Unfortunately, I don't know much about the topic but I wanted to let you know YOU HAVE THE CUTEST DOGS EVER! It's so funny they pose for photos – love it!

Caitlin–I'd like to applaud you for doing your research before putting your pets on a vegetarian diet. Be sure to ask your vet about vitamin B12 (it's only available from meat food sources). My dog is not a vegetarian, but he does have congenital B12 malabsorption syndrome, and I've been learning recently how important B12 is (a deficiency can lead to serious malnourishment). Whatever you decide, good luck!

collen – i think the thing is that all vegetarians have to deal with being hypocrites on some level – because no one is perfect. like yes, i feel bad about eating dairy, but not bad enough to stop. same thing with leather, etc. it's an interesting conumdrum. i think you have to do what is morally best for you, and that doesnt necessarily mean being perfect.

i do not have any information on the subject, unfortunately. but i do know it can be done. i have known a couple people with veggie dogs. just be sure to ge the whole run down with the vet. they might have vitamins and stuff they will need to take?
your eats look very tasty today.

Oh no, I wasn't judging at all! I'm an aspiring vegetarian myself…but when we go look at couches I worry about buying leather and whether or not that qualifies…it just makes me wonder how others feel. One of my favorite coats is a leather jacket I bought years ago…and I both love it and feel repulsed by myself about it. 🙁

Awh, your pics of the two dogs are way too cute! ! !

hmm interesting. I don't have a lot of knowledge about this, but please let us know what you find out! Glad you're having a nice Saturday so far! Enjoy the rest.

serena- ooo i like the way you think!

That is so cool – I'll be interested in learning what you find out. I have cats, and apparently if you feed them a vegetarian diet you can kill them, so I won't be going down that road, but I'd also heard you could feed dogs a veggie diet. I hope to get a dog in the next couple of years, and it would be great to make it a veggie dog; I imagine the meat used in dog food is disgusting.

We order organic food for Thumper through Canine Caterers, a holisitic food delivery service in DC and NC. His foster owners used to feed him salmon and sweet potatoes all the time. I think you can find a number of websites online in regard to pet veggie eating. It's becoming pretty huge.

I would be very hesitant to switch my dogs to a vegetarian diet.
They are naturally meat eaters, and unlike humans, they don't understand the moral reasons behind why they shouldn't eat meat. I don't know, I haven't done much research on it, but I think of my dogs like my kids and I would do what is best for my kids' bodies first and think about morality second. Does that sound bad?

I don't eat meat (but some fish) and I avoid it for moral reasons, so I can totally see where you're coming from. I just think I would put my dogs (or kids) health above my moral beliefs.

Re Cats: I have heard that cats should not be veg and can go blind.

Plus, it's probably more expensive, which I wouldn't be able to afford…

runeat – hmm good point about the $$ i bet it will cost more to put my doggies on a vegetarian diet.

i'm going to go ahead and argue that a vegetarian diet is healthier than a meat-eating one (at least for humans). vegetarians live longer lives and have less heart disease and cancer.

also you raise an interesting point about putting children on vegetarian diets. i plan to put my kids on a vegetarian diet because i have to spend my money to feed them and i dont want my money to support factory farms. also i am concerned about the health ramifications of eating factory farmed meat. i won't forbit my kids from eating meat at their friends' house but i never would serve it to them unless there is a specific medical reason i need to.

You can make your own vegetarian food to feed them. Usually you include potatoes, rice, carrots, and other vegetables and get the supplements from your vet. It gets to be time consuming and expensive. I have been a vegetarian for many years and finally resorted to feeding my dogs "Newman's Own" dog food because they use free range chickens and don't add all the byproducts. It's not tthe perfect choice for a vegetarian pet owner, but I feel better because the chickens are treated humanely and additionally my dogs are not getting pumped full of steroids, antibiotics, and byproducts. I won't put that stuff in my body and decided I can't do it to them.

One more comment about the furniture issue. I wanted a leather sofa because it is easier to keep clean, but I felt bad about buying leather. I actually found a faux leather (vinyl) one and it is actually quite nice. The upside is it looks as good as leather, is very comfortable and was a fraction of the cost. Vinyl furniture doesn't look the same as it did in the 70's. 🙂

I have no idea about vegetarian dogs, although it sounds like you've got it pretty much figured out 🙂 I do know that your dogs are so cute!

My dogs are veg, and they love it! You really just have to go trial and error with foods, they all like different things. Mine love zucchini and sweet potatoes, amongst other things. Talk to your vet about supplements and ask for a list of foods they can't have– I was surprised to find they couldnt have certain seasonings/spices, avocado… a few weird things.

I think it's easiest and most economical to just make them little meals yourself. We usually have some sort of bean/grain along with veggies, so we just make up little dishes for them. There are also some vegetarian dog foods (V-dog, Wenaewe). They aren't cheap, but they're good for when you're in a hurry!

what brand of granola do you use? Thank you!

SO interesting that dogs can be vegetarian but cats cannot. I've never given that much thought to my pet's diets (does that make me a bad pet mom?). I'm going to research what exactly goes into the dog and cat chow I buy. Thanks for the heads-up!

Amanda – It's called Heartland – in regular cereal aisle!

Yeah, I agree on feeding the kids. ..I don't want my money to support factory farms.

And you're probably right about veg diets being healthier for humans, so the same is probably true to dogs 🙂

Hope I didn't come of negative, I feel like I posted a super long comment!

If you go to Amy's Kitchen (the people behind the vegetarian frozen meals), they have information on vegetarian pets in the Lemon Slice section. They have a dog that is vegetarian. That might be a good place to start.

I have thought about putting my dogs on a vegetarian diet too, but then I see them chase down a bird and try to eat it (we usually get rid of it before they eat it). So clearly if mine were out in the wild they would be eating meat on their own. That is why I am so torn. However I don't see Maggie catching an animal LOL.

My little dog Scruffy is not a vegetarian, but I do make his food myself. It is really healthy too and he loves it. I got too freaked out by the stuff that they sell in the stores, especially when it was constantly being recalled.

That's a very interesting question you pose. It's easy to see both sides. I'm not even sure it should be a yes or no answer to dogs in general. For example, I honestly don't think it'd be wrong to feed my little yorkie mix dog a veg diet, because she can't hunt down her own food. She'd lose against a squirrel! LOL. Now, like a hunting dog or German shephard is another story.

One thing though- don't give your puppers any grapes- I've read they're very bad for dogs.

I have to agree with Liz that there are many other factors to be considered when trying to determine which diet – vegetarian or omnivore – lives longer and leads a healthier lifestyle. I personally believe that one can be just as healthy by eating meat, but I may be biased as I am not a vegetarian (though I was for 6 years). 🙂

As for your doggies, I see your point – if you don't consider it healthy enough for you to eat, why would you feed it to them? But please note that dogs and cats in the wild are nearly 100% carnivores by choice and changing their diets would require really careful monitoring of their nutrients. If you are looking for some really good, really wholesome dog/cat food, Wellness brand is awesome. It has ingredients you can pronounce and our kittens have responded really well to it.

I have two goldies who are vegetarian (also had 2 previously that were veggie for half their lives – they lives until 13 and 14). The current goldies have pasta, veggies, eggs (from our own chickens) and leftover veggie foods. They are fit, healthy, active dogs with nice coats. So it's def. possible to have healthy, happy vegetarian dogs. I too switched their diets when I switched mine 5 years ago.

Libby

We feed our dogs Blue Buffalo–it’s the only food that worked for our Labradoodle. It’s fabulous! Made with whole products, veggies, etc. The sweet potato and fish formula is what we feed them (we have a Labradoodle and a Standard Poodle). Our cats eat turkey and giblets soft food from Science Diet (our vet said they can get certain diseases if they don’t eat soft food! Who knew?) and then we feed them Science Diet kitten indoor formula. They were on Blue Buffalo but seemed to have bathroom issues. Hoping to put them back on Blue Buffalo when they become adults! If you go to the Blue Buffalo website, you can get coupons!