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Can Dogs be fed a vegetarian diet? |
Dogs are omnivores and can be fed a balanced vegetarian diet.
If your dog has been brought up on a meat diet, make the changeover to a vegetarian diet
gradually. With active dogs there is a problem of bulk versus energy and readers are advised to consult their vet for guidance to ensure that sufficient energy can be obtained from the mass of food given.
 Thai ridgeback puppy
Milk alone is not an adequate source of calcium for puppies and a mineral supplement of calcium phosphate is recommended. Rapidly growing dogs of heavy breeds particularly need a high calcium intake.
Give plenty of variety: deficiencies are unlikely if a wide variety of foods are eaten. Find out what your animal does well on and what it likes. Make your dog's meals appetising, taste and smell are especially important.
It is useful to remember that dogs are fond of yeast products so flavouring with Marmite might make food (such as textured soya protein) more attractive to them, as well as
providing extra B vitamins. Dogs often like a little honey for flavour, on cereals for
example. At the same time, check that you provide sources of all the various nutrients;
protein, carbohydrates, fats and oils, vitamins, minerals etc.
If the animal is thriving, then well and good. If your dogs has any problems such as
persistent diarrhoea, vomiting or itchiness, your dog may be allergic to certain food items,
so try to identify these and eliminate them from the diet. However, occasional vomiting may be normal. Avoid strong, spicy foods like curries. They tend to cause digestive upsets. When feeding cooked foods, do not give them too hot. Nor should food be served too cold from the refrigerator.
Remember that dogs have a shorter digestive tract than humans, and may not cope so well with large quantities of fibrous (roughage) foods. However, they do need their share of roughage (vegetables, bran, whole grain cereals, raw fruit). Cooking fibrous vegetables (15 minutes at boiling) breaks down the fibres, reducing the roughage value and making them more digestible but too much cooking destroys some vitamins, especially thiamine. Crude fibre (ie roughage) fills the gut to reduce feelings of hunger, and stimulates defecation, so some grated or chopped raw vegetables are useful in the diet.
Potatoes can cause digestive upsets in some dogs. Over-consumption of sugar and sugary foods can encourage bad teeth, diabetes, digestive upsets and obesity.
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