feeding dogs

March 10, 2009

We had a large dobie-shepherd cross. He was about 65 pounds of joy and loyalty,

a powerful swimmer, loved to go for long walks, run like the wind and chase

balls. He lived to be 14 1/2, and according to the vet, was " very healthy for a

dog his age " . He required no medications. His only real issue was incontinence

in his last couple of years for which he wore doggy diapers when he was in the

house. He died peacefully in his sleep after a happy day romping around out of

doors.

.... in other words, he thrived on his diet. We fed him a commercial vegan dog

kibble all his life with us.

Deborah

we raw feed our dogs and I am lucky that a girlfriend's husband hunts

and gives me some of his spoils. it gets pricy only feeding your dogs

range fed, cage free etc animals. thankfully my mutts are tiny so they

dont' eat much

Sherene

March 10, 2009

My chihuahua loves veggies! I give her carrot sticks to chew on as treats

and she loves them! I usually feed her some of whatever I'm having or else

I'll make her up something special if I'm not up to eating. She also loves

bananas and apples, which make great treats too! Most of the time when she's

offered meat she turns her nose up. Last week I offered her some lettuce

while making a salad and my guy offered her a piece of his hamburger and she

ignored the burger scarfing down the lettuce! It was hilarious! She's

started going to the fridge and barking for a carrot now too! I also give

her doggy vitamins, which she thinks are treats too! So I use them like

treats if she eats all her dinner. It's amazing how intelligent dogs are!

She's like having a toddler!

On Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 4:40 PM, Deborah Pageau <dpageau wrote:

> We had a large dobie-shepherd cross. He was about 65 pounds of joy and

> loyalty, a powerful swimmer, loved to go for long walks, run like the wind

> and chase balls. He lived to be 14 1/2, and according to the vet, was " very

> healthy for a dog his age " . He required no medications. His only real issue

> was incontinence in his last couple of years for which he wore doggy diapers

> when he was in the house. He died peacefully in his sleep after a happy day

> romping around out of doors.

>

> ... in other words, he thrived on his diet. We fed him a commercial vegan

> dog kibble all his life with us.

>

> Deborah

>

> we raw feed our dogs and I am lucky that a girlfriend's husband hunts

> and gives me some of his spoils. it gets pricy only feeding your dogs

> range fed, cage free etc animals. thankfully my mutts are tiny so they

> dont' eat much

>

> Sherene

>

March 10, 2009

On Mar 10, 2009, at 4:40 PM, Deborah Pageau wrote:

> ... in other words, he thrived on his diet. We fed him a commercial

> vegan dog kibble all his life with us.

======

that's good to hear. I was under the impression that dogs needed meat

so I didn't even think of feeding them a vegan diet.

Sherene

March 10, 2009

On Mar 10, 2009, at 6:01 PM, Jae Jones wrote:

> My chihuahua loves veggies! I give her carrot sticks to chew on as

> treats

> and she loves them!

> She's like having a toddler!

================

our dogs LOVE carrots, bananas, pears, apples, nectarines and peas.

I thickly slice sweet potato and dehydrate it for them. it makes

wonderful " raw hide " . right now they are sitting next to me eating a

bowl of frozen peas. I have strange kids and dogs, they all like

frozen peas. Oh, and hte pups also like blueberries. however, they

LOVE a chunk of raw meat and bone.

I need to investigate vegan dogfood. I never thought of it.

Sherene

March 11, 2009

I got our's from the vet. They often recommend it as a preventative measure for

dog's at risk of developing hip dysplasia. They ordered it in about once a

month for us because we live in a small town without access to pet food stores.

When we went into the city, we went into a pet food store and got some there

too.

It smells a lot better than meat-based dog foods, and the dog's waste products

do too. Our dog would have probably have preferred a meat-based food but he was

happy with the vegan one. He stayed happy and trim, lived a lot longer than a

dog his size typically does. It was a better choice for us all 'round as a

family.

The commercial ones are formulated to supply all the dog's nutritional needs, so

there is no need to fret about not getting meat.

Deborah

I need to investigate vegan dogfood. I never thought of it.

Sherene

March 11, 2009

There are a number of different brands on the market these days. I had the

choice of two different brands even in my little corner of the world. I used

one for awhile, then switched to the other when our dog seemed to prefer the

second one.

You make the switch over very gradual by adding a few bits of the new food to

his old food initially, gradually increasing the proportion over a couple of

weeks. We got started on it on the recommendation of another family who had

their dog on it.

It's more popular than one might suspect, even in meat-eating families, when the

dog needs it for health reasons. Dogs typically suffer similar diseases as

human when they both eat meat-based diets. Both also tend to retain better

health longer on vegan diets.

Deborah

> ... in other words, he thrived on his diet. We fed him a commercial

> vegan dog kibble all his life with us.

======

that's good to hear. I was under the impression that dogs needed meat

so I didn't even think of feeding them a vegan diet.

Sherene

March 11, 2009

Cats need meat (not fish) because of the taurine (sp?). Without it they will

go blind. Cats also require more protein than dogs. If a cat ate dog food it

wouldn't be a big deal although they wouldn't get enough protein if that was

their only diet. Dogs however should not be allowed to eat cat food on a

regular basis as there is too much protein for them and they will develop

pancreatic problems, which are excruciatingly painful!

Personally, I find commercial pet foods extremely unhealthy for pets and

prefer to feed them fresh healthy foods that are suitable for human

consumption. I never understood the concept of feeding an animal food that

was not suitable for human consumption because after all, we are animals

too! If it's not safe for me to eat then how is it safe for my pets?

P.S. mice love fresh carrots too! (Yes I have a zoo! Two cats, a dog, a

mouse, fish, and a teenager! lol)

On Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 6:50 PM, Sherene Silverberg <sherene wrote:

>

> On Mar 10, 2009, at 4:40 PM, Deborah Pageau wrote:

>

> > ... in other words, he thrived on his diet. We fed him a commercial

> > vegan dog kibble all his life with us.

> ======

>

> that's good to hear. I was under the impression that dogs needed meat

> so I didn't even think of feeding them a vegan diet.

>

> Sherene

>

March 11, 2009

Agreed, cats do need more taurine than can be obtained in a plant-based diet but

a supplement can make up the difference. There are commercial vegan cat foods

too, formulated to meet their needs, and there ARE cats who do very well on

them.

In my opinion, commerical vegan dog foods is that they are better quality than

most meat-based foods and the convenience factor in using them is very

persuasive. They are also guarantee the dog is getting a well balanced diet,

the right amount of B12, etc.

Deborah

Cats need meat (not fish) because of the taurine (sp?). Without it they will

go blind. Cats also require more protein than dogs. If a cat ate dog food it

wouldn't be a big deal although they wouldn't get enough protein if that was

their only diet. Dogs however should not be allowed to eat cat food on a

regular basis as there is too much protein for them and they will develop

pancreatic problems, which are excruciatingly painful!

Personally, I find commercial pet foods extremely unhealthy for pets and

prefer to feed them fresh healthy foods that are suitable for human

consumption. I never understood the concept of feeding an animal food that

was not suitable for human consumption because after all, we are animals

too! If it's not safe for me to eat then how is it safe for my pets?

P.S. mice love fresh carrots too! (Yes I have a zoo! Two cats, a dog, a

mouse, fish, and a teenager! lol)

March 17, 2009

Taurine is what cats need in their diet which is found in meat....without

it they can have health problems, the most common blindness.

I can't remember his name but, the Mad Cowboy, he had a cat that was vegan.

He bought taurine supplements at a health food store I believe.

**************Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? Make meals for Under

$10. (http://food.aol.com/frugal-feasts?ncid=emlcntusfood00000002)

March 17, 2009

Hello everyone. I have been without internet for a few days, so I apologize for

responding to this post so late...

My question is, do you feed your dogs 100% vegan?? I also was under the

impression that they needed meat. What's more, we are about to get a dog and I

was planning on feeding it raw meat instead of commercial dog food because of

all the benefits, etc. that I read about it. So any input and/or

advice/suggestions you could give would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks in advance!

Miguel

, Sherene Silverberg <sherene

wrote:

>

> On Mar 10, 2009, at 4:40 PM, Deborah Pageau wrote:

>

> > ... in other words, he thrived on his diet. We fed him a commercial

> > vegan dog kibble all his life with us.

> ======

>

> that's good to hear. I was under the impression that dogs needed meat

> so I didn't even think of feeding them a vegan diet.

>

> Sherene

>

March 17, 2009

Miguel, I don't think dogs require meat in their diets in order to be

healthy. I'm sure others here can speak with more knowledge on the

subject than I can --- but I can offer my families experience.

We have had schnauzers for 25 years now. Our original schnauzer is

the grandmother, great grandmother, great great grandmother, etc. of

them all. They've been wonderful and devoted pets and are quite

spoiled! We've found that they are most healthy on a low protein

diet. They would be perfectly content with a vegan diet and do eat

alot of table scraps. That's their preference when it comes to food.

The only food they don't seem to handle well is oatmeal (even gf

oats). We've kept in contact with friends and neighbors who have

raised some of the other puppies in their litter. We've observed that

the ones with the best coat and health are the ones fed less meat. In

fact, we would care for one sibling-dog who would arrive with owners

in tow --- carrying containers of turkey, beef, chicken, liver, etc.

Their dog was not nearly as healthy as ours (fatter; smelled

different; health problems which caused an early death). Their vet

had their dog on a veg*n diet in it's older years in order to try to

improve it's health. I only know of this breed --- others may be

different. But, from our experience, we found a high protein diet

unnecessary and actually unhealthy.

Hope this helps and congratulations on a new dog!

LaDonna

PS: Cats have a harder time being vegan.

March 17, 2009

That's interesting. We gave our dog bits of what ate too, as treats in addition

to his commercial kibble. His favourite was raw broccoli! We gave him the

chewy outside of the stems when we were preparing it for our dinner. He LOVED

that stuff! When he was still growing, he also loved to chew on the rinds of

watermelon, which probably helped him with teething discomforts.

It's worth mentioning a caveat here too that chocolate and grapes (including

raisins) are known poisons for dogs.

I've also been wondering if green peas may be bad for them too. Our dog would

eat almost anything off our plates except grapes or banana. Also, if we gave

him a scoop of our veggie stew at dinner, he would lick up every drop except any

green peas. It may simply have been his own personal (doggial?) taste. We

always thought it was so funny and amazing, how well he could clean out his bowl

all around the green peas. We also knew another family whose dog did exactly

the same thing, so I have to wonder if they may also have properties that the

dogs were instinctively avoiding.

Deborah

<snip> The only food they don't seem to handle well is oatmeal (even gf

oats). <snip>

LaDonna

March 17, 2009

Hallo there-

Thank's for the information; I have a miniature schnawzer for a year now, she is

the nicest dog, the only thing is she goes jumpy with the T.V. unless is golf,

tennis or football. maybe you can help? the food I give her is specially for

them, by Royal Cannin. is great!

--- On Tue, 3/17/09, Gracious Hospitality <gracioushospitality wrote:

Gracious Hospitality <gracioushospitality

Re: Re: feeding dogs

Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 8:51 PM