A lot of people are choosing to switch to a strictly vegetarian or vegan diet for moral, environmental and health reasons. There are about 10 million people who have done so in the United States alone, and this leaves a lot of pet owners changing their dog’s diet to match their own. But, just as with people, there’s a lot of controversy swirling around whether canine vegetarianism is best for the dog. Is it healthy to switch a dog to a vegetarian dog food? Is it fair to the dog? Is it going against nature?
There are definite pros and cons, and as with humans there are no clear cut answers and a lot of strong opinions, so it remains a matter of personal choice. We tend to be anthropomorphous about our dogs and assume they’re just furry four-legged people, but of course they’re not. Those who have switched their dogs to a plant protein-based diet swear their dogs are better for it. Nutritionists and professionals say that a plant-based diet goes against a dog’s natural physiology and isn’t healthy for them in the long run. Here are some pros and cons of switching dogs to a strictly plant-based protein diet.
The Pros of a Vegetarian Dog Diet:
Removing meat from a dog’s diet decreases the likelihood of skin and other allergies. Professionals see a reduction in cases as high as 10 to 20%.
Feeding your dog a plant-only diet decreases the demand on the meat processing industry reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Poor quality meats are used in the making of dog foods. Much of it is considered unfit for human consumption and of questionable origin. It can include road kill, which can be other dogs, cats, skunks, etc. which are rendered down.
Dogs can thrive if they derive enough plant-based proteins from a wide variety of sources. The variety ensures they are getting enough protein daily since their requirements are higher than ours. Other animals don’t have to be raised and die in cruelty to feed your dog. Vegan and vegetarian food helps detoxify the body. In some breeds, it can reduce the risk of heart disease. Plant-based proteins reduce flatulence problems.
The Cons of a Vegetarian Dog Diet:
It takes more to provide the proper nutrition your dog needs. Because a dog’s digestive tract is different than a herbivore, it doesn’t extract as much nutrition from plant-based foods. That requires an extensive fermentation process in the gastrointestinal tract and a dog’s is limited.
Dogs require a different balance of amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals than humans do which are readily available in meat proteins. To compensate, synthetics are added as a supplement to commercial vegetarian dog foods. Not only is this not natural, it also increases the cost of the food and could still compromise quality.
Dogs on purely vegan and vegetarian diets experience an increased amount of urinary tract problems. The lack of animal-based proteins causes alkalizing of the urine.
There is a lack of real science to back up the claims that a vegan or vegetarian diet is healthy for dogs.
Your dog may not like it. Unless you spend a lot of time preparing your dog’s food yourself, there’s a good likelihood your dog won’t find vegetarian dog food palatable, particularly with dry dog food. Dogs are natural hunters and it’s their nature is to consume meat-protein.
As you can see, whether plant-based dog food is the better choice for your dog or not is open to question and personal choice. Advocates for vegetarianism swear they’re dogs are healthy and happier without a meat-based diet and professionals argue that there is lack of hard scientific proof to substantiate those claims. As relatives to the wolves, dogs are both hunters and scavengers, relying not solely but primarily on meat to sustain their health. But we have adapted dogs over the centuries to live along side humans and they have adapted our eating habits. The controversy, it appears, will remain controversy until there is enough research to validate either side’s claims.
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