Fresh from Uruguay, you too can turn your dog into a vegetarian. Nevermind that dogs are carnivores. Terrierman’s Daily Dose has the low down on the food, which is sponsored by the anti-hunting animal rights group Humane Society of the United States. If I were a dog, and my owners fed me this crap, I think I’d kill them in their sleep and eat them. I would argue a dog that did that ought not be put down. I’d understand.
The only real disappointment is, though it’s certified USDA organic, it is not, in fact, Vegan, since it contains vitamins found only in animal products. Good thing too, since I’m pretty sure Vegan dog food would kill your pooch. Hell, I think this stuff might too.
Ever see that Fox show “The Goode Family?” They insisted their dog, named ‘Che,’ was a vegan dog, and fed him accordingly. Of course, the sight of any other animal, cat, squirrell, you name it, he would home right in on it and chow down.
The father made the mistake of leaving him outside at the local college where he worked, while he tried to find a loving, humane way of dealing with the squirrell overpopulation. Che was in heaven! And the problem was sovled.
I used to work with a woman who fed her dog a vegetarian diet. The poor thing had mange and literally no energy. We used to toss him hot dogs and burritos when she wasn’t around.
This dog food does have animal products, so it’s not strictly vegetarian.
Dogs, unlike cats, are not obligate carnivores. The animal kingdom is not so black and white as to carnivore and herbivore. I know of at least one dog that is thriving on a vegetarian diet, though I am not a proponent of such a diet.
Dogs can survive just fine on a vegetarian or vegan diet. Cats, on the other hand, cannot.
i just wish the vegan nutjobs who force their cats into a vegan diet would get over themselves and their selfishness. i can’t even begin to list how often i read about a cat dying due to a lack of taurine (a necessary nutrient found only in organ meat or an artificial supplement).
“Dogs can survive just fine on a vegetarian or vegan diet.”
This may be true but it is cruel to the animal. A dog would much prefer to eat mostly meat. Try this experiment. Put a carrot and a piece of chicken on the floor and see which one the dog eats first.
Heck, try this experiment with a human baby. Omnivores prefer meat. Vegans and Vegetarians are only deluding themselves if they think otherwise.
Your dog wants steak.
falnfenix: Funny, because vegetarians just wish that meat eaters would get over themselves and their selfishness too. And I don’t know how often you read about a cat dying due to a vegetarian diet (most vegetarians are perfectly fine with feeding their carnivorous pets meat), but I bet you’re responsible for far more dead animals than every crazy “I won’t feed my cat meat” nutjob put together.
Yosemite Sam: Try that experiment with a human baby? I am willing to wager that a baby would go for the carrot because it’s more attractive to the eye. But regardless, a human child would prefer a diet of Skittles over a diet of spinach and carrots—that doesn’t mean it’s cruel to the child to feed them spinach instead of the things they would prefer to eat.
IIRC, dogs, like many canines (think bears), are basically omnivores, though their tooth structure doesn’t exactly put them into that category. I’d have to look it up again, but I’m pretty sure they can get all the essential amino acids they need from plant sources, though I’m not sure if they have the ability to metabolize L-chain lipids. Or is it R-chain? Gah, I’ve been away from the books too long.
On the anecdotal side, my parents’ Golden actually prefers tomatoes to meat. No kidding, if we can’t find her during the summer, she’s usually underneath the tomato plants eating the Romas right off the damned thing. She also loves iceburg lettuce; romaine, not so much.