The Dog's Dinner - Part 2

Chinese New Year and the Year of the Dog got me thinking about vegetarian dog food. Was there such a thing? Did dogs like it? Were the dogs vegetarian by choice or not?

My own spaniel loves some raw veggie treats; cucumber, carrots, peppers, brocolli and cauliflower are all his favourites. I have never thought to turn him vegetarian, I haven't even imposed my own choices upon my family.

When I did some research it turns out that a vegetarian diet is possible for a dog and they can survive on both home-cooked vegetables with added protein such as quinoa, rice, potatoes, lentils, soybeans etc as well as some commercial brands of vegetarian dog food. They need certain nutrients such as taurine which is not always found in vegetarian dog food so some research is necessary. Also a check-up and advice from the vet is a good idea.

It should be noted that the Guinness Book of World Records tells the story of Bramble, a 27 year old border-collie who lived to be 27 years old on a vegan diet of rice, lentils and organic vegetables.

Some would say it isn't natural for a dog to be vegetarian. By nature they are omnivores, meaning they get nutrition from both meat and plants. Having said that, some would question whether any form of dog food is actually natural. The other thing to consider is what animal parts actually go in to prepared dog food? If we knew, would we really want to feed it to them?

There are some vegetarian treats available, other than the actual vegetables I have mentioned above.

I did hear about one vegetarian family who would only feed their dog raw meat. They turned up at a vegetarian hotel in the Lake District and asked if the dog's meat could be kept in the fridge overnight? You can imagine the response!