Should vegans care what their pets eat? That depends on your reasons for being a vegan. Even then, it’s not black & white. I began a vegan diet for humane reasons. I don’t feel that the lives of animals are ours to take, regardless of the conditions they live in or the manner in which they’re killed. Wow, this is already gettin’ intense – but I’m letting you know my feelings because I think a lot of people, vegan & otherwise, might think that somebody who makes their pet a vegan is being extreme.
Buying any products that are made from animals yields the same result. ‘Doesn’t matter if you eat it, wear it, or feed it to your dog. An animal’s life was unnaturally altered so that item could be produced. There, that’s my take on it. I’ll leave the ethics up to smarter people than I. I do know that it makes me feel good to purchase a genuinely animal-free item whenever I can.
Case in point, we found these vegan doggie treats at Target of all places! (sorry Tarzhay, that came out kinda mean) Vitality is made by Dogswell and claims to help maintain eyes, skin & coat. “Low in fat, No gluten, No added salt.” It’s just sweet potato, flaxseed, vitamin E supplement, and vitamin A acetate. So vegan issues aside, ya gotta love the fact that you know exactly what you’re feeding your four-legged friend. I can attest to the fact that Mr Wallace Bauer is ga-ga for them. Who knew he was so health conscious?
Whom I kidding? He eats cigarette butts if he can.
Ace the Bat-hound, K9, and Krypto are still considering.
So, the truth? No, we don’t typically feed Wally a vegan diet. And I’m conflicted about it. But there’s still some debate over whether or not it’s a proper diet for an animal that’s naturally carnivorous, unlike humans. There’s a point to be made that once we domesticated these animals, the meat-eating thing went out the window. But even if I could make up my mind about that, the availability and cost of animal-free dog food is a problem. I would have to mail-order any of the good ones and they aren’t cheap. There are multiple choices out there: Natural Balance, BioPet Vegan, Vegan Pet, and Humane Choice for example.
This is the second week of Vegan MoFo and hopefully a lot of new readers are finding PWMF. So I’m inviting any input or debate about this. I’ve noticed a lot of you include pics of your cats and dogs, so I’m sure you’ve at least thought about it. Let us know what you think.
In response to the title, yes, our dog eats a vegan diet. However, since felines are the only “true” carnivores, our two cats are not. Dogs can easily thrive. Cats, not so much. Knowing that they are biologically dependent, & reading the results of other people’s failed attempts at feeding their cats a vegan diet, I refused to turn my kids into a science experiment, because of my own ideology.
Many of our friends also have their dogs on vegan diets. Unlike cats, I feel the decision to feed your dog a vegan diet is a personal choice. If it’s what’s desired, it doesn’t have to be extremely costly. I get Memphis’ dry & canned food from our local Petco (they carry Natural Balance. If they don’t have the vegan version in stock, it can be requested). I was already buying him high quality food (as I do with the cats) and so the cost is pretty on par.
And then there is the option of making your dogs food: http://www.rosewaterandthyme.com/2011/08/ms-cleo-aka-bbd/
That site belongs to our friend, Shelley. She & Cleo were featured on CNN, because her dog is on a vegan diet…at her vet’s request… because of her dog’s allergies. However, ignorance appears to be blissful & it got pretty ugly for her (CNN printed her full name & town). If you Google it, you will be amazed at the level of hate that got flung her way.
Kickin MoFo’s butt, btw.
Our dogs eat meat but one of my brother’s dogs actually has a condition that benefits from a low protein diet and he regularly enjoys the Dogswell veggie life sweet potato treats. All of our kids (I have three, my brother has four) get cloud star’s buddy biscuits because they have a few flavors that don’t have meat in them which makes them low protein for Mr. Lou, the boxer-shar pei. Out of my three kids, Murray, the beagle-jack russell-italian greyhound mix will always pick a vegetable over meat. We keep carrots in the fridge for him and my husband to share. He also never tries to kill a bug, only tries to sniff them. When we adopted a sugar glider that was being treated less than awesome at a pet shop, Murray took to him like it was his kid. He got up to check on him in the middle of the night and we could trust him to put his face in Pikachu’s cage without worry of any violence.
Inca, our who-knows breed, has really random allergies and her poor noggin breaks out in hives at the simplest of ingredients so we keep our three on a low residue, low ingredient, costs too much food that hasn’t caused her much grief. Then again, she’s also been to the point with allergies that we’ve had to make her food, she loves meat but will also beg like a junkie needing a fix for raw tofu, yogurt, or honey. The latest addition, Rocco, the chihuahua-something will eat just about anything and so far has only had less than awesome reactions to a couple different treats.
I can’t say what’s best for someone else’s pet because they’re all so different and have such different needs and habits.
Enjoying your posts and love when you show off the fur-kid.
My pup is mostly vegetarian. He eats Nature’s Recipe kibble and Avoderm wet food. Sometimes my bf will give him a little sour cream or cheese and we give him eggs from a local chicken rescue occasionally. He only gets meat in treat form because it’s the only way he’ll swallow pills. It’s what works for us but you’ve got to do what works best for your family.
Good to know about the treats at Target, thanks! I’ll have to keep an eye out for them.
I think my little Buckley would love to be vegan – nothing makes her beg more than when she smells me cooking quinoa (I’m serious!). She loves the sweet potato treats I get from Whole Foods – I’m going there after work so I’ll try and get the name for you. Beyond that she loves baby carrots and pieces of fruit. I haven’t made the leap yet to feeding her only vegan food because I’m worried about her tummy. I spent the first two years of her life at the vet, she used to be up night after night with tummy trouble. As a consequence I would never feed her dairy (beyond my ethical reasons not to do so) but her food is gastro, which is specifically made for dogs with colitis like her. I would love to move her to a vegan version that won’t make her sick. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately – so thanks so much for writing about it. Great to read everyone else’s comments too!