As a vegan, can my dog eat a vegetarian or vegan diet safely?

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I hope I'm not asking a totally weird question but here it goes . I am aware that dogs are carnivorous and have a natural habitat of eating meat. Me and my girlfriend are vegan and meat is like an impossible thing for us now. Is it possible to make our dog a vegiterian? if yes then what kind of food should we give to our bongo ? Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 3 months and 13 days old | 26 lbs

Dr. Strydom, DVM · Accepted Answer

You are not asking a weird question. It is a good question and we do get it quite a bit actually. Feeding a vegetarian/vegan diet is really not recommended. If you feed your dog dry food you will not even notice it's meat (in my opinion); it is not like the canned food that looks like and smells like meat. Dogs are omnivores but they are designed to eat meat. Their bodies are made to process it and use it. We always suggest that if someone wants a vegetarian/vegan pet they should get a pet that is meant for that type of diet (ie: rabbit). I have seen numerous dogs that owners have put on vegetarian diets and the dogs end up with nutritional deficiencies - especially when they start the dogs on this type of diet as puppies. While I respect your choice to be a vegan it is not really fair for you to subject your beliefs onto your dog. It is just really not recommended. That being said, there are companies that make these types of diets commercially. I do not recommend them as they are not regulated and do not have to uphold themselves to any standards/regulations. They are also extremely expensive. However, it is up to you if you want to feed them. I honestly don't know what is available in the UK in the way of these types of foods you will just have to research it. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

As a vegan, can my dog eat a vegetarian or vegan diet safely?

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