Is it healthy and appropriate to feed dogs a vegetarian diet, and what might a vegetarian meal plan for dogs look like? Learn more about health and nutrition.
Vegetarian Diet for Dogs – Species-Appropriate or Unhealthy?
Over the past 10 years, with the shift in dietary trends, an increasing number of people are abstaining from meat and even eliminating animal products such as milk, honey, and leather from their daily lives. Animal welfare and the protection of our climate are topics that prompt many dog owners to question whether it’s possible to feed their dogs a vegetarian diet. Rarely does a topic on feeding spark such a significant controversy—so what is the right answer?
In principle, a dog can be fed a vegetarian diet. The meal plan must include a specific amount of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, fiber, minerals, and vitamins. For anyone who has delved into a good book or paid attention in class, it’s known that plant-based products, in particular, are full of nutrients. But does that suffice to meet the nutritional needs of dogs?
Natural Eating Habits of Dogs: In the Beginning Was the Wolf – or?
To understand the natural eating habits of dogs, one must go way back in time—so far that you won’t encounter any of our current four-legged friends but their ancestor, the wolf. Examining the wolf and its prey makes it clear that the diet consisted mainly of meat, including bones, cartilage, and organs, which continues to be the case. Additionally, the stomach of the prey, including fruits, vegetables, and herbs, was also part of the menu. So, the notion that the ancestors of dogs consumed nothing but meat (spoiler alert, it’s a myth!) around the clock is simply untrue. Hence, wolves and dogs are considered carnivorous omnivores.
As mentioned earlier, the origin of our dogs dates back quite a bit. Over 20,000 years ago, the wolves of that time approached humans, lived with them, and ate with them. The result: Wild dogs adapted to human food. During the domestication of wolves, not only did the appearance of our dogs change, but so did the digestive system, adapting to living with humans. Hence, our four-legged companions now possess different digestive enzymes (e.g., amylase), allowing them to digest and utilize starch-containing components in their diet effortlessly.
Will My Dog Get All Nutrients with a Vegetarian Diet?
With a vegetarian diet, it is entirely possible for your dog to receive all the necessary nutrients. As you’ve just learned, the bodies of our current dogs have adapted to metabolizing vegetables, fruits, and other vegetarian components. Unlike a vegan diet for dogs, a vegetarian diet does not exclude animal protein, as animal products can still be fed. The nutritional pyramid for your dog, covering all nutrients, can be roughly divided. Note that the quantities are not the same for every dog, and feeding varies with age. Senior dogs and puppies require adjusted diets.
As you can see, a significant portion of the pyramid is already vegetarian. There isn’t as much to “replace” as you might have initially thought. What’s crucial for your dog is that they receive the nutrients needed for an active lifestyle. Here’s where your dog can obtain these nutrients through a balanced vegetarian diet:
- Proteins: Legumes such as lentils, chickpeas, beans, hulled hemp seeds, eggs, cottage cheese
- Carbohydrates: Sweet potatoes, potatoes, rice, or pseudo-cereals like quinoa, amaranth, millet, or buckwheat, noodles
- Essential Amino Acids: Legumes, nuts, seeds, green vegetables like broccoli
- Essential Fatty Acids: Algae oil, flaxseed oil, hemp oil, olive oil, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds
- Vitamins, Minerals, and Trace Elements: Vegetables and fruits such as broccoli, pumpkin, celery, sweet potato, spinach, mushrooms, cauliflower, apple, banana, orange, watermelon, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, mango
- Carbohydrates: Sweet potatoes, potatoes, rice, or pseudo-cereals like quinoa, amaranth, millet, or buckwheat
Meeting Nutritional Needs: Successfully Implementing a Vegetarian Diet for Dogs
If you want to feed your dog a vegetarian diet, there are a few things to consider to ensure that your dog receives all the necessary nutrients without causing under or over-supplementation. If you’re thinking, “Great, I’ll grab the cooking spoon right away and prepare a vegetarian meal for my furry friend,” we need to slow you down. Just as with meat-based diets, it’s not always the best solution to simply serve any random food. It’s worth taking a look at the ingredients because the quality of food and a species-appropriate diet are crucial for your dog’s health. Whether you feed your dog wet food, dry food, or a raw diet (BARF), the content matters.
Before transitioning to a vegetarian diet, consult with your veterinarian to rule out possible intolerances. Particularly, dogs with sensitive stomachs that react even to sensitive meat varieties can benefit greatly from a vegetarian or vegan diet. If you plan to cook for your dog, it’s crucial to seek advice from nutrition experts.
Just like with BARF, where you either buy pre-selected menus or create and weigh the portions yourself, a trained eye and possibly added minerals are needed to ensure your dog is optimally nourished. But isn’t that artificial? On the contrary—with our mineral mix, for example, we supplement BARF so that no offal, bones, or cartilage are fed. The ingredients are purely natural, including eggshell, green-lipped mussel, and yeast.
