The Dog Food Guide: Can Dogs Really Eat Vegan and Vegetarian Meals?
by Natasha Christou Digital Marketing ConsultantWe all want the best for our furry friends, whether we’re
buying them hypoallergenic
dog food or a new collar that matches their personality. The topic of vegan
and vegetarian meals for dogs has garnered attention lately, attracting Google
search interest scores of up to 100 over the last year, as you can see in the
graph below. This is likely due to the growing number of vegans and vegetarians
across the UK — statistics report there were 600,000 vegans in the
UK in 2019, so it isn’t surprising to learn that we’re considering this diet
shift for our furry friends too. After all, if we want the best for them, we
must find out if what is good for us is good for them too.
So, here, we thought it would be important to address the
all-important question — can dogs eat vegan and vegetarian meals? It’s
important to research around what is best to give our pets considering they
can’t tell us how their food is making them feel…unless if you’re Dr Dolittle.
That begs the question, are dogs carnivores or omnivores?
Dogs evolved from wolves — spoiler alert if you didn’t
already know. From this, it’s reasonable to assume that our beloved furry
friends have the same digestion system as their wolf ancestors, known across
the world for their carnivorous diet. However, bear in mind that thousands of
years of selective breeding has not only adapted dogs’ personalities, but their
bodily processes too, including their digestive capacity.
Genetic sequencing of dogs, which is essentially their DNA
which makes them who they are from the colour of their fur to their
personality, is significantly different to wolves in fat metabolism and starch
digestion. Changes in their genes and how they’ve accrued from the gene pool
has been incredibly important in domesticating our dogs and adapting to starch-rich
diets, the main carbohydrate in plants.
When the agricultural revolution took place between the 16th
and 19th centuries thanks to technology, there was a lot more
plant-based foods available for us to consume, increasing dietary starch in
both us and our dogs. And like animals do, they adapted!
Humans have saliva to help break down starch, and while dogs
don’t, their stomachs
are more acidic, which helps the stomach to digest protein and kill
bacteria in meat. Consider a dog’s appearance too, with their defined canine
teeth that make them physically carnivorous.
Source: Shutterstock, by PixieMe.
However, unlike cats, dogs aren’t obligate carnivores. By
this, we mean that dogs have adapted more to eating plant-based foods than cats
have, although they still eat meat. It’s important to note that carbohydrates
aren’t essential for cats or dogs because they can derive enough energy from
amino acids in proteins. However, both animals can gain energy from
carbohydrates, particularly dogs.
So, can we remove meat?
There isn’t an awful lot of research exploring how well dogs
can cope with vegan and vegetarian diets. What research does exist suggests
that dogs can survive with vegetarian diets, but will they thrive? The main
issue however is that they will have lower or absent levels of essential
nutrients, vitamins, and minerals found in meat. You want to make sure your dog
is getting all the nutrients possible from a diet that is healthy for their
digestive system and requirements, not yours.
In terms of vegetarian dog food and how plants’ nutrients
vary, they should be supplemented with synthetic amino acids, vitamins, and
minerals to be nutritional for our dogs — as with any pet food.
Vitamins
Dogs cannot produce vitamin D3 in their bodies and dogs can’t
get this vitamin from plant-based foods or sunlight. But animal sources like
meat, fish, and eggs provide our canine friends with the much-needed vitamin.
Vitamin D2 is taken from plants, however, it has less of a biological effect
than D3. It’s important that dogs have a healthy intake of vitamin D for their
bones as it is essential for calcium and phosphorus.
Likewise, vitamin B12 isn’t present in plant nutrients but
dairy and eggs, and must be supplemented in vegan diets due to its positive effects on
the health of bodily functions, including
the canine nervous system.
Minerals
A dog on a meat-free diet can become deficient in calcium,
iron, phosphorus, and zinc. It’s important to note that in plant phosphorus is
a compound called phytate, which is an anti-nutrient that can reduce the
biological effect of calcium, iron, and zinc from other foods. So, make sure
that plant sources contain easily absorbed minerals and nutrients for your dog.
Amino acids
The building blocks of proteins — essential and
non-essential amino acids vary between species. In simple terms, non-essential
amino acids can be produced by the animal if ingesting the correct amount and
mix of other amino acids. Essential amino acids can’t be synthesised by the dog
and must be obtained through food.
Most amino acids can be obtained from plants however some plants
can be poor sources of amino acids such as methionine, a crucial amino acid to
dogs. This again is evidence for why supplementation is necessary for meat-free
dogs.
Fatty acids
A vegetarian dog diet can be low in n-3 fatty acids
including DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), which are extremely important in
supporting a healthy brain and nervous system development in puppies.
Typically, puppies get DHA from their mother’s milk and good supplementation of
fish oils. Domesticating dogs has resulted in us weaning puppies off milk
earlier than they would in the wild, it’s important to consider post-weaning
nutritional deficiencies that can occur from vegan and vegetarian diets in
puppies, so it’s recommended to never feed them
a vegetarian or vegan diet.
So, to conclude a lengthy yet important message — dogs have
been adapted to eat both meat and plants. Just because a dog can live on a vegetarian
or vegan diet, it doesn’t necessarily mean they should. If you decide to feed
your dog a vegan or vegetarian diet, supplementing carefully and accurately can
balance these diets. Vegetarian diets are easier to manage because dogs will
benefit from animal products like eggs and it is harder to make sure a vegan
diet is meeting the nutrients essential to your dog.
There isn’t any research to support the claim that dogs can
cope on meat-free diets in the long-term — although they might survive, will
they thrive? If you’re considering making the shift for your furry friend,
do so with caution and make sure you’re up-to-date on all knowledge and
research. Visit your vet and get all the information you need to make an
informed decision that will help your dog live its best life.
Source: Shutterstock, by kondr.konst.
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Created on Jul 22nd 2020 06:20. Viewed 750 times.