Maggie Menu
On the menu for Maggie tonight is puréed sweet potato, puréed brown rice, sprouted organic tofu, chia seeds, and digestive enzymes. Does she look excited? She is!
This dog does not look excited, this dog looks malnourished.
The diet you are feeding your dog places a huge burden entirely on the pancreas, forcing it to produce large amounts of amylase to deal with the starch, cellulose, and carbohydrates in plant matter. (yes, even with your supplements) The carnivore’s pancreas does not secrete cellulase to split the cellulose into glucose molecules, nor have dogs become efficient at digesting and assimilating and utilizing plant material as a source of high quality protein.
When this stuff sits in the pet’s intestine (yes even with your supplemented enzymes) it not only irritates the lining of the bowels but also provides the perfect warm, wet environment with plenty of undigested sugars and starches as food for bacteria.
I respect your choice in leading a vegan lifestyle, but please do not force this on your pet who does not recognize the difference, your dog absolutely needs a healthier diet or it is going to develop health issues and I guarantee you, will not live as long as it could otherwise.
side reminder that some dogs can have vegan meat and be completely nourished and content, loving and excited over their meals. See: Onision’s two dogs, Dobs and Leelu. Actually, his name is Greg. He, his wife Lainey, and their two dogs are all vegetarian, and both Dobs and Leelu thrive. They look very well nourished, are energetic, very loving towards both Greg and Lainey, and they are fed vegetarian foods. Do dogs and cats eat meat? Absolutely. With the right nourishments, can they live, thrive, and live a happy and healthy life without it? You bet your sweet ass they can. Stop bagging on this person for feeding this to their dog. I may advise offering meaty treats to your pet, perhaps chop some chicken or throw in some cooked red meat, but your dog seems very okay to me. The meat would be an added bonus that may please your pooch and also provide additional protein and minerals. He/She seems healthy to me, and also seems interested in the food you’re about to feed them. Do not let these people tell you that you’re abusing your dog. If you choose to continue their diet in this way, I would definitely look more into different kinds of treats that would help with the digestion more, though I don’t know too much in that area. Best of luck to both you and your puppy dog!
Hi hello you seem new to veterinary science and animal welfare in general so let me educate you on some topics that you are completely wrong about
1) “side reminder that some dogs can have vegan meat and be completely nourished and content, loving and excited over their meals.”
This is an assumption. The assumption that dogs are omnivores remains to be proven, whereas the truth about dogs being natural carnivores is very well-supported by the evidence available to us and is understood by many science welfare groups, universities, and doctors of veterinary science.
Dogs and wolves share 99.8% of their mitochondrial DNA, those who insist dogs did not descend from wolves must disprove the litany of scientific evidence that concludes wolves are the ancestors of dogs. And guess what? The wolf is a carnivore. Since a dog’s internal physiology does not differ from a wolf, dogs have the same physiological and nutritional needs as those carnivorous predators.
By stating otherwise you are ignoring and disregarding the work of contributing doctors, educators, and researchers who have compiled over 300 years of research and observations of the wild canine.
2) Do dogs and cats eat meat? Absolutely. With the right nourishments, can they live, thrive, and live a happy and healthy life without it?
No. But congratulations, you got one thing right, dogs and cats eat meat. Can they live a happy and healthy life without it? No they cannot. Cats and dogs health is largely dependent on the body’s ability to digest and make use of the food that is a part of their natural diet that is supplemented from meats. By creating a lack of naturally produced (meat, not supplements) protein in the body of the animal, you are putting your animals at risk for something called protein-losing enteropathy. Although this condition can affect any breed or age of dog, some dog breeds are more likely than others. That being said, feeding your dog and cat an all vegan or vegetarian diet and expecting them to thrive on it is a gamble at best.
There is an entire array of problems that can arise from a lack of natural protein.
Occasional bouts of diarrhea
Chronic diarrhea
Weight loss
Lack of energy (lethargy)
Difficulty breathing (dyspnea)
Enlarged abdomen
Legs and feet may be puffy or swollen (edema)
Cancer in the intestines
Infection in the intestines
Bacteria such as salmonella(from rotting plant material)
Fungal infection
Intestinal parasites like hookworms and whipworms
Inflammation of the intestines (inflammatory bowel disease)
Food Allergies
Stomach or intestinal ulcers
Congestive heart failure
Problems with the movement of lymphatic fluid out of the intestines (lymphangiectasia)
3) “He/She seems healthy to me, and also seems interested in the food you’re about to feed them.”
Hey, wrong again. This dogs nose is dried out, it is almost a pale white pink, this is an indication of dehydration or something more serious. The eyes are not clear and bright as they should be, they are red and puffy around the edges, the lining of the eyelids should be pink rather than red. This dog also has a blank stare on its face, and the nose is not pointing at the food, this means the dog is uninterested and is a sign of lethargy. This dog is begging for this meal to be something nutritious. I work at a highly respected veterinary hospital and I see this more often than you would think, I know how to tell when a dog looks malnourished, and so would you if you worked and studied every day in the field of veterinary medicine.
Next time I hope you will take the initiative to educate yourself on these and other important topics on the care for your animal, before you preach something you have no idea about.
Not to mention with cats specifically, they NEED a protein called taurine. Taurine is found in fish, meat and human breast milk. Without enough taurine your cat will fucking go blind. They can’t even eat dog food without going blind because it doesn’t have a high enough taurine content. Cat’s (neutered) need around 25% of their diet to consist of protein to be healthy and that protein MUST BE chicken, fish, or beef or they will go blind and eventually die from malnutrition. Cats also must have plenty of fat in their diet because they can’t produce their own. Bottom line if your feeding your cat (or dog but that was discussed more above) a vegan diet, you’re murdering your animal and causing it to suffer immensely in the process.
How could the OP even bullshit themselves into thinking their dog looks even remotely excited? Pretty sure that’s a Lab, and I’ve had two at my house for the past 12 years. They look absolutely nothing like that when it’s their dinnertime. They’re full of energy, with wagging tails and bouncing impatience and eagerly dig into their bowls.
That is the most apathetic look about a meal I have ever seen a dog have.
I’m glad to see this post back on my dash because it means people are still spreading this around. And this is super important information.
Dogs and cats cannot be vegan or vegetarian. If you want a pet that can, get a fucking gerbil.
Cats are hypercarnivores. Dogs are carnivores that can handle some vegetables.
Do. Not. Feed. Your. Canines and Felines. VEGETARIAN OR VEGAN. NO.
Humans can “handle” drinking only soda and never having regular water. But they won’t be healthy doing it. Same with dogs and cats and vegan/vegetarian foods. Actually, no, that’s still not an adequate comparison. Because vegetarian/vegan diets can and do kill cats and dogs, and leave them unhealthy and miserable while it’s happening.
This is animal abuse, because you are purposely denying your pet something they need to be properly healthy. I know that sounds harsh, but it is the actual truth.
I spent years trying to figure out what was wrong with one of my dogs. His fur was falling out, he was constantly itchy, he had goopy eyes. It turns out, in addition to being allergic to corn, the food we were feeding all of our dogs barely had any animal protein in it. We switched them to an all-meat based food, and BAM. His fur grew back, his coat was shiny, his eyes cleared up, and all the other dogs, who seemed fine before, suddenly had more energy, the old one that had arthritis suddenly didn’t have it anymore, one who had old hip damage could suddenly walk pain free (note the hip damage wasn’t from the food, but from him being a rescue who’d been hit by a car), they all got beefed up and super muscly, and they were all a million times happier than before. They were getting bare minimum before and were at basic standards of health; after the switch they had almost exclusively meat and were a billion times healthier and happier.
Feed your animals meat; I would also put in a plug for making sure that your dog/cat food is nutritionally adequate. Check labels, do research, and make sure that first ingredient is meat. (also avoid corn and flax containing foods, because they are the top allergens for dogs; healthier foods are more expensive, but they actually eat less of them because they’re able to process it better and absorb more of the nutritional content)
Reason numer 100,000,001 why I hate people.
