Can you feed a dog a vegetarian or vegan diet?
You see it more and more often, vegetarian and even vegan food for dogs. So a complete feed in which no animal products are processed. But is that suitable for dogs? Can dogs function well on a fully vegetarian/vegan diet? In this blog, we are happy to give you our opinion.
Feeding
9 January '24 • 1 min reading time
Dogs are omnivores
Dogs are basically omnivores, so they eat everything. The digestive system of a dog can digest both plant material, but also animal material completely. Dogs can therefore also digest herbs well and will pick and eat them themselves when given the opportunity. But they are also hunters, their teeth are truly the teeth of a carnivore. So if you purely look at the body of the dog, you should always offer a combined diet of meat and plants. This way, the dog will get all the nutrients needed to function properly.
Risk of deficiencies
Meat, fish, and eggs are very good sources of proteins for dogs. And these animal proteins are also the most digestible and therefore usable by dogs. Proteins are essential in the diet, as they are extremely important building blocks of the body, including for muscle building. In a vegan diet, there is also a risk of deficiencies in iron, calcium, and zinc. In a vegetarian diet, this risk is smaller, but still present.
Preferably never vegan
Feeding your dog a vegan diet increases the risk of deficiencies, so we really advise against feeding them vegan. Only feed vegan if a veterinarian advises it due to medical issues.
Vegetarian is possible, but not preferred
In principle, a dog can eat a vegetarian diet and meet all its needs. But it is important to realize that dogs are omnivores and that meat is a part of their natural diet. Not offering meat to dogs is unnatural and therefore not preferred by us. Meat has many benefits for dogs, as it contains important nutrients, stimulates digestion, and has positive effects on the teeth. We only recommend a fully vegetarian diet if advised by a veterinarian or nutrition specialist.
Always include meat in the diet of dogs!
We always recommend including meat in the diet of dogs, not only because of the nutrients it contains, but also because it is a natural part of their diet. Dogs are hunters, so they are true carnivores from their origin. They eat bones and can digest them, their teeth are made for it, and their digestion is adapted to it.