Things You'll Need:
- Vegetarian Diet Books
- Vegetarian Dog Food
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Step 1
Buy a natural health book for dogs or, better yet, one that specializes in vegetarian diets. Follow the diet given.
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Step 2
Make sure your dog is getting enough of all the amino acids he needs and vitamin B-12. For this reason it's important to follow a prescribed diet.
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Step 3
Speak to your vet about testing your dog's urine periodically. You can do it at home very simply, and there are products on the market for this purpose. A vegetarian diet can make a dog's urine more alkaline; this may predispose them to urinary tract infections.
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Step 4
Give your dog cranberry capsules if the urine is too alkaline. This will make it more acidic and help prevent urinary tract infections.
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Step 5
Buy a prepared, high-quality vegetarian dog food. This is a good alternative if you're unsure what to feed your dog or don't have time to properly prepare a homemade meal.
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Step 6
Supplement with veggie dog treats and biscuits. These are available at most health food or pet stores.
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Step 7
Find a veterinarian who supports your decision and who is knowledgeable about vegetarian diets.
Comments
sciencefordogs said
on 10/25/2009 Forgot to mention, it has been openly recognized by the Vegetarian Society that vitamin B12 presents a problem. Nope it can not be extracted from vegetables, sorry.
Source: Vegetarian Society
http://www.vegsoc.org/info/b12.html
sciencefordogs said
on 10/25/2009 How is your dog getting their needed B12? How are you vegetarian humans getting it as well?
All in all, dogs are carnivores. No matter how great vegetarians their owners are,their dogs will still be carnivores. If you do not want to feed meat to a dog, get yourself a sheep.
You may think it is cruel for you to eat animals but it is not as cruel as depriving your dog of meat. You'll find out when you see your dog coming back with your neighbor's pet in their mouth.
If you like eating unhealthy do not do the same with your loving dog. Respect nature's way.
Truly yours,
Science for Dogs
sciencefordogs said
on 10/25/2009 while the sheep's is only partial.
-Dog's digestion has no bacteria involved, sheep's does(obviously to break down the cellulose from the plants).
-Dog's digestion has no protozoa involved, sheep's does.
-Feeding frequency of dog is intermittent, sheep's is CONTINUOUS.
-Dog's survival without animal protein is impossible, while sheep can survive with only vegetables.(yes dogs can also have vegetables, but not ONLY vegetables)
-Dog's ratio body length to of their entire digestive tract is 1:7 and 1:6 for the small intestine. Sheep's is 1:27 and 1:25 respectively (herbivores DO NEED a long tract, carnivores DO NOT).
sciencefordogs said
on 10/25/2009 -Dog's have inter digestive rest(like humans), sheep don't.
-Dogs(like humans)have no bacteria nor protozoa present in the stomach(guess why,because they do not need any to digest vegetables since they CAN NOT digest them. Check your dog's poop after feeding them raw carrot and you will find out, just like humans).Sheep do NEED bacteria AND protozoa in order to process their vegetables.
-Dogs have no cellulose digestion, in sheep this is vital.
-Dog's colon is very short, sheep's is long and capacious.
-Dog's have a tiny caecum, sheep's is long and capacious.
-Dog's appendix is absent, while sheep have cecum.
-Dog's bacteria flora is putrefactive, sheep's bacteria flora is fermentative.
-Dog's gross food in feces is rare, sheep's feces contain a large amount of food.
-Dog's gallbladder is well developed while the sheep's absent.
-Dog's digestion activity relies solely on the pancrea...
sciencefordogs said
on 10/25/2009
I could give you 1000 reasons why you should feed your dog what they were meant to eat: meat. I am just going to list a few, and if you love your dog and want him to live long, please stop the non sense with this vegetarian fashion:
-First dogs have incisors in both jaws(meaning they ARE CARNIVORES), also molars are ridged and canines are large(meaning they ARE CARNIVORES).Sheep have flat teeth, canines are ABSENT(meaning they are HERVIVORES)
-Dog's jaw (just like humans)move vertically for tearing-crushing meat. Sheep's jaws move in a rotatory way to grind their food.
-Dog's mastication is unimportant, while the sheep's rumination is vital.
-The stomach of the dog is very small(it can hold only 4 pints) if you compare it to the sheep's (holding 8 1/2 gallons).
-The emptying time of the dog's stomach is 3 hours, the sheep's stomach NEVER empties, it is in constant activity.
-Dog's ...