Madelaine Leitsberger, the authors of a review in the journal Animals of four studies that examined the nutritional adequacy of vegetarian diets for cats and dogs. One study comparing the health of vegetarian cats to that of cats on conventional diets found no significant differences in perceived health status between the two groups.
Some dogs are even sensitive to meat and do better without it for that reason. Many commercial meat-based dog and cat foods contain ingredients that are harmful to them, such as pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, preservatives, poor-quality fillers, and parts of animals that are deemed unfit for human consumption, such as ground-up feathers and diseased flesh.
Dogs are considered omnivores, but many require taurine and L-carnitine, which are found in raw meat, in their diets. These amino acids can prevent dilated cardiomyopathy in breeds that are prone to the disease. Nowadays, however, most commercial dog foods, both vegetarian and meat-based, contain them, and if you want to feed a homemade diet, you can purchase them in powder form online or at a health food store.
Cats have nutritional requirements that are more stringent than those of dogs. Vitamin A, taurine, and arachidonic acid are essential for maintaining their health. Today, these are also found in any high-quality commercial cat food, and they also can be added to a homemade, plant-based diet.
Many people supplement the diets of both their dogs and their cats with fresh fruit, such as melon, bananas, and apples; vegetables, such as green beans and carrots; whole grains, such as millet and barley; homemade dog biscuits; and superfoods such as spirulina, nutritional yeast, and nori.
For a smooth transition, start by mixing vegetarian food (several brands are available to choose from, including v-dog, Amì, and Wild Earth, or follow the vegan recipes in Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats or that come with Vegepet supplements) with the meat-based food. Gradually increase the vegetarian portion and decrease the meat-based diet over one to two weeks. Most, but not all, dogs and cats can do well on a vegetarian diet, so watch closely to be sure that the new diet is agreeing with your animal companion. If you notice skin or digestive problems, you may need to make adjustments. Try a different brand or recipe, or if necessary, go back to feeding the previous diet.
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