30 Days of Vegan (Day 17); And What About Our Dog?

Day 17..

And a big bag of vegan dog food arrived.

It didn't take long.. as I ordered it just a few days ago, directly from the V-dog website. I had come to hear about it from the good folks at the Beagle Freedom Project. They rescue beagles that have been used in research labratories. I figured, if their beagles liked it and did well on it, mine probably would.

Now, when I went vegetarian years ago, I never really contemplated cutting meat out of my dog's diet. They're clearly meat-eaters. Unlike when people claim that humans are "built to eat meat" because we have tiny canine teeth.. well.. canines truly have meat-eating teeth. And they're built for hunting.

So, the idea of giving my dog vegan food, was pretty foreign.

With many doubts, I did many a Google search. "Can dogs be vegan?" "Are vegetarian foods healthy for dogs?"

The answers were all over the place. Some claiming that vegan diets are downright dangerous. Others stating that their dogs are thriving, and actually healthier, from a vegan diet. In other words.. inconclusive.

Still, let's be honest. Even though I tried to buy high-quality meat-based dog food (Organix), it's still sub-standard. Just cause it's meat, doesn't mean it's anything close to what she'd be eating if she were hunting. Obviously, ground up low-grade meat, mixed in with grains.. and then dehydrated.. just can't be the same.

So really, instincts have little to do with what we feed them anyway. Which means, the question really is: Does it matter where the nutrition comes from, as long as it's adequate?

My gut says, probably not. Am I willing to place 100% on 'probably?'

No. I'm not.

So, what I decided to do.. instead of just making her go full-vegan.. is to mix the vegan food with her old food. Perhaps slowly making it mostly vegan. But still give her meat-based treats and rawhides.

As much as I don't like buying those things.. or even touching them.. I think it would be unfair of me to force my ethical quandries upon my dog. An animal that is only a 'pet' because we (humans) have domesticated them.

My opinion on this may change. And mostly, it'll change based on how my dog responds.. I think that's the only fair way to do it. I have to let her, and her health, guide me.. not the other way around.

Can we open it, Mom?

What I can tell you, though.. is that as soon as the bag arrived, she was sniffing and begging me for some. When I mixed it in with her regular food, she pulled out only the V-dog bits, and left her old food behind. She definitely, at least on day one, seems to favor the veggie stuff.

Lickin' her lips.

So, I'm curious how other vegans (and vegetarians) have coped with this cognitive dissonance. Did you make your pets conform to your new diet? Or do you bite the bullet, and still buy animal products, because you believe it's right for them?