Posted on June 30, 2009 by Nancy Houser

With more and more people moving to vegetarian diets today, it stands to reason they would also transfer their dogs and pets to the same diet for the same reasons—better health benefits, better foods as meat in most dog foods is unfit for human consumption, longer lives, healthier lifestyles, and respect for animals raised for food. The question, “Are Vegetarian Diets Healthier for Your Dogs?” seems to be based on personal preference by owners who are also vegetarians, while meat-eating owners and trainers feed meat products to their dogs.

Dog allergies to beef, lamb, and meat-based products are a major reason why a vegetarian move toward dog diets is being made, in addition to the controversial death and slaughter of over 50 billion cattle, chickens, pigs, and sheep for human and animal consumption in the United States. Yet with many, the healthy vegetarian diets for dogs are still an ignorant field in the scientific studies of the health and nutrition issues by experienced animal owners and trainers.

Just because a dog is healthy and is on a vegetarian diet does not mean it is a healthy diet for all dogs. A study under the same controls needs to be made under a meat diet to do a comparison study, as just as many dogs are healthy under a meat diet. Very few, if any, comparative studies have been made with the pros and cons of both diets.

WHY MEAT DIETS ARE UNHEALTHY FOR DOGS AND ANIMALS

Typically over the years, slaughterhouse waste products, old and spoiled meat, and meat from dead, dying, disabled and diseased animals have gone into the dog food meat diets we pay huge dollars for in our pet food market. In many areas, this also includes many rendered dogs and cats from animal shelters and old restaurant grease, damaged or spoiled fish. Overall what all this adds-up to are high concentrations of dangerous trans-fatty acids and free radicals, dangerous levels of mercury, PCBs, and other toxins.

By adding digest, “delicious mouth-watering soup” of partially dissolved chicken entrails, to entice the pallet of dogs and cats, over 95% of our United States pets exists on such commercial diets at an excess of $11 billion dollars every year and rising steadily. But with rising degenerative diseases of the heart, liver, kidney and cancer….the poor quality of ingredients in these meat-based commercial diets are quickly being replaced by the healthier vegetarian diets of fresh vegetables, fruits, and protein based foods. The only person standing between this kind of diet for our pets and working dogs is us and what we provide for them, and then pay the vet bill if we do not.

THE VEGETARIAN DIET FOR OUR DOGS

Society has classified dogs as being carnivorous, but instead are actually omnivores where they can exist on animal and plant-based foods in natural environments. In the wild the dog obtains its primary plant material from the gastro-intestinal tract of prey they catch and eat, whereas today then need to obtain their plants from vegetarian diets or what is put inside their meat diet.

A straight vegetarian diet is rather controversial for those who are 100% for it or are 100% favoring a meat diet. But so far we have seen no scientific proof why it will not work. Dogs who have been placed on a vegetarian diet for dogs have shown no serious side effects against such a steady diet of plants, minerals and synthetically based ingredients (Vitamin C, methionine, sodium bisulfate or ammonium chloride supplementation). Today, new commercially-available dog food lines are out which promote a vegan diet with no animal products in it or a person can cook up or feed raw fresh vegetables or fruit to their dogs.

Related posts:

• Vegetarian Diets for Dogs
• Dog Food With Fresh Meat & Vegetables
• Food allergies in dogs
• Natural Dog Care for Allergies
• Healthy “Human Foods” for Dogs