# Vegan Dogs



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

VEGANISM: A TRUTH WHOSE TIME HAS COME: 100 Vegan-Eating Dogs


Reading this site just has me shaking my head. But they ARE reporting that these dogs are living 20+ years


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

I don't agree with it, and would never feed my dogs that way. I didn't read the whole thing and go through all the dogs, but they must be giving TONS of supplements by feeding that way.


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## GoingPostal (Sep 5, 2011)

"And for dogs that fight over food, a vegan diet is perfect; they don't feel as much aggression"

LMAO, that's because they don't like it. I honestly don't think my dogs would eat a vegan diet, they would have to be starving. I have teased my dogs with the iguana's salad before and it's hilarious how grossed out they seem. Nero sometimes politely grabs a piece and then leaves it on the floor and none of them will eat it. Maybe if I cooked it that would go over better. Do they feed "raw" or cooked for vegan dogs? Looks like most of those people are feeding kibble, not homemade vegan, supplemented up I'm sure it's enough for a dog to live on, look at how crappy bottom tier kibble is and how many dogs are fed it. I just do not understand getting a carnivore pet and wanting to feed it like a herbivore. This makes me curious, can I buy vegan mousicles for my snake?


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

There are dogs who have probably lived to 20 on Ol'Roy or something similar as well. They are just surviving. There is a difference between surviving and truly thriving.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

I enjoy the emphasis on how much time these dogs spend running in fields and meadows


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## GoingPostal (Sep 5, 2011)

I can't stop reading that site, did you click any of the stuff on the side? I'm reading "co existing with free living animals" and it is hilarious.


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## Kassandra (Jun 6, 2012)

> Baba – was a Collie cross who was vegan more than half of his life. He came to Gentle World, magically, when he was 8 after eating a typical meat-based diet. He was reluctant about the vegan diet; more than other dogs we had known, but then he decided to like it.


LOL or maybe he was starving to death and didn't have any other choice. 

I think this is ridiculous. Dogs can't even digest plant material on their own. Sure, if you cook it and puree it they'll get something out of it but COME ON they should NOT have a diet based only on plant material. 

Just look how old and grey most of the dogs look who really aren't very old. Sure, they might be alive, but are they truly living?? Not in my opinion LOL. I can't imagine the health problems some of these dogs will have that they are leaving out. Or how many supplements they have to be fed to keep them healthy. Most of their coats look so dull to me. It could just be the pictures, but I am willing to bet there is a ton of room for improvement in most of these dogs. I just don't think a dog can be healthy living on a vegan or a vegetarian diet.

Put 3 meals in front of a dog. Vegetarian/Vegan, Kibble, Raw. I am willing to bet every time you do this that almost every dog will always go to the raw, and that none would ever go to the vegetarian. It is simply what they like best (IMO/IME) and (also IMO) is what is best for them health wise.


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

I would like to see the blood work on those dogs.


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## GoingPostal (Sep 5, 2011)

What is the deal with all the "magical" happenings at this place?


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

They're in a magical fantasy world where they think feeding this way magically works.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Kassandra said:


> Put 3 meals in front of a dog. Vegetarian/Vegan, Kibble, Raw. I am willing to bet every time you do this that almost every dog will always go to the raw, and that none would ever go to the vegetarian. It is simply what they like best (IMO/IME) and (also IMO) is what is best for them health wise.


I had a weird little dog (shih tzu) who would've adored a veg diet. If your scenario was used with Berry, he would have chosen the veggies over the others. As I said he was rather strange, lol, a couple friends said they thoughthe was a reincarnated monk 'cause of his personality and behavior.


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

I actually stopped supporting anything to do with Ellen Degeneres because she came out with a Vegan dog food line. It pisses me off!


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## starturtle (Jul 12, 2012)

This just put me in a great mood to start my weekend. The silliness of it is amazing.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

My favorite line was from the dog named Beautiful (the golden retriever):

"Jasmine, who we renamed Beautiful, transformed from a dog that killed a mongoose - to a gentle being who protected our rescued rabbit friends, aided by her new found vegan diet and way of life."


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## Kassandra (Jun 6, 2012)

Celt said:


> I had a weird little dog (shih tzu) who would've adored a veg diet. If your scenario was used with Berry, he would have chosen the veggies over the others. As I said he was rather strange, lol, a couple friends said they thoughthe was a reincarnated monk 'cause of his personality and behavior.


okay, okay. i take it back. maybe 1 in a billion dogs will choose the veg diet lol :tongue:


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

meggels said:


> My favorite line was from the dog named Beautiful (the golden retriever):
> 
> "Jasmine, who we renamed Beautiful, transformed from a dog that killed a mongoose - to a gentle being who protected our rescued rabbit friends, aided by her new found vegan diet and way of life."


:lol::lol:


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## Sapphire-Light (Aug 8, 2010)

> Magic lived *when photography was not vegan yet*; so there are no photos of Magic, Miracles, and others


Ok so this means cameras are canivores now? LOL, how do they know when a camera is a carnivore or a vegan?? XD


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

I posted this in another thread but it makes sense in this one. 

So without getting too wordy, I direct your attention to the following short video:







That about sums up my views.


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## GoingPostal (Sep 5, 2011)

I'm going to save this site for when I need a laugh. It's too good.


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## shellbeme (Dec 8, 2010)

Kassandra said:


> LOL or maybe he was starving to death and didn't have any other choice.
> 
> I think this is ridiculous. Dogs can't even digest plant material on their own. Sure, if you cook it and puree it they'll get something out of it but COME ON they should NOT have a diet based only on plant material.
> 
> ...


My two, turn their nose up when I present raw meat, so it would be interesting to see what they pick out of those three meals


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## riddick4811 (Nov 2, 2011)

LOL! If all they say is true- Casper is going vegan! If is will make him be at peace with other animals and stop wanting to kill them and fighting over food! I would actually love to see it! Diet can completely override his genetics. Maybe I could get him a pet pig too since he will no longer want to hunt and kill them like his breed was created to do!  

As far as vegan dog food. I remember years ago someone gave me a case of Nature's Recipe vegan can dog food and my Iguana went bonkers for the stuff! I fed it too her as a treat!


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## GoingPostal (Sep 5, 2011)

riddick4811 said:


> LOL! If all they say is true- Casper is going vegan! If is will make him be at peace with other animals and stop wanting to kill them and fighting over food! I would actually love to see it! Diet can completely override his genetics. Maybe I could get him a pet pig too since he will no longer want to hunt and kill them like his breed was created to do!
> 
> As far as vegan dog food. I remember years ago someone gave me a case of Nature's Recipe vegan can dog food and my Iguana went bonkers for the stuff! I fed it too her as a treat!


Is your ig friendly? My iguana is mean as hell, a vegan diet has not improved his attitude in the least.


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## riddick4811 (Nov 2, 2011)

GoingPostal said:


> Is your ig friendly? My iguana is mean as hell, a vegan diet has not improved his attitude in the least.


Both my Iguanas were friendly. Iggy was a rescue female, very ill when I got her in a 10 gal tank that she was 2x as long as, on pine bark w/ cigarette butts in it eating iceburg lettuce, no water, and no sunlight or heat lamps. I had her for a few years and she was laying eggs and very antsy and got out the back door when my brother didn't shut it all the way and our Great Dane stepped on her/pawed at her and broke her back. She died on the way to the vet. I was devastated. I loved her so much. Never thought I could love a lizard! 

Sweet Pea the male, was over 6 ft. He was a big lizard, but very tame. He like to strut his stuff and could be a butthead sometimes, but he was pretty much loose in the house and went outside leashed. He didn't take any crap though. One time the neighbor cat tried to mess with and he beat the hell out of the cat. He was thrashing around so much I couldn't hold him and he got loose and took off after the cat. Chased her up a tree, all the way to the top and knocked her out of it. Then he sat up there bobbing his head and acting all macho and I got to get a ladder and climb up there and bring down the angry lizard! 

We ended up selling him when we moved. I miss him, but at the time, I couldn't care for him properly. He demanded lots of attention and was miserable in a cage no matter how big it was. He was one gorgeous Iguana though. Vibrant green w/ black banding. Teal and orange on his face. Keep the bright colors even as an large adult.


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## Kassandra (Jun 6, 2012)

shellbeme said:


> My two, turn their nose up when I present raw meat, so it would be interesting to see what they pick out of those three meals


Okay maybe I was wrong (it takes a lot for me to admit this, really). I just really hate the thought of people feeding their dogs a vegan or vegetarian diet. Like come on people. That is not normal. Stop messing with nature lol! Kibble is not so bad. It contains meat. I feed half kibble. I just cannot fathom why people would feed their dogs strictly rabbit food!!!


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

If you ever watch any of the youtube videos of people making vegan/vegetarian foods for their dogs, they use a lot of supplements, otherwise I can't imagine those animals surviving on plant matter for too long.


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## shellbeme (Dec 8, 2010)

Kassandra said:


> Okay maybe I was wrong (it takes a lot for me to admit this, really). I just really hate the thought of people feeding their dogs a vegan or vegetarian diet. Like come on people. That is not normal. Stop messing with nature lol! Kibble is not so bad. It contains meat. I feed half kibble. I just cannot fathom why people would feed their dogs strictly rabbit food!!!


Haha it's fine, I wasn't trying to prove you wrong it's more of a 'my dogs are those oddball freak' type things. They would pick cooked meat over anything else though! I uh, can't quite grasp the logic behind vegan diet for dogs either but to each their own I spose.


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## woganvonderweidenstrasse (Nov 22, 2012)

I read a story once about a dog that was on a vegetarian diet. The owners were both vegetarians as well. They arrived at the vet one day cause the dog was dying of mammary cancer. The dog was acting very aggresively, lunging at the vet, that the diet appeared to have damaged her emotional state as well as her physical state. He tested the blood for immune protein content and was shocked to find it was extremely high. Diseases like cancer are wasting diseases because the body saps the muscles of protein. It helps to give a patient with this disease red meat, because it contains protein that the body can recognize and use, thus allaying the wasting process. So the vet told them "If this dog doesn't get some meat as soon as possible, she will die." But they refused as they were strict vegetarians. They left and two days later phoned the vet saying that the dog had gotten really weak. He pleaded with them to please give the dogs some protein.....at last they bought a can of red meat dog food - and the dog roused herself to attack it. Still, the protein came too late and within another day the dog was dead....


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

No offense to Vegans, but it seems like alot of them belive that "if we dont kill it-it never dies and therfore its never sad"
Animals DIE
people DIE
WE ALL ARE GOING TO DIE.
im sorry to sound so morbid, but its truth, weather people like it or not, death is not cruel, its not bad, its not wrong, death IS nature.


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

xchairity_casex said:


> No offense to Vegans, but it seems like alot of them belive that "if we dont kill it-it never dies and therfore its never sad"
> Animals DIE
> people DIE
> WE ALL ARE GOING TO DIE.
> im sorry to sound so morbid, but its truth, weather people like it or not, death is not cruel, its not bad, its not wrong, death IS nature.


I can really sympathize with vegans, actually. and I have a lot of respect for most of them. They spend their lives fighting for animal's rights and most of them are mainly fueled by the factory-farming/feedlot aspect of animals. Animals are treated horribly in this country and while animals do die, it's not okay for them to spend their whole lives beforehand suffering. I've talked to a lot of vegans and most of them are only crazy angry about the factory-farming side of things. The ones I discuss once I explain I only purchase ethically raised animals have more of an understanding and aren't as out to get me. So while everything does die, no animal should have to spend their life suffering leading up to their death.

And no matter how you put it, I can't ever make justification for eating lamb/veal. Do I eat it? Yes. But I feel guilty. The mother's of those animals suffer very much and long for their offspring. So they do make really good points on some levels.


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

Sheltielover25 said:


> I can really sympathize with vegans, actually. and I have a lot of respect for most of them. They spend their lives fighting for animal's rights and most of them are mainly fueled by the factory-farming/feedlot aspect of animals. Animals are treated horribly in this country and while animals do die, it's not okay for them to spend their whole lives beforehand suffering. I've talked to a lot of vegans and most of them are only crazy angry about the factory-farming side of things. The ones I discuss once I explain I only purchase ethically raised animals have more of an understanding and aren't as out to get me. So while everything does die, no animal should have to spend their life suffering leading up to their death.
> 
> And no matter how you put it, I can't ever make justification for eating lamb/veal. Do I eat it? Yes. But I feel guilty. The mother's of those animals suffer very much and long for their offspring. So they do make really good points on some levels.




I agree on the factory farming and cruel deaths-i knew one vegan personally, and she was one of those types i was saying. plus it seems like alot of the radical ones are like that.
i refuse to buy/eat any non local meat-im lucky though, here in Upper MI we are crazy about buying local, the grocery stores, the bussinesses, we ALL buy local. so from our local grocery store the meat is locally farmed, smaller local farming where the cows and pigs and chickens are out grazing. and with meats, if you cant find it farmed localy-you pretty much cant get it.


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## Savage Destiny (Mar 16, 2011)

Sheltielover25 said:


> I can really sympathize with vegans, actually. and I have a lot of respect for most of them. They spend their lives fighting for animal's rights and most of them are mainly fueled by the factory-farming/feedlot aspect of animals. Animals are treated horribly in this country and while animals do die, it's not okay for them to spend their whole lives beforehand suffering. I've talked to a lot of vegans and most of them are only crazy angry about the factory-farming side of things. The ones I discuss once I explain I only purchase ethically raised animals have more of an understanding and aren't as out to get me. So while everything does die, no animal should have to spend their life suffering leading up to their death.
> 
> And no matter how you put it, I can't ever make justification for eating lamb/veal. Do I eat it? Yes. But I feel guilty. The mother's of those animals suffer very much and long for their offspring. So they do make really good points on some levels.


The problem is that vegans get all high and mighty about "saving the animals", but they really don't. The fields grown for the grain they eat not only displace animals of their habitats, but when harvested, the machines doing the harvesting grind up/run over hundreds of mice, rabbits, rats, and other little critters. They're not killing any less animals with their diet, they just get to feel better about it. 

Personally, I feel the best way to support animal welfare is to support local farms that raise and slaughter their animals humanely. I try to do this as much as possible. If we stop eating meat altogether, those small farmers doing right by the animals will never get the support they need to continue.


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## doggoblin (Jun 6, 2011)

Sheltielover25 said:


> I can really sympathize with vegans, actually. and I have a lot of respect for most of them.


I don't. For many it's simply living in fantasy world. Have a quick look at Las Norias de Daza, El Ejido, Almería, Andalucía, España - Google Maps All that white.. greenhouses.. why so people can eat vegetables year round and not have seasonal problems which wouldn't allow vegetarianism. Vegetarians and vegans can have their varied diets all year round.. but.. The ground is pumped full of fertilizers and nitrates to keep some form of nutrients in the soil to allow them to get up to three yields a year and even four with some crops. It has been estimated that fruit and veg these days have lost up to 55% of their nutritional value so although they are available all year round they suck the local fauna and landscape dry of ground water, river water or man made storage water. The ecology around is totally messed up partly as some people simply want to feel "green".

Then lets not look at soya and how farming of it is pushing the destruction of the amazon rain forest. Of course it's not visible so people can still feel good.

Fact is.. if you want a vegan pet.. get a rabbit. All the methane produced by a dog contributes to the greenhouse effect after all.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

My son has been vegan for 6 years but he wouldn't dream of feeding his dog anything but a meat-centric diet. He rotates his dog between Orijen Adult and Wellness Core and has no problems with giving him fresh meat.

Not all vegans are out to change everyone's ways of doing things. And my son recognizes that dogs have specific needs. My son works hard at making his vegan lifestyle as sustainable as possible. He organically grows most of his own produce year-round in his raised-beds in his yard. He plants cover crops and rotates to avoid use of fertilizers. He catches the rain water from his gutters to use on his crops, and I could go on and on, but you get the idea that he is focused on not taking away from the land. And don't get him started on talking about the evils of factory farms . . . be they for crops or animals for meat-eating purposes. 

He is also very focused on buying foods that are sustainable that have nothing to do with being vegan or vegetarian. How many people can say they only buy organic sustainably certified (such as through the Rainforest Alliance) coffee beans? He does. Being good stewards of the earth can be a lifestyle for anyone.


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

Luckily he must live where he can garden all year long. I only wish I could do that but I have to rely on farmers to do my fresh in the winter. I grow a garden and do all you say I catch rain water when I can also. Just not possible to catch enough in Wyoming. I also do some canning.

Feeding a vegan dog or cat food is just wrong. Those people are nuts. I will have to check out some of the things on the side.

Now I know I look at things different than most of you because I grew up on a ranch. I hate anything to have to suffer and I hope things keep getting better, I am how ever not willing to agree that all animals are treated badly in this country. I know we need to get better but look at China. I suppose some of the vegans try to do something good but I agree with Savage Destiny not all do good. Sometimes they make things worse.

Happens with everything, starts out good then goes bad. I wish nothing had to suffer but I can tell you story after story of animals suffering horribly from nature. Some I have found some others.

My sister was riding on there cows years ago while they were calving she found a cow that was trying to calve and a coyote had eaten her uterus off and of course the head of the calf. The poor cow had to be killed.

I have found a lamb with it's guts out ( luckily it was dead by the time I found it ) with an eagle on it. Our sheep herder found a ewe with her bag eaten off but the poor thing was still alive by a bear.

I'm only saying nature is cruel also and I don't like it any better. I'm not saying that we shouldn't stop working on it just keep that in mind.

Bottom line to me is there are just to many people in the world. The reason animals have to be in big feed lots is to feed so many people and farmers are having to produce more crops on less land to feed more people. Look at all the city's growing and taking up land, subdivisions.

Believe me I don't like it any better than most of you, but what is the answer? Can we stop people from coming into this country, can we stop people from having kids? Well I helped that out by not having any myself but how can I expect others too?

Sheltielover lamb is not the same as veal. They are not put in small pens and fed milk. Lamb is under a year old. Most of them are close to a year old when they are butchered. They are taken off there mothers when they are around 4 or 5 months old and usually put on pasture before they are put in a feed lot. I do think some are put right in a feed lot but seems like most around here are not.

When a sheep is older it is called mutton, I think it has a much stronger flavor than lamb. However some people prefer it to lamb but most do not. I don't eat either myself.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

Posted by Herzo:
_Luckily he must live where he can garden all year long. I only wish I could do that but I have to rely on farmers to do my fresh in the winter. I grow a garden and do all you say I catch rain water when I can also. Just not possible to catch enough in Wyoming. I also do some canning.
_

He lives in Portland, Oregon. While not the depths of cold like Wyoming, it's also not like California. Winter months are very rainy and can hover in the 40s a lot; but it's amazing what can still be grown then. 

He has a number of friends who eat meat; but most of them try to buy from regional farmers about which they know their practices and how they raise and slaughter their animals. 

I think any lifestyle choice - vegan or carnivore; various religions; political groups; etc. - can have their zealots and radicals. But you will also find many who have found something that works for them and and simply try to live that way responsibly. And I do know a number of vegetarians who simply eat that way because they say their bodies feel better with that diet.

I found the following article and chart about meat consumption world-wide interesting:

Daily chart: Kings of the carnivores | The Economist


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

I'm jealous he can grow greens, cabbage, onions. I have to brag and say I just started to use my last red cabbage. I keep them in an old refrigerator I have in the basement and they keep a long time.

I also still have onions that are good and there not long keepers. I need to find some that are more of a storage one.

I guess it is better for some people wish I could give it a try, I just don't think I could do it. Even though I love my veggies, body's are different just like our dogs, what works for one may not work for another. But really I can't imagine a vegan diet working for most dogs and never a cat. I find it cruel.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

Herzo said:


> I'm jealous he can grow greens, cabbage, onions. I have to brag and say I just started to use my last red cabbage. I keep them in an old refrigerator I have in the basement and they keep a long time.
> 
> I also still have onions that are good and there not long keepers. I need to find some that are more of a storage one.
> 
> I guess it is better for some people wish I could give it a try, I just don't think I could do it. Even though I love my veggies, body's are different just like our dogs, what works for one may not work for another.* But really I can't imagine a vegan diet working for most dogs* and never a cat. I find it cruel.


Exactly . . . and that's why my vegan son continues to feed his dog Orijen Adult. 

It's extremely challenging to develop a nutritional vegan eating plan for humans and I think many people wouldn't do it well. While I have no interest in it, I'm glad my son has found a way to make it work for him. I'm still pretty happy including seafood and dairy in my diet.

I'm impressed with your success in storing your garden produce. I don't have many skills in that area but fortunately my son shares with me.


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## woganvonderweidenstrasse (Nov 22, 2012)

Is there a difference between vegan and vegetarian? I'm not saying all vegetarians, but the one's I've met are always very skinny and pale and have no muscle mass. They claim they feel much healthier, but they sure don't look it. So vegetarians cut out meat and animal products...great, but don't they eat a lot of starches (rice, potatoes, pasta's, breads) to compensate?...I don't think one can feel full on only vegetables and fruit...I know I won't. IMO too much starches are just as unhealthy as too much meat.


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

There is a difference but I can't tell you what it is. I think it may be that a vegan doesn't eat any dairy either. Some one else will know. Yes as PDX say's it is very hard to do right I think because of the proteins. I would think you would have to eat allot of beans like pinto and others.

Yes most of them don't look to healthy to me either. I have an aunt that's a vegetarian she's pale but doesn't look to bad. I know I wouldn't feel full either I hate it but I like meat to much. Sorry cow's.


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

I think Vegan is more of a lifestyle, where vegetarian is just a diet style.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

I think a vegetarian doesn't eat animal flesh, be it poultry, red meat or fish. A vegan I don't think consumes any animal product like eggs, dairy etc and will not use animal based products in daily life either.


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## Kassandra (Jun 6, 2012)

Caty M said:


> I think a vegetarian doesn't eat animal flesh, be it poultry, red meat or fish. A vegan I don't think consumes any animal product like eggs, dairy etc and will not use animal based products in daily life either.


This is right. Although I've met a lot of "vegetarians" that still eat fish  apparently fish aren't animals guys. I hate the idea of a vegetarian.

Vegans I can understand their way but don't really think I would ever do it. A lot of them are extremists and I really don't like that. However, I've considered it for a long, long time, but I don't think I would be healthy as I don't really know how to make the diet work. And of course I would still feed my dogs meat.. I would just work a little harder to buy grass fed humanely raised animals. I still can't get over the ridiculousness of a vegan diet for dogs LOL.

Oh and this made me think about on good friday, when you aren't supposed to eat meat, why can you eat fish? I've always wondered that and refused (Although I'm not religious I grew up in a family that was extremely so). This is so off topic lol but I heard the real reason is because the occidental church (aka in the UK wayyyy back in the day) made a deal with the merchants? I don't know what I am talking about. I just think it's stupid. I consider fish meat/an animal.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

I'll clear up some of the confusion in a very condensed way; but there are lots of websites and books that could give a more complete explanation.

I am *pescatarian*: meaning that I eat seafood but no other meat.
My daughter is *vegetarian*: meaning that she eats no meat or seafood
My son is *vegan*: meaning that he eats no meat, no seafood and no dairy products. An absolutely strict vegan would not consume honey either but he does.

People eating any of these three ways can be doing so for a variety of reasons on a continuum representing from pure health benefits at one end to ethical/philosophical perspectives at the other end. That said, you tend to find more vegans with a strong ethical bent to their lifestyle. For example, my son tries not to buy shoes, belts, wallets, etc made out of leather. Whereas I am pescatarian (eat seafood and dairy) primarily because I find it to be very healthy for me. I have no problem with people eating meat . . . just wish there were more economical choices for them buying healthy and humanely raised options.

If it weren't invading his privacy, I'd post a photo of my 31 yr. old son. I'm guessing that many of you would not guess that he eats vegan. He is a robust 6 ft. guy who works out, has great upper body strength and plenty of energy. He is an avid outdoorsman who camps, hikes and skis. As I said in an earlier post, he grows most of his own produce and is quite a good cook. He experiments with a lot of Indian and Ethiopian recipes since these cultures have a long history of incorporating protein and nutrients without a heavy reliance on meat.

You can be a healthy vegetarian/vegan or an unhealthy vegetarian/vegan just like you can be a healthy or unhealthy meat eater. 

Eating vegetarian/vegan isn't simply deleting meat from your diet. It is finding appropriate substitutes. In our kitchens you'll find large quantities of lentils, quinoa, chickpeas, barley, bulgar, spelt pasta, black beans, nuts, kale, spinach, fruits, etc. You will find very little, if any, white rice, white bread, plain pasta, processed foods, etc.

And just to recap again: my son feeds his dog Orijen or Wellness Core.

My husband is the one remaining meat eater in our family. He just eats less of it within a meal and not every day of the week.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

PDXdogmom said:


> I'll clear up some of the confusion in a very condensed way; but there are lots of websites and books that could give a more complete explanation.
> 
> I am *pescatarian*: meaning that I eat seafood but no other meat.
> My daughter is *vegetarian*: meaning that she eats no meat or seafood
> ...


PDX, I don't think anyone here thought your son was a skinny, little, pale person. I think your son is just one of the few who knows how to eat that way AND make sure his body is getting everything he needs. My high school sister decided to go vegetarian about a year and a half ago but she is in her early teens and she is one that I would worry about not knowing how to properly feed her body. Unfortunately, I know too many skinny, vegan/veggie/pesc people. 

It sounds like your son has it all figured out. I love meat too much to give it up but if a vegan/vegetarian/pescatarian can adopt that diet AND provide their bodies with proper nutrition then I think that's amazing. I also have no issue when people can remember that their carnivorous pets are CARNIVORES like your son does. My issues lie with those who force their diets on others whether they be people or animals.


This topic always brings me back to the forced-vegan dog, Che, on the cartoon The Goode Family. Che has had veganism forced on him and he sees meat everywhere he goes and the neighborhood has an ongoing issue with small pets and wildlife disappearing because Che eats them.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Most of the vegans I know rely too heavily on eating soy products. Soy is a highly GMO plant nowadays and nearly impossible to avoid if a good deal of your protein comes from soy products. But GMO is a whole 'nother can of worms LOL!

I personally have gone vegetarian for about two weeks now and I do have to say I don't miss meat as much as I thought I would. After another week or so I will add free range, locally raised meats in about two nights a week. If only Americans ate more like the Eastern cultures we wouldn't have huge factory farms here to supply demand at a cheap price. Which is why a LOT of vegans go vegan- as a protest to the cruelty that is factory farming. 

As to the vegan dogs.....its about as strange as feeding raw meat to a widdle bunny wabbit!










* Jon has a t-shirt with this image on it LOL*


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

I hate the meat industry. That being said I don't believe not eating meat will ever stop production. Where there's demand there has to be supply and its very unlikely everyone in the US will boycott meat.

So if the only reason your vegan/veg/pes is because of the meat industry, I usually can't wrap my head around it. But if your doing it for many reasons more power to ya!

I could probably give up meat without missing it much but I'd rather just get farm fresh humanely raised and killed meat (this is a goal of course currently I can't afford to eat this way)...I can't wait until the farmers market gets back in gear, veggies galore for cheap and some good meat options.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

lauren43 said:


> I hate the meat industry. That being said I don't believe not eating meat will ever stop production. Where there's demand there has to be supply and its very unlikely everyone in the US will boycott meat.
> 
> So if the only reason your vegan/veg/pes is because of the meat industry, I usually can't wrap my head around it. But if your doing it for many reasons more power to ya!
> 
> I could probably give up meat without missing it much but I'd rather just get farm fresh humanely raised and killed meat (this is a goal of course currently I can't afford to eat this way)...I can't wait until the farmers market gets back in gear, veggies galore for cheap and some good meat options.


That's my ultimate goal as well. I have no plans of becoming a vegetarian but do want to slowly but surely continue to get away from needing to rely on factory farming for the human and canine family members. Once Nick is out of the Navy we'll be able to settle in one place and we would love to be able to raise some of our own meat. I feel lucky to know a handful of local farmers who supply me with meat and organs when they butcher. Not enough to feed everyone yet but I am determined to eventually not need to buy my meat from the large grocery stores. I'd also like to have a garden one day as well. We're not allowed to do that in our yards in this neighborhood, unfortunately.


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

If we ever get the amount of land we want, we have already decided we are going to raise ALL of our food. No more store bought. We will have a garden, and will raise beef, pork, lamb and chicken for both us and the dogs. I'm by no means vegan either, and no plans to be one. But, like Jesse said I would like to get away from the factory farmed meats as well. I would prefer to eat animals that I know have been raised with kindness and had good life. Happy animals make tastier animals! :smile:


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

You know, I see a lot of "he/she died in his/her sleep at (age)". It makes me wonder how many should have been euthanized sooner. One even says that the dog was crippled with arthritis. I don't know what that means to that person but "crippled with arthritis" is how I would describe a dog who should have been released from its suffering already. Another mentions how the vet was shocked their 6 year old dog was muscular. My 9 year old is still muscular nd I wouldn't expect him to be any other way.

EDIT: I just remembered that I know a "pescatarian Greyhound". There is a woman we know from just walking around town who owns an ex-racer and she feeds it a vegetarian diet but she has to add in the Honest Kitchen fish formula because the dog won't eat her food without it. I ran into her and her sister last week when they were buying the Honest Kitchen food and we got to talking about nutrition and that was when I found out. We were talking and I told her how I believe dogs are carnivores and told her what we feed and she said, "Well, my sister is a mammalogist. We can ask her". She asked her sister whether dogs were carnivores or omnivores and told her what we feed. THe sister looked at both of us and said, "They're pretty much carnivores". It was pretty funny. At least the dog is being fed. I wish it was better food but at least she wasn't killed after her racing career was finished.


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## Savage Destiny (Mar 16, 2011)

naturalfeddogs said:


> If we ever get the amount of land we want, we have already decided we are going to raise ALL of our food. No more store bought. We will have a garden, and will raise beef, pork, lamb and chicken for both us and the dogs. I'm by no means vegan either, and no plans to be one. But, like Jesse said I would like to get away from the factory farmed meats as well. I would prefer to eat animals that I know have been raised with kindness and had good life. Happy animals make tastier animals! :smile:


This is what I would like to do. I would raise goats, cattle, pigs, rabbits, chickens, and other fowl like quail, pheasant, and guinea fowl. I just want a huge farm that I can raise/grow all my own food on. Ideally I wouldn't have a job, but just work on the famr all day. It's an absolute dream of mine.


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

Savage Destiny said:


> This is what I would like to do. I would raise goats, cattle, pigs, rabbits, chickens, and other fowl like quail, pheasant, and guinea fowl. I just want a huge farm that I can raise/grow all my own food on. Ideally I wouldn't have a job, but just work on the famr all day. It's an absolute dream of mine.



Mine too...I enter publishers clearing house daily so maybe. Someday. I can always dream! LOL!


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## rawdan08 (Oct 15, 2014)

Look at their teeth, are they made to grind plant matter?


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## LProf (Nov 12, 2013)

xchairity_casex said:


> No offense to Vegans, but it seems like alot of them belive that "if we dont kill it-it never dies and therfore its never sad"
> Animals DIE
> people DIE
> WE ALL ARE GOING TO DIE.
> im sorry to sound so morbid, but its truth, weather people like it or not, death is not cruel, its not bad, its not wrong, death IS nature.


That is not what Vegans believe. Yes, we are all going to die, but it is sad when a 5 year old child does of a brain tumor, as compared to an 80 year old.

And, IMO, it is sad when a young animal, threatening no one, is killed for "sport".


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## DwayneTaylor (Jan 8, 2015)

Dogs can be healthy and in fact, thrive on a vegetarian or vegan diet, as long as all necessary nutrient requirements are met. Dogs are biologically omnivorous, but can adapt well to a plant-based diet which meets all their nutritional needs. It's important that the food be digested easily as well as have good palatability. The transition to a plant-based diet should be a gradual change to minimize the occurrence of gastrointestinal disturbances.


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