Now that I have a dog-if only for a little over a week, the issue of what I will feed it has come up. I strongly believe that the dog food one buys in stores is crap and is nasty and I do not want to feed it to my dog. Also, it seems completely absurd to buy Iams or some other dog food to try and nurture my dog when the production of such products involves animal testing and the torture of lots of other dogs.
Some people have told me that they have raised their dogs vegan and it works fine, other people have told me they would lose respect for me if I made Grits vegan. But I am a good cook and I think I can cook her up some awesome vegan food that will keep her healthy and happy. I particularly feel like people who think I shouldn’t raise her vegan don’t know me very well. Because I am a damned healthy vegan. It is not like I live off of Oreos and Fritos and expect my dog to also. I eat well, and so will grits. Once I’m back in Massachusetts I will get some recipes for dog food and treats and post about how they go over.
January 2, 2008 at 2:58 am
Now isn’t making a carnivorous animal eat veggies like making cows and other herbivores eat meat? not that i care either way cuz its your dog/life, just wondering what your rationale is.
January 3, 2008 at 3:49 am
My understanding is that dogs are omnivorous, they eat not exclusively meat. Also, if you look at most of the dog food products available they are gross ass meat anyways. They are all from factory farmed animals, which means the risks inherent in such products are being passed on to my dog- ie mad cow, dif. bacteria, anti biotics, hormones etc. There is a lot of gross and VERY UNNATURAL stuff in dog food, which is why I do not buy the argument some people have that it is bad to feed a dog vegan becuase they are meant to eat meat. Even if they are meant to eat meat, they certainly are not meant to eat the uber processed crap and chemical meat people feed their pets. I can’t take the argument too seriously about modern pet food. Once I’m home, if my dog were to get meat it would not be pet food meat because that stuff is sooo nasty. I would rather feed her some super natural meat- organic free range whatever, but that is likely out of my price range. I obviously cannot stop Grits from eating what she wants to, but in terms of the food that I will provide for her (meaning the types of food production that my money will be supporting) I think it is immoral to support the meat industry. I’m pretty sure a dog that ate only meat would be very unhealthy, but one that eats only veggies can be healthy, from what i’ve heard from other people who fed their pets vegan anyway.
July 18, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Both of my dogs, which are large malamute mixes, are vegan and they absolutely adore their food. They are energetic and happy.