I am still unsure of what to do regarding my dogs diet. I have been researching the issue but am just downright confused! I know of 2 companies that make vegetarian dog food, both in the UK and the US. I cannot get anything in Norway as far as I can see. I have emailed the two companies but have got no response. I know I can get it shipped here but as you can imagine with 2 Labradors and the amount they eat that is not a cheap option and I am not well off by any stretch of the imagination!
I have read that dogs do not cope very well on a meat free diet but it's really hard for me now to feed them regular dog food. There are pictures of dead animals on most of the packaging, I now know what is probably in the dog food, no matter what brand I can get here - don't forget my limitations (Friskees and Pedegree Chum being the only options) and frankly the smell of the food is just disgusting. I think about how many animals suffered every time I have to fill up their food bowls.
My solution so far and it's not really a solution is to only give then half of what I usually do and top the rest up with homemade vegetarian food. I usually make more pasta or casserole etc and give them that. They have always enjoyed raw carrots as treats and seem to enjoy this new combination.
My dogs are 10 years old and sisters. They emigrated out here with us and have been through many changes in their lives. I want what is best for them but at the same time, want an option that makes me feel that I am not adding to animal suffering.
Comments welcome!
Saturday, 20 October 2007
Dogs
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1 comments:
We had the same decision to make and decided in the end to use a combination of vegetarian dog food and canned fish. While the fish is clearly not vegetarian or environmentally friendly, we decided it was the best we could do for our four legged family members. Our shepherd did very well on this diet (she lived to 15 yrs.) and our little whippet/terrier mix is doing just as well. Allowing for fish in their daily diet, has given us the freedom to feed them oodles of vegetarian people food for dinner, yet not worry about their nutritional needs.
I don't know if this is something you can do. For us it was less painful than continuing to feed them land animals. I know most vegans would balk at the idea that we saw fish as lower on the animal scale. I'm sorry about that, but unlike humans, dogs are carnivorous and have certain needs that can not be as easily accommodated as those of humans.
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