# Vegan/vegetarian dog food and V-dog kibble



## M&H (Feb 24, 2014)

Hello fellow dog lovers,

I know vegetarian and vegan dog food is generally disparaged on these forums, but if any of you have personal experience with feeding V-dog kibble or other vegetarian/vegan dog food I would love to hear from you. Do you feed it as the main food source or do you add other foods? What do you add?

I am currently feeding my dog Wellness Core Ocean Formula and I have a large unopened bag of Orijen Six Fish for him next. I would like to slowly transition him to an all or mainly plant-based diet, but I believe he needs more than 9% fat and 24% protein that V-dog offers. Ideally I would like to feed him at least 15% fat and 30% protein.

Those of you with vegan/vegetarian dogs - your personal experiences are much appreciated!


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## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

curious why you would want to feed vegan/ vegetarian to your dog. (no judgement at all, just curious)


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## M&H (Feb 24, 2014)

Hi bett,

I'm having an increasingly difficult time justifying killing animals and keeping animals in horrible conditions just to feed my dog, when I know there are alternatives out there I have not tried. I would like to see if my dog can do equally well on a plant-based diet. I know feeding dogs such a diet is controversial, but for me personally I think it's worth a try.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

I'm neither particularly for or against a raw food diet for dogs; but that might be something for you to consider. Dogs naturally seek meat first for food and then opportunistically will adapt to eating some plants and grains if they have to.

Some people have access to raw meat from hunters or ethically-raised animals that can be used. There are also pre-prepared options such as Steve's Eco Friendly Raw Pet Food: Raw Pet Food |

A kibble new to the U.S. just this month, but well-known in Italy, is Farmina. You can check out their statements on their website which explains their careful sourcing of meat proteins. Farmina's Wild Cod & Ancestral Grain formula might be a good fit for you. The fish is wild caught in Scandanavian waters and that is the only non-plant protein in the formula. Single Animal Protein Wild Cod & Ancestral Grain Recipe | Farmina Pet Foods - Happy pet. Happy You.

If you did feed a totally vegetarian kibble (which I don't recommend) I would recommend adding an organic free-range egg (scrambled) to the dogs food frequently. It has the most complete amino acid profile of all protein sources.


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## M&H (Feb 24, 2014)

Thank you for your input, PDXdogmom.


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## NutroGeoff (May 15, 2013)

I have only seen one or two vegan or vegetarian foods on the market for dogs. I have never used them for my dogs and don't think I have ever even seen anyone purchase either formula. In fact, I think one isn't even being sold anymore because it didn't sell.


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## M&H (Feb 24, 2014)

Hi NutroGeoff,

I have found that most of the vegan or vegetarian dog food out there is only available online. I guess the market for it is rather limited.


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

I respect your ethics and reasons to want to move to a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. 

I honestly think feeding dogs completely vegan is biologically wrong. What would your dog eat if he were "wild?" What would his nature be? 
It's unfortunate that another dies to feed your dog, but there is the circle of life, you know?

Petguard makes a vegetarian food that has eggs as the protein source, worth a look. That's as low as I could go. I know a lady who had a yorkie with very bad food allergies, and this is the food he responded to and is well. 

I don't think it's near the fat/protein content you want. 

Good luck.


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## M&H (Feb 24, 2014)

Hi Shamrockmommy,

Thanks for your reply. I realize most people feel the way you do about vegetarian, and especially vegan, dogs. 

Dogs seem to enjoy eating all kinds of non-meats given the chance. Based on individual preference they may seek out animal droppings, acorns and grass, to mention a few. 

I realize would be hard to meet my standards for protein and fat content on vegan kibble alone, so I thought it would be useful to read what others do or add to kibble. So far I have found some useful ideas searching the web.


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

I hope you find something that works. 

I lean more toward dogs being omnivores, given their history living alongside humans for 10s of thousands of years. I agree with you, they definitely enjoy poop and berries, veggies of all kinds, grains (I have one that will eat the seed tops of grasses right off the stem), grass, dirt...


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## M&H (Feb 24, 2014)

Thank you, I hope I do too. I agree with you that dogs are omnivores just like us. I'll continue doing research online to see if I can manage to find a relatively low-maintenance (i.e. kibble with additions) way to feed my dog a plant-based diet that is not macro and micronutrient deficient.


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## LProf (Nov 12, 2013)

Interesting thread. I am a vegetarian, and it has always bothered me that I was contributing to the suffering of farm animals and in the slaughterhouses by feeding my dogs meat based diets, but rationalized it by deciding that I would not be treating my dogs properly by denying them meat. That my choices were feed them meat, or not have dogs, and not having dogs in my life was not acceptable, so I feed them meat based diets.

I would be very interested in what you find in your research, M&H, that will give your dogs adequate nutrition.

My plan now is to try using the Farmina Cod and Orange Ancestral Grain Formula, once it becomes available to me locally, and see how my boys do on it.


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## M&H (Feb 24, 2014)

Hi LProf!

My thoughts about feeding my dog have been similar to yours.

To my surprise I have found numerous tips and recipes on blogs and on Youtube. Most of it posted by laypeople, of course. I found this site interesting and with some useful links at the bottom of the page: Good Nutrition for Healthy Vegan Dogs 

V-dog supposedly meets AAFCO standards so for me the challenge remains to add bioavailable protein without going overboard with carbs. Shamrockmommy's suggestion to add eggs is a good one. He currently gets pastured eggs from Vital Farms as a snack and in his Kong. 

I think Farmina Cod looks like a nutritious food. I received a sample of the boar and it was very well accepted by my dog.


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## TheHiddenAngel (Apr 5, 2014)

It's your choice, there are vegetarian dog food formulas and there are vegan ones, both canned and dry (V-Dog, Natural Balance, Halo, to name a few). Some dogs do great but I personally wouldn't choose a vegan diet for my dog. I just don't think it's optimal. 
Just one vegan's opinion


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

My son is a vegan and initially struggled with what to feed his dog. He finally decided that it was healthiest for his dog to have a meat inclusive diet and is selective about his sources. And I guess my preference to feed seafood kibble to my dogs is partly based on my eating a pescatarian diet myself. I, too, am hoping that my dogs will do well on the Farmina Wild Cod & Ancestral Grain.


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## leaveittoweaver (Nov 15, 2013)

Although I do completely disagree with feeding a vegetarian/vegan diet unless it is the only thing that works for the dog...there are two companies that I am aware of that make them. One being Natural Balance and the other being Wysong. The Wysong diet reads worse but the guaranteed analysis is closer to what you want.

Vegetarian Dry Dog Formula - Natural Balance Pet Foods

Holistic Cat / Dog Food â€“ Wysong Veganâ„¢


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

leaveittoweaver said:


> Although I do completely disagree with feeding a vegetarian/vegan diet unless it is the only thing that works for the dog...there are two companies that I am aware of that make them. One being Natural Balance and the other being Wysong. The Wysong diet reads worse but the guaranteed analysis is closer to what you want.
> 
> Vegetarian Dry Dog Formula - Natural Balance Pet Foods
> 
> Holistic Cat / Dog Food â€“ Wysong Veganâ„¢


You sure aren't kidding about the less than desirable ingredient list in the Wysong. I wouldn't touch it. If one is wed to the vegan kibble route, I'd use the Natural Balance product simply to cover your bases on vitamins/minerals; then add the well-sourced egg or locally procured meat raised and killed humanely to supplement protein and fat. That of course only works if philosophically a person believes it is acceptable for an animal to die to feed a human or other animal.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

don't forget they would seek out an animal to kill and eat.



M&H said:


> Hi Shamrockmommy,
> 
> Thanks for your reply. I realize most people feel the way you do about vegetarian, and especially vegan, dogs.
> 
> ...


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