I have seen in the news lately that more studies have come out that dogs can obtain all of their required nutrients from a vegan/plant based diet. I am relatively new to this entire debate and research topic, but from my recent investigations it seems that this is an area of animal care that is still undergoing a lot of research. At the moment though, it does appear that dogs can and do thrive whilst eating a vegan diet.
However I am not sure how I feel about this information…
Now I will preface this with the fact that I have never had a dog. I love dogs and for the majority of my childhood I begged to have a dog, but I was brought up with cats. I understand from this topic that feeding cats a plant based/vegan diet is still very much under-researched, but the general consensus (at least so far as I have found) suggests that cats should not be given an exclusively plant based diet. Cats do need meat in order to meet their nutritional needs. And so, if and when I do own cats again (now that I have moved out of my family home and own my own property) I will feed them meat products, because I want to be a responsible carer for my cats.
But if I ever do own a dog (and trust me, I would absolutely love to one day!) I am a bit torn as to whether or not I would feed my dog a plant based diet. My main issue with it is that I would want to ensure that my dog is getting all of their nutrients from their food, and I do not trust my cooking skills to be able to provide that. I would also want to follow the advice of my veterinary professional, as at the end of the day, I do pay them for their expertise in animal care.
Taylor Talks Vegan 