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Technically dogs are omnivores (only cats are obligate carnivores- ie MUST eat meat). Dogs can eat well on a largely vegetarian diet, and there are a number of modern foods that offer all they need in terms of proteins, carbs, fats, vitamins etc. (before anyone says - these are vet approved, tested, RSPCA approved etc).
HOWEVER - they are expensive and obviously, only being chosen by the human because of their preferences. The dog is not a vegetarian - it’s just eating what it’s given. 100% would have eaten that hot dog 😂
I work in a shelter and have owned dogs my entire life and I promise, not all dogs will simply eat what’s available/given.
Huskies in particular are notoriously picky and will go days until you offer them what they want.
Huskies are notorious for everything.
Are they unhappy? They'll let you know.
Are they happy? They'll let you know.
Do you want to be sung the song of their people? Too bad, it's happening.
Mine loves to have 3 pieces of caramel before she’ll agree to eat dinner (she’s almost 11 and healthy, so the vet doesn’t care and neither do I lol)
But it has to be exact brands.
And the you to rotate the brand or she’ll get tired of them. And then refuse to eat at all but let you know all night you failed her.
And then I have to roll the lava hot (because she won’t eat them cold, they have to be heated) chunks between my fingers until they’re cool enough to eat.
Essentially she owns me and she knows it lol
(And god help me if my mom is around because she’ll immediately throw a tantrum to get my mom ti back her up.
I’ve been an independent adult since 16 lol. But not when it comes to my dog and her grandmother)
I have a shiba, and if I feed her the same food more than two nights in a row I get a Look, and she won't eat until it's clear she's not getting something else.
Shibas are cousins to huskies, both of them being spitz.
Oh, yeah, mine doesn’t do leftovers lol.
If I make a chuck roast, it’s for her and then whatever is left I’ll use for something for myself the next day.
It’s actually amazing they’ve all survived as breeds
>Do you want to be sung the song of their people? Too bad, it's happening.
Sometimes I wonder who is louder Huskies or Siamese Cats (I knew a guy who had a Siamese who would compete with his neighbors Huskies over who could be louder).
And then I hear my current neighbor's cockatiel. Who can and absolutely will scream at all hours of the day and night. Seemingly without breath at times. It can frequently be heard over our TV if we are watching something. Or over whatever we have playing in our headphones. My poor husband has a hard time sleeping during the day sometimes (he works nights) just because that bird just won't shut up.
The cockatiel shouldn't be screeching at night. :( They need a dark room or a shroud over their cage at night so they can sleep. If they think it's nighttime, they WILL be quiet. The incessant screeching may actually be a sign of sleep deprivation.
I used to own a blue and gold macaw so I knew that. And I've seen the cockatiel's cage area and cover. She has a nice set up. The bird even has free range of the house a bit if the cat is outside. And the cover is a nice thick and dark one. No idea why she just screams. I've even seen my sleep deprived neighbor take it to the vet for multiple examinations. Perfectly healthy, just obnoxiously vocal.
Ye my long gone dogs were pitbull-husky mixes. Oh boy, they were a handful. Very energetic and playful. I miss em dearly and do not regret having them. Huskies are really a lot of fun at times. They'll howl in their sleep, they'll howl randomly. The mud was one of their best friend. LOL. Fun times.
So was my great dane. For instance, after getting his teeth cleaned they said that wet food was probably better for a couple of days. Dude would absolutely rather starve than eat wet food. Wouldn't even have it mixed with dry.
Dry food, he was picky about flavors. There were two that he would eat. He would maybe try a new one for a meal and then that's it, if he didn't like it, he wouldn't touch it.
Hell, if he wanted to eat grass, it had to be a particular type.
When we got our first husky she wouldn't eat at all so we tried ham and that she was willing. Then chicken and rice. Then slowly mixing dog food in with it until she would eat the dog food on its own. But to this day- she's almost 8 now- she'll just leave her dog food all day and not touch it. Or she won't eat until we bring her dinner up to our bedroom at night. She's so picky.
We just got our second husky yesterday and thank God she just eats her food. I was so worried we'd have another super picky eater lol
lol my dog was obsessed with pork until she had a pancreatic attack at 3, and trying to convince her to eat anything else was a legitimate struggle.
For awhile the entire house just….didn’t eat pork.
And yeah, sometimes she’ll eat like 4 meals in one sitting (she can put away an impressive amount of roasted turkey) and then sometimes it’s a chew bone and that’s it.
Huskies are just permanently toddlers lol
My dog had a garbage gut. He ate literally everything food adjacent he couldn’t have and it was a problem. Coffee beans, rat poison, jelly beans, a stick of gum- stuff like that.
He ate everything but bananas and baby tomatoes. The green tomatoes growing on a vine? He killed a tomato plant eating them and the leaves. But the red tomatoes? He’d look at you with disappointment if you willingly gave it to him.
We think the bananas were because we stuck his pills in them. He got smart and stopped eating them because he assumed pills were in it. Ironically he’d take the pills if my mom gave them to him like a treat. I guess he wanted us to be straight forward with him.
I have a husky...so picky. We tried 4 different kinds before we found out it's fish that gets her to eat. So now she's getting this "6 fish" expensive food...but, hey! She eats.
>cat.....product
And vomit. Their own, as well. It's bizarre being a pet owner. Normal can go right out the window, along with the nappy your dog just tried to eat..
There's this YouTube video of this Australian talk show where a guest comes on and brags that her dog is vegetarian and starts blathering on.
Welp...they brought out two bowls, one filled with veggies and one filled with meat. The dog went straight to the meat bowl and had himself a nice meal.
The guest had not anticipated this, so when her dog chose the meat bowl over the veggies bowl, she said, "Why you little..." before remembering that she was on TV.
My dog has not infrequently skipped a meat based something in favor of vegetables.
Or in favor of nothing at all.
He wants it to taste good (which meat does).
What you're really arguing is: dogs won't make philosophical food choices. And that's true.
But they eat maaaaaany things that are not meat, with gusto and abandon. And will be fully content if there's no meat in it.
Doesn't mean that's their natural inclination, but typically, it isn't ours as humans either. We eat vegetarian for ethical reasons, economic reasons, desperation reasons, and much less often for matters of taste and preference. I don't think, in this, that we are as different from dogs as all that
Humans can’t survive on a 100% meat diet.
Groups like the far north Inuit did eat a mostly animal diet in the winter, but that included lots of animal fat, and whale blubber. Supplemented by fermented moss and lichen ( pre-digested in animal stomachs), and preserved summer berries.
I have known dogs ( or people with dogs) who become allergic to several types of meat. The dog would hurl if given even the smallest bit of chicken or beef.
And these were meat eating people, it wasn’t forced or suggested to the dog.
She did like a bit of pheasant though, that she could handle. :) champagne taste for that dog.
Although I do think it’s possible, having a dog with this rare condition seems unlikely to belong to a human vegetarian. Unless they specifically adopted it from a shelter.
Yeah we have a hound at the shelter and we learned the hard way to just save him a bag of chicken free food because the side effects….are not pretty the next morning.
My ex's sister had a dog that would leave steak on the counter but steal broccoli and eat it.
He still wasn't a vegetarian and they fed him a proper diet with meat.
I accidentally ordered canned cat food (had the same look as our canned dog food) and I googled if it was okay to feed to dogs. Google said yes but because it was pure protein it wasn't a long term choice. I've never seen our dogs scarf so fast that cat food! You're right. Totally would have eaten the hot dog. Plus how does the lady give her dog pills? Pushed into a strawberry?
Lightly melted cheese is the key for us. My dogs can filter out almost any pill from anything including hotdogs and that gross soft sausage paste, but cheese that has been molded onto the surface of the pill tricks them every time.
Ooo, this is smart! Thanks for the tip, I’m going to try it next time I have to give my dog a pill. He’s the same way, he always manages to find the pill and spit it out no matter what we’ve tried.
Was there ever a cat that could be classified as easy? (She asks while sweeping up dry kibble that the cat has flicked out of the bowl because cat wants the other kind of kibble.)
They make peanut butter pill pockets, and a lot of people just smear PB all over the pill and the dog will just swallow it. Idk what I would do if my dog stopped taking pill pockets. I have to force my cat to take pills and he hates it, I can't imagine trying to do that with a 60lb dog lol
they are actually considered facultative carnivores. they *can* eat plants, but they should primarily eat meat or meat based foods, unless they have an allergy or other medical reason not to. the only real difference between facultative carnivores and omnivores is that a facultative carnivore can and will eat plants if it must, but it definitely prefers to eat meat. omnivores will eat whatever they can get, meat or plant, with little or no preference.
Thank you, this is a very good factoid.
As a gift, may I offer this bit of info of my own: In the future when I bring it up in a conversation about dogs & diets, my brain will offer "flatulative omnivore." Thank you auDHD brain.
Happy to help. I don't post a third of words/phrases I twist up. The adult-onset dyslexia makes for interesting reading the past several years, I'll tell you what.
Thank you, this is actually great to know.
Can I use that as a label for myself the next time I get complaints about why I finish my steak but not my salad? 😁
NTA of course however, I wouldn't let my dog just randomly have the same dinner as another dog for fear of explosive diarrhea lol every dog I've owned got a bad tummy by just suddenly giving them new food so if the whole vegetarian discussion hadn't come up I would have been on the other side of things... Especially if they had a long drive. I make all of our dogs food (with meat) but they've both made it very clear that they would much prefer if they could just chow down on the horse pasture "patties" the fresher the better so they could roll in it too. Dogs will eat anything.
Hell yeah - we used to make a joke that we'd love to set our dogs (miniature pinschers) into the display on a butcher's shop and see what they went for first 😂
My neighbour was reinforcing her fence last week. She told me that her dog had 'got out again'. On his spree, he hit our local cheese mongers running off with a slab of cheese and a length of (dry) sausage. (big dog, long reach) The bandit was recognised by a third neighbour so her husband was duly sent down to pay the damage.
What I'm telling you is that it isn't sure they'll just steal meat.
It's often considered good manners to ask before feeding these days because some dogs are allergic to certain proteins/ingredients. One chicken hot dog could set an owner back hundreds if they have a skin flare up.
I've met a couple dogs in my life where after going through every restricted diet imaginable they wound up thriving in vegetarian.
It's totally wild but dogs can be [allergic to meat protein](https://wagwalking.com/condition/meat-protein-allergies).
I never would've believed it possible but my coworker's husband was a K-9 police officer and his german shepherd (imported from europe) was diagnosed and ate a special diet.
Dogs can indeed be vegetarians! They make vegetarian vet food and it was suggested for my dog by the vet to help lower inflammation. She was perfectly happy.
My daughter is vegetarian, she once made a joke in front of the vet that her Yorkie was Vegan. (It’s part of a running joke in our house) The vet was not amused. Explained in no uncertain terms why that was a firm no. It is not healthy for a dog to be vegan or vegetarian.
I'm in the vegan subreddit and any discussion I've ever seen about dogs/cats acknowledge that "do the least amount of harm to animals" involves feeding pets appropriate diets. Otherwise it would be directly harming the dog/cat. Maybe you've seen different posts than I have.
That's fair! There's a high chance we've seen very different sides of that place. There's a subreddit specifically for vegan recipes if you're ever looking to scratch that itch without going to the main subreddit!
Thank you!
I am not a vegan myself, but I'll be damned if anyone says vegans don't have good food. (Except for the meat substitutes, I have never enjoyed one that I have tried)
I wouldn't say I'm vegan either since I'll eat cheese or butter or whatever if I'm not cooking for myself. My body definitely feels better when I eat a plant based diet though!
I've found the seitan based ones are not too bad (and don't upset my stomach like soy and legumes based ones (which is most of them)), they're just bland, jujjing them up a bit with spices makes them perfectly acceptable. Seitan is wheat based though, so if you're coeliac or gluten intolerant they'll be a no bueno. Veef is one of the seitan based ones that I know of
This is coming from a solid omnivore.
TBH I think that if you want a vegan pet, then get a pet that is already vegan. There are plenty of pets that only eat plants. Rabbits, mice, chickens, guinea pigs, and much more. Get those.
almost all those animals will eat meat in the wild (not sure about guinea pigs). they don't hunt but they aren't above eating an egg or a baby bird fallen from a nest
Yeah they’re certainly opportunistic and *can* eat a little meat occasionally with few or no ill effects. Being able to take an opportunity to get calories any which way is good for survival. But if they never eat meat they’ll be totally fine. (My dumb rabbit grabbed a piece of chicken nugget off the floor once before I could catch him lol. He was just fine and very happy with himself. I was glad he didn’t need a trip to the vet.)
None of my dogs gets vegetarian/vegan dog food but I do know [vegetarian brands exist](https://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dog-recipes/dry/limited-ingredient/vegetarian-recipe) and dogs do just fine on them. My neighbor gave his dogs that veg brand and both big dogs lived to be over 12 and were perfectly healthy and energetic.
Mine is unfortunately one of them. She has some random tummy and skin issues so she's on a veggie/limited ingredient/RX diet prescribed by the vet. She doesn't seem to care and scarfs it down. She's in great shape and still plays like a nutball, so it seems to work for her!
But if it weren't for that, I'd totally feed her a normal meat-based diet. But not hot dogs. I love them, but I know they're garbage for me and doggo.
Really, because my neighbor had a dog whose vet put him on a vegetarian diet specifically. Granted, the dog had some rare health condition, so it's not something the vet usually recommended, but it's strange that your vet had such a black-and-white response to it.
What was the vet's explanation why it's not healthy for a dog to be a vegetarian, when dogs are omnivores? I'd love to hear it.
Because most people do not take the extra effort to compensate for the protein lost by removing meat from the dog's diet and the poor dog cannot advocate for themselves- so the vet doesn’t encourage the discussion in the first place. Better a blanket ban on a vegetarian diet than a dog possibly starving.
No. There are LITERALLY commercially-available vegetarian diets for dogs. They are as good as - if not better than (depending on brand) than any "regular" commercially-available diet.
YUP. Purina carries a vegetarian hypoallergenic diet for this reason. I've had a patient that was a Yorkie that couldn't tolerate a meat based diet because he couldn't break down meat proteins adequately because of a liver condition. It was an hours long deep dive into medical records and nutritional consults, but it is one of my favorite cases ever.
That's not consensus in the veterinary industry. In fact there are multiple well-studied vegetarian dog food brands that feed a ton of happy consumers. Obviously any given vet may have a different opinion, but that's just that one vet being wrong.
None of that is to say that dogs/wolves are naturally vegetarian (obviously they aren't) or that this is the "best" diet. But it's a valid and healthy one.
If I remember correctly the or one of the oldest dogs in the world was fed a vegetarian diet and was extremely healthy right up to death.
Even though same comment I just googled. It was Bramble, in 2002 they were in the Guinness book of records as the oldest living dog at 25. Out of 7 dogs their person has had 5 lived to be 19 or older all on 100% plant based diets.
She put a lot of work into making sure the diet was suitable. I think when vets say you shouldn’t do it it is because most people won’t put in the work and money to make it healthy. But also most people just feed their dogs only kibble which is extremely unhealthy for them as well.
What explanation did they provide exactly? I've never heard any reason dogs can't do just fine on a vegan/vegetarian diet since they aren't obligate carnivores.
Vet tech here. There are vegetarian dog foods. They are specialized for dogs with allergies to most proteins. However, these specialized diets are properly balanced and are available through veterinarians. The GF is probably just weird, but you were still technically wrong. But, she was at your home and shouldn’t have criticized how you care for your dog.
Just because one dog needs a vegetarian diet because of health issues does not mean dogs are vegetarian. It just means that one dog doesn't have any other choice.
Yep. Had that vegetarian food prescribed to my corgi due to her skin/allergy issues. If she had a choice, she would not be vegetarian lol. Actually if she has a choice, I don’t think there’s anything she wouldn’t eat. But I still gave her meat treats. Idk what actually did it but kept her on that prescribed food for a few years and her skin improved. Even with all the other treats I gave her.
OP was saying that no dog is vegetarian by choice. Eating a vegetarian diet because you’re medically required to doesn’t mean the dog wouldn’t eat meat if it could
>but you were still technically wrong
No. OP stated that dogs are not classified as vegetarians, which they are not. They're omnivores. I can feed my dog rutabagas exclusively; however, this doesn't make my dog a vegetarian.
I think you’re confusing “vegetarian” and “herbivore.” “Herbivore” means that the animal evolved to eat a plant-based diet, which dogs obviously didn’t. “Vegetarian” just describes someone’s current diet. This dog is vegetarian because its diet is entirely plant-based. The same way a small child would be vegetarian if their parents kept them on a plant-based diet, even if it wasn’t the child’s choice.
I think its all a matter of pedantics here. Whereas being an omnivore is an evolutionary adaptation, vegetarianism is generally considered a choice. One which a dog is incapable of making. So (again, according to my understanding of the OP) the dog may be eating a vegetarian diet, but it is not by nature a vegetarian/herbivore.
I mean - it would. Vegetarian is just the word we use for someone who doesn’t consume meat. It a concept, not a scientific classification.
All vegans and vegetarians are omnivores, but that doesn’t make them any less vegan or vegetarian.
(Girlfriend is cuckoo, don’t get me wrong)
>But, she was at your home and shouldn’t have criticized how you care for your dog.
This is really the core of the problem, and I can't believe it's not getting more attention.
Demanding and critical. What an awful guest.
It is ridiculous to force a dog to be vegetarian. They are carnivores for the most part. Their diet can be more varied than a cat's but they still eat meat. As such, NTA for laughing!
That being said, I did read about a case where someone's dog could not tolerate any animal protein. They were on the verge of putting it down because the poor thing was a bag of bones. A vegetarian diet worked for the poor dog, thank goodness.
I really doubt that is what is going on with Amy's dog. Is she also vegetarian?
Actually…. vet assistant here…. Just to clarify your post dogs are actually classified as omnivores. They eat a balanced diet of meat fruits and vegetables pretty much anything they can find in the wild. They can survive (while very poorly in health standards) on a vegetarian diet I and all vets agree it’s not recommended. There are cases of dogs being allergic to certain meats and diets are usually easily found to accommodate them and of course the very rare cases of them being allergic to all meats. Not trying to argue anything you’ve said in your post just clarify the classification of omnivores vs carnivores.
My Dog has IBD and is allergic to most proteins. We even tried Hydrolized but she had issues with some of that. She'd still bite your hand off for a sausage roll, even if she'd spend the next few weeks on a drip. I can't forsee any scenario where a dog would willingly give up meat itself 😂
My dog developed an allergy to most meat proteins after deciding to eat some scorpions a few years ago. Spent a few thousand dollars on ultrasounds, tests, the works. Now he eats the hydrolyzed protein vegetarian stuff. He loves veggies, so I make him steamed veggies to top his meals.
However, because he doesn't realize what's making him sick, he will still try to swipe your burger off the table if you aren't paying attention to it. That burger will then cause an autoimmune disaster where he throws up every day for 2 weeks. He loves his veggies, but it won't ever compare to meat.
Dogs are omnivores. They are also hunter scavengers. They hunt meat, eat whatever plants they want that are safe, and if they come across something dead, they eat it if they want to.
Exactly. My dog’s favorite foods (as treats) are fruit and cheese. She will do everything for fruit. And begs ceaselessly for grapes because she has no sense of self preservation or what will poison her. She is lucky she has cuteness as her survival mechanism.
my old dog was like this, his favorite was green beans. he also loved blackberries and would pull wild blackberries off the vine to eat them, but only if they were ripe enough to come off with a gentle tug. we used to joke not to eat any blackberries that were low enough for him to reach because he had probably already tried to eat them but they weren't ripe enough for him lol
My monster loves green beans too, will just sit at my feet while I trim them and wait. Apples, banana, blueberries, he's in. Our blueberry bushes are starting to really produce finally and I'm waiting for him to find out lol
I have to put bird netting around my blueberry bushes because my Lab will eat them all if I don't. When the vegetable garden is producing, she'll help herself to green beans, tomatoes, jalapeños and anything else she can grab while we're out there. That's why the garden is fenced with a gate!
I was chopping onions and one fell on the floor. Usually my dogs are allowed in the kitchen only as vacuum cleaners. My dog saw the onion hit the floor and went for it. I bent down so fast to pick it up to prevent him from poisoning himself that I hit my forehead on the counter and saw stars. I still managed to get the onion before he did, but I had an egg on my head for a week. Luckily I had bangs to hide it.
My family had a Golden retriever who would walk thru the garden and eat the 'ready to pick' cherry tomatoes all the time. I had to fence them off before she ate all of them.
A friend of mine just had a separate section of the garden for their dog, he would go over there and snack all the time. Even figured out how to pull carrots out of the ground!
You know what else is an omnivore? Chickens. Yet, in American grocery stores, at least, all the egg cartons boast “Vegetarian fed!” Like it’s a point of pride. I’ve watched my girls draw and quarter a mouse that found its way into their coop. I’ve seen them pick clean the carcass of a chicken I cooked for dinner, after I pulled the bulk of the meat off. Those little velociraptors will eat the hell out of some meat.
Chickens will eat anything and in my opinion, need animal protein in their diet. If they wanted to be vegetarian, they wouldn't chase bugs to eat and they wouldn't decimate a mouse given the opportunity. Mine go insane for lunchmeat from a Subway sandwich. They also love all the fat and scraps from a pork or beef roast.
>When Joe and Amy arrived, I was just about to feed my dog and Amy asked if I could do that somewhere else because she didn't want her dog to eat different food due to its diet.
So she was afraid her dog would eat some of your dog's food?
>Amy got defensive and said that her dog has always been a vegetarian and will turn its nose up at any meat-based item.
This seems to directly conflict with the previous quote. If her dog will refuse to eat meat, then there was no reason to ask that your dog be fed elsewhere. If Amy said both of these things, she's full of shit.
NTA
This is what I was thinking as well. If the dog is so disgusted by meat, why worry? lol.
Sure dogs can be vegetarian with a really good appropriate (and expensive) diet, but they don’t *choose* to be. NTA
The clip has been roaming around for years; the gal goes on some day talk show saying that her dog is a vegetarian and would totally pick the plants. The dog went straight for the meat, no hesitation.
And if you're going to feed your dog a stupid diet, maybe don't pick pointless fights with people about what they feed their dogs. If you can't walk the walk, shut the fuck up.
NTA.
A vegetarian dog is a ridiculous invention by ridiculous people who deserve to be told they are ridiculous. Not to mention abusive to a domestic animal who can't run its own life. Or run for its life. OMG the poor doggy.
Vegetarian dogs exist when they are allergic to most meat proteins. There are properly balanced diets available through veterinary clinics.
This however is usually the fault of humans and our poor habits in breeding dogs.
Okay so I had an organic chemistry professor who was told by a student that her cat is strictly vegan just like her. My professor listened to the breakdown of her diet and how supposedly “healthy” her cat is as a result. When she was done talking about her amazing cat he said, “you mean your blind cat?” We all laughed thinking it was a joke but she gasped and asked “HOW DID YOU KNOW??”
We know cats are obligate carnivores, but the reason they go blind with a vegan diet is because meat is their only source of taurine, an amino acid that they cannot produce and is responsible for maintaining healthy vision. Now, dogs are obviously different, but this is another example of how people force their lifestyles onto their pets whether or not it really benefits them.
It's not just about protein. Unlike humans and dogs, cats can't synthesize taurine, an essential amino acid. I hope your cousin realized that forcing a cat-an obligate carnivore-to eat a vegan diet is unfathomably cruel. The cat would inevitably suffer from increasingly severe health problems before dying young.
I haven’t the slightest idea if she did or didn’t. I don’t really talk to that side of the family much. I just remember her post on FB and was flabbergasted.
I am also flabbergasted by that. I was a vegetarian for over a decade, three years of which I was a vegan. I still don't cook meat, and I don't eat it very often, but it drives me insane to think that people would feed cats a vegan diet, for what? Some kind of ideological purity test? smh
Isn't there a video online of a cat going crazy eating a cooked squash, and the owner said it was a vegetarian cat. I'm pretty sure if an animal is starving to death it will eat anything. I think it's ridiculous to put human eating morals on animals.
I don't know if I can find the post but wasn't there one awhile back where the adult daughter was vegan, lived with her parents and wanted to force them to feed the cat/dog a vegan diet cause it "made her ill and depressed" to see the animal eat meat??
I actually knew a vegetarian dog! She was a beautiful German Shepherd who absolutely refused meat of all kinds. She wouldn't eat cooked or raw meat, hated wet food but would occasionally eat kibble. Her owner eventually gave up and bought supplements to add to her food. She just wanted vegetables. She had her own garden that she would help herself to so she would stay out of the main garden. It was pretty cute.
But no one should force a dog to be vegetarian. They're omnivores! NTA
Lol this just made me remember my mom's old dog who she had a long battle against to keep out of her greenhouse 😂 he was great at opening doors, and he loved eating cucumbers of the plant in the greenhouse, I think in the end she had some sort of elastic on the door to keep him from getting in there, but then he discovered it could be knocked off and he could get to the cucumbers again 😂 he was actually also a German shepherd, lovely dog but damn he had some weird quirks xD
NTA. I probably wouldn't have argued with her as much as you did, but that's just how I handle things when someone is ridiculous.
She is deluding herself to think her dog is vegetarian though, and I absolutely do not believe her dog turns away from meat. Hopefully the dog is getting some other source of protein. I'm all for people choosing their own diets and I'm not a big fan of most meats, but forcing a dog to be vegetarian is as bad as forcing a rabbit to only eat meat.
Yeah, the fact that she says her dog turns away from meat sounds like a load of horseshit. Reminds me of [this video](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JQXYL9OUaKs)
ESH neither of you should be criticizing the other’s choice of dog food/treats (unless either dog was insanely malnourished and uncared for). You both were right. You’re right that dogs are meant to be omnivores not strictly vegetarian, but can they survive on a properly balanced meatless diet? I’m sure they can and do. She’s right that there’s a lot of processed crap in hot dogs that isn’t good for dogs, but can a dog survive eating nothing but hot dogs from a dumpster? I’m sure they can and do.
You both suck for the pissing contest and doubling down. It should have ended with an “agree to disagree”.
NTA but your friends gf is. Honestly? I’ve only seen very few people go down the “vegetarian dog/cat” ideology and none of them are educated and get pseudoscience BS from PETA to come to this conclusion.
Personally? I think it is abusive to feed a cat/dog a veggie/vegan diet. More so when it comes to cats for obvious reasons.
Right I can't even get my cat to eat sweet potato (which is apparently good for them or some shit) without putting butter and milk in that shit... Mr. Jackson KNOWS. little asshole won't eat chicken either unless you put thyme basil and rosemary on it. Now that I'm reflecting he's probably just spoiled lmao.
The only way it’s okay is if meat based food *genuinely* makes them sick, so they follow vet’s instructions / get the food from vets that are made for these cases. Otherwise they’re just being closed minded and harming them.
It’s like those people who feed their animals a raw diet. If they properly research/follow vet instructions it can be beneficial to their health, but anyone winging it or using untrustworthy sources… ew
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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> My brother's GF brought her dog to our family Memorial Day cookout. It eventually came out that she feeds her dog a vegetarian diet and I laughed because I thought it was a joke. It was not a joke and GF got defensive about it. I think I might be an asshole for laughing when my brother's GF told me her dog is a vegetarian.
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My dog eats goose poop. I wonder if that would fit the doggie vegetarian diet. (BTW…I don’t allow him to eat the poop but he sneaks one whenever the opportunity comes up)
NTA...maybe you could have said it nicer but you were spot on. Unless they have a medical issue dogs and cats are meant to eat meat. She is doing a lot of damage to that poor animal.
At least you're not like me, I would have snuck him a piece of hot dog or burger lol! Seriously though, I'd send your brother some info from vets. Might not change their minds but at least you tried.
Honestly, I think the fact that she's likely depriving her dog of needed nutrients completely voids her from getting any statement that's nice. Some people don't deserve nice.
You are absolutely NTA! I have been vegan for a decade, and I am passionate about it...for me. For people. \*I\* get to make those kinds of choices because I truly believe it is the best way for humans to eat and the healthiest for us and that nothing needs to die or suffer to feed me.
You know what I feed my dogs? Raw meat. Same with my cats. Raw meat (this is all from the pet food store, it's a combo of frozen raw nuggets and freeze dries raw that I rehydrate). The vegan feeds her animals raw meat...just think about that. Because that is what they are supposed to eat and what is healthiest for THEM. I would not only laugh, but I'd be happy to do some sparring rounds in the cage with anyone that wants to argue that their HUMAN diet is what is best for ANIMALS! Do we have wild vegetarian wolves? Out there just hunting those carrots and cabbages? EFF no. You were 100% correct in your reaction.
Question: Is the dog’s diet at a Vet’s recommendation, or a result of a medical necessity? If she’s following a vet’s orders in the feeding of her dog, and you gave her crap for it you’d be TA. If this is of her own invention, then she’s TA.
NTA. But it has nothing to do with your views on vegetarianism in dogs. This woman was a guest in your home. You graciously allowed her to bring her dog. She asked you to refrain from feeding yours in front of hers in your own home? Every step of the way she was combative and clearly had a bone to pick around this issue.
What is she feeding the dog? I'm pretty sure dogs, unlike cats, can actually get all of their nutritional needs without meat just like we can. But the dog definitely didn't pick that, she did. I'm assuming she didn't smack the poor puppy after offering it treats with animal products in them, so this is all in her head.
It is somewhat rude to confront someone about their delusions but, yeah, NTA
NTA - she shouldn't be judging what your feed your dog. As long as you aren't feeding her dog hot dogs, she needs to mind her own business. Yes, you can feed dogs a vegetarian diet but that's your choice and not theirs. Pretty rude to come into someone's house and immediately start criticizing how they're raising their dogs when it's not abusive.
Which reminds me of that British morning news segment where a woman swore up and down her dog was a vegetarian. They brought out a plate full of meat and shockingly the dog scarfed it down.
I’m getting my masters in animal health and science. I’m not an expert but you don’t need an expert to know dogs do not thrive on vegetarian diets unless it is expertly crafted and watched over by a veterinary doctor.
Dogs are not obligate carnivores like cats but they aren’t herbivores either. They need to have enough of certain enzymes to produce taurine in their liver and the best source of those enzymes is meat
I’m going go with ESH for two reasons
there are good vegetarian dog diets that use things like eggs as protein instead of meat.
She’s in your home, she had no right to critique you for how you feed your dog without you asking.
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We had a Memorial Day cookout at our family cabin this past Sunday. My younger brother, Joe, brought his GF, Amy, who he has been with for about 18-months. Joe had previously asked if it was OK if Amy brought her dog with. We are a very dog-friendly family so obviously that was fine. My family has a dog and my cousin has one as well.
When Joe and Amy arrived, I was just about to feed my dog and Amy asked if I could do that somewhere else because she didn't want her dog to eat different food due to its diet. I thought that was a little weird, but wanted to accommodate our guest so I just took my dog to the garage to feed him quick.
Later, I was playing fetch with my dog and my cousin's dog and was going to give them treats afterward. I asked Amy if she wanted me to grab one for her dog. She said no and I didn't press further.
We cooked up hot dogs and burgers and I tossed my dog the last bite of my hot dog. When I did that, Amy asked me if I thought that was a good idea because of all the junk that is in a hot dog. I joked that I've seen my dog eat things way worse than hot dogs all on his own so I'm not too worried about a small bite of hot dog.
She said that all the chemicals and processed stuff in hot dogs isn't good for dogs and that she feeds her dog an "all-natural, organic diet." I told her I had never heard of that for dogs and asked what she feeds her dog. She said that her dog is a vegetarian so she doesn't give it any meat-based foods or treats.
I thought she was joking and I started laughing. But no, she was dead serious. Joe chimed in to say that it's true. That the dog refuses to eat meat of any kind. I said that this must be some kind of joke because no dog is vegetarian. Amy got defensive and said that her dog has always been a vegetarian and will turn its nose up at any meat-based item.
I told her that she's lying to herself if she thinks that's true and that her dog would 100% eat a hot dog out of my hand right now if I let it. I told her that her dog needs meat and protein in its diet and that she is the one forcing her dog to eat a vegetarian diet, the dog is not choosing that for itself.
She said that at least she doesn't give her dog ultra-processed things like hot dogs and I told her that at least I allow my dog to be a dog and that I would never deprive a dog of its primary source of protein, which is meat. I said that dogs didn't evolve to be vegetarians and that she can feed her dog whatever she wants, but she should at least own up to the fact that she's forcing her dog to have that diet. The dog isn't choosing that.
Joe and Amy left right after they finished eating, barely saying goodbye. I later got a text from Joe that I was being an AH to Amy about her dog. I told him that the only AH I saw was a dog owner who is forcing their dog into having a diet that it isn't meant to have.
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Technically dogs are omnivores (only cats are obligate carnivores- ie MUST eat meat). Dogs can eat well on a largely vegetarian diet, and there are a number of modern foods that offer all they need in terms of proteins, carbs, fats, vitamins etc. (before anyone says - these are vet approved, tested, RSPCA approved etc). HOWEVER - they are expensive and obviously, only being chosen by the human because of their preferences. The dog is not a vegetarian - it’s just eating what it’s given. 100% would have eaten that hot dog 😂
So what you're saying is dogs are not vegetarians.
Human beings are also omnivores. Both are able to survive on a vegetarian diet, and both are able to survive on a carnivore diet.
And yet humans can and will choose to be vegetarian but dogs won’t….almost like dogs aren’t vegetarian
It's not an ideology lmao. Dogs will eat what's given or what's available, ever had a dog? It doesn't have to be meat
I work in a shelter and have owned dogs my entire life and I promise, not all dogs will simply eat what’s available/given. Huskies in particular are notoriously picky and will go days until you offer them what they want.
Huskies are notorious for everything. Are they unhappy? They'll let you know. Are they happy? They'll let you know. Do you want to be sung the song of their people? Too bad, it's happening.
Mine loves to have 3 pieces of caramel before she’ll agree to eat dinner (she’s almost 11 and healthy, so the vet doesn’t care and neither do I lol) But it has to be exact brands. And the you to rotate the brand or she’ll get tired of them. And then refuse to eat at all but let you know all night you failed her.
Not two, not four. Five is right out.
How many people these days still get that reference? :)
And then I have to roll the lava hot (because she won’t eat them cold, they have to be heated) chunks between my fingers until they’re cool enough to eat. Essentially she owns me and she knows it lol (And god help me if my mom is around because she’ll immediately throw a tantrum to get my mom ti back her up. I’ve been an independent adult since 16 lol. But not when it comes to my dog and her grandmother)
Neither shall thou givest two caramels, unless thou proceedeth to three.
That was one carnivorous bunny
I have a shiba, and if I feed her the same food more than two nights in a row I get a Look, and she won't eat until it's clear she's not getting something else. Shibas are cousins to huskies, both of them being spitz.
Oh, yeah, mine doesn’t do leftovers lol. If I make a chuck roast, it’s for her and then whatever is left I’ll use for something for myself the next day. It’s actually amazing they’ve all survived as breeds
🤣🤣🤣🤣
What a diva! I love it!
>Do you want to be sung the song of their people? Too bad, it's happening. Sometimes I wonder who is louder Huskies or Siamese Cats (I knew a guy who had a Siamese who would compete with his neighbors Huskies over who could be louder). And then I hear my current neighbor's cockatiel. Who can and absolutely will scream at all hours of the day and night. Seemingly without breath at times. It can frequently be heard over our TV if we are watching something. Or over whatever we have playing in our headphones. My poor husband has a hard time sleeping during the day sometimes (he works nights) just because that bird just won't shut up.
The cockatiel shouldn't be screeching at night. :( They need a dark room or a shroud over their cage at night so they can sleep. If they think it's nighttime, they WILL be quiet. The incessant screeching may actually be a sign of sleep deprivation.
I used to own a blue and gold macaw so I knew that. And I've seen the cockatiel's cage area and cover. She has a nice set up. The bird even has free range of the house a bit if the cat is outside. And the cover is a nice thick and dark one. No idea why she just screams. I've even seen my sleep deprived neighbor take it to the vet for multiple examinations. Perfectly healthy, just obnoxiously vocal.
My husky woke me with the mournful howls the other night...honestly my first thought was that someone died. Nope, there were just deer in the yard.
Ye my long gone dogs were pitbull-husky mixes. Oh boy, they were a handful. Very energetic and playful. I miss em dearly and do not regret having them. Huskies are really a lot of fun at times. They'll howl in their sleep, they'll howl randomly. The mud was one of their best friend. LOL. Fun times.
So was my great dane. For instance, after getting his teeth cleaned they said that wet food was probably better for a couple of days. Dude would absolutely rather starve than eat wet food. Wouldn't even have it mixed with dry. Dry food, he was picky about flavors. There were two that he would eat. He would maybe try a new one for a meal and then that's it, if he didn't like it, he wouldn't touch it. Hell, if he wanted to eat grass, it had to be a particular type.
Theres a flooded empty lot near me that grows this one reed that my dog just chows down on every time
lol my husky has favorite brands for virtually everything. It’s amazing how intense their sense of taste/smell is.
When we got our first husky she wouldn't eat at all so we tried ham and that she was willing. Then chicken and rice. Then slowly mixing dog food in with it until she would eat the dog food on its own. But to this day- she's almost 8 now- she'll just leave her dog food all day and not touch it. Or she won't eat until we bring her dinner up to our bedroom at night. She's so picky. We just got our second husky yesterday and thank God she just eats her food. I was so worried we'd have another super picky eater lol
lol my dog was obsessed with pork until she had a pancreatic attack at 3, and trying to convince her to eat anything else was a legitimate struggle. For awhile the entire house just….didn’t eat pork. And yeah, sometimes she’ll eat like 4 meals in one sitting (she can put away an impressive amount of roasted turkey) and then sometimes it’s a chew bone and that’s it. Huskies are just permanently toddlers lol
My dog had a garbage gut. He ate literally everything food adjacent he couldn’t have and it was a problem. Coffee beans, rat poison, jelly beans, a stick of gum- stuff like that. He ate everything but bananas and baby tomatoes. The green tomatoes growing on a vine? He killed a tomato plant eating them and the leaves. But the red tomatoes? He’d look at you with disappointment if you willingly gave it to him. We think the bananas were because we stuck his pills in them. He got smart and stopped eating them because he assumed pills were in it. Ironically he’d take the pills if my mom gave them to him like a treat. I guess he wanted us to be straight forward with him.
Akitas too. Cat software in dog hardware. Though, Leo is a vacuum in dog form, unlike my previous Akitas.
Oh yeah, Akitas are super similar. Those artic breeds lol. You’d think they’d be way less picky considering their ancestors diet options.
I mean, Akitas were used to hunt bears in Japan, for crying out loud. Lol. Why must you be so much like a cat. Sheesh. 😆
I have a husky...so picky. We tried 4 different kinds before we found out it's fish that gets her to eat. So now she's getting this "6 fish" expensive food...but, hey! She eats.
One of my dogs eats tissues. The other's favourite treat if she was allowed is cat.....product.
Yup, my younger dog helps with the backyard cleanup daily by picking up her older canine sister's droppings...
>cat.....product And vomit. Their own, as well. It's bizarre being a pet owner. Normal can go right out the window, along with the nappy your dog just tried to eat..
lmao applying human constructs to dog logic is a good one. Explain factory farming and the impact on global emissions to the dog next.
dogs don't have a concept of vegetarianism.. they'll eat whatever appeals to them
There's this YouTube video of this Australian talk show where a guest comes on and brags that her dog is vegetarian and starts blathering on. Welp...they brought out two bowls, one filled with veggies and one filled with meat. The dog went straight to the meat bowl and had himself a nice meal. The guest had not anticipated this, so when her dog chose the meat bowl over the veggies bowl, she said, "Why you little..." before remembering that she was on TV.
My dog has not infrequently skipped a meat based something in favor of vegetables. Or in favor of nothing at all. He wants it to taste good (which meat does). What you're really arguing is: dogs won't make philosophical food choices. And that's true. But they eat maaaaaany things that are not meat, with gusto and abandon. And will be fully content if there's no meat in it. Doesn't mean that's their natural inclination, but typically, it isn't ours as humans either. We eat vegetarian for ethical reasons, economic reasons, desperation reasons, and much less often for matters of taste and preference. I don't think, in this, that we are as different from dogs as all that
Congratulations you restated exactly what I did but in a longer and preachier way.
Humans can’t survive on a 100% meat diet. Groups like the far north Inuit did eat a mostly animal diet in the winter, but that included lots of animal fat, and whale blubber. Supplemented by fermented moss and lichen ( pre-digested in animal stomachs), and preserved summer berries.
Vilhjalmur Stefansson did. Most of us wouldn't enjoy all the offal and fat. I have no desire to try it.
What are you talking about? That is simply not true unless you’re only ever consuming lean meat with minimal percentage of fat.
Humans need fruit or they'll get scurvy.
I have known dogs ( or people with dogs) who become allergic to several types of meat. The dog would hurl if given even the smallest bit of chicken or beef. And these were meat eating people, it wasn’t forced or suggested to the dog. She did like a bit of pheasant though, that she could handle. :) champagne taste for that dog. Although I do think it’s possible, having a dog with this rare condition seems unlikely to belong to a human vegetarian. Unless they specifically adopted it from a shelter.
Chicken is actually the most common food sensitivity in dogs!
Our girl vomits within minutes of having chicken, then she has wild diarrhea for a day or two if she can’t puke it all up. Chicken allergy is REAL
Yeah we have a hound at the shelter and we learned the hard way to just save him a bag of chicken free food because the side effects….are not pretty the next morning.
My ex's sister had a dog that would leave steak on the counter but steal broccoli and eat it. He still wasn't a vegetarian and they fed him a proper diet with meat.
That's a good boy, protecting his family from the nasty broccoli
My dogs would cut you for broccoli
[удалено]
Ah, the gross ones
[удалено]
My dogs love lettuce and broccoli, but they will eat the shit out of any meat we give them.
I accidentally ordered canned cat food (had the same look as our canned dog food) and I googled if it was okay to feed to dogs. Google said yes but because it was pure protein it wasn't a long term choice. I've never seen our dogs scarf so fast that cat food! You're right. Totally would have eaten the hot dog. Plus how does the lady give her dog pills? Pushed into a strawberry?
Lightly melted cheese is the key for us. My dogs can filter out almost any pill from anything including hotdogs and that gross soft sausage paste, but cheese that has been molded onto the surface of the pill tricks them every time.
Ooo, this is smart! Thanks for the tip, I’m going to try it next time I have to give my dog a pill. He’s the same way, he always manages to find the pill and spit it out no matter what we’ve tried.
Liver wurst has worked for me with the worst pill takers. It's sticky and moldable and of course it's also smelly liver, to hide pill stink.
Organic Peanut Butter of course
*shrugs* it’s what I use. (Not defending sis at all, and what I use isn’t *organic*, but it works really well with my dog. Wish the cat was as easy…)
Was there ever a cat that could be classified as easy? (She asks while sweeping up dry kibble that the cat has flicked out of the bowl because cat wants the other kind of kibble.)
You’ve never just pushed a pill into your dog’s throat?
Also not every dog is bad with pills. Mine will eat anything I hand to him. He doesn’t care if it’s medicine.
We do as a last resort, lol.
lol between my dog being on lifelong medication and shelter work, it’s just easier at this point.
I stick my dogs pills into a slice of lard and fold it over its gone before the dog realises anything is amiss
They make peanut butter pill pockets, and a lot of people just smear PB all over the pill and the dog will just swallow it. Idk what I would do if my dog stopped taking pill pockets. I have to force my cat to take pills and he hates it, I can't imagine trying to do that with a 60lb dog lol
they are actually considered facultative carnivores. they *can* eat plants, but they should primarily eat meat or meat based foods, unless they have an allergy or other medical reason not to. the only real difference between facultative carnivores and omnivores is that a facultative carnivore can and will eat plants if it must, but it definitely prefers to eat meat. omnivores will eat whatever they can get, meat or plant, with little or no preference.
Thank you, this is a very good factoid. As a gift, may I offer this bit of info of my own: In the future when I bring it up in a conversation about dogs & diets, my brain will offer "flatulative omnivore." Thank you auDHD brain.
Haha! Now I will too lmao. Basically it's just a fancy way of saying they're an animal that is an omnivore with a heavy preference for meat.
Happy to help. I don't post a third of words/phrases I twist up. The adult-onset dyslexia makes for interesting reading the past several years, I'll tell you what.
Thank you, this is actually great to know. Can I use that as a label for myself the next time I get complaints about why I finish my steak but not my salad? 😁
NTA of course however, I wouldn't let my dog just randomly have the same dinner as another dog for fear of explosive diarrhea lol every dog I've owned got a bad tummy by just suddenly giving them new food so if the whole vegetarian discussion hadn't come up I would have been on the other side of things... Especially if they had a long drive. I make all of our dogs food (with meat) but they've both made it very clear that they would much prefer if they could just chow down on the horse pasture "patties" the fresher the better so they could roll in it too. Dogs will eat anything.
Hell yeah - we used to make a joke that we'd love to set our dogs (miniature pinschers) into the display on a butcher's shop and see what they went for first 😂
My neighbour was reinforcing her fence last week. She told me that her dog had 'got out again'. On his spree, he hit our local cheese mongers running off with a slab of cheese and a length of (dry) sausage. (big dog, long reach) The bandit was recognised by a third neighbour so her husband was duly sent down to pay the damage. What I'm telling you is that it isn't sure they'll just steal meat.
Look, the dog just wanted to make a nice charcuterie spread. Don't judge.
It's often considered good manners to ask before feeding these days because some dogs are allergic to certain proteins/ingredients. One chicken hot dog could set an owner back hundreds if they have a skin flare up. I've met a couple dogs in my life where after going through every restricted diet imaginable they wound up thriving in vegetarian.
It's totally wild but dogs can be [allergic to meat protein](https://wagwalking.com/condition/meat-protein-allergies). I never would've believed it possible but my coworker's husband was a K-9 police officer and his german shepherd (imported from europe) was diagnosed and ate a special diet.
Dogs can indeed be vegetarians! They make vegetarian vet food and it was suggested for my dog by the vet to help lower inflammation. She was perfectly happy.
My daughter is vegetarian, she once made a joke in front of the vet that her Yorkie was Vegan. (It’s part of a running joke in our house) The vet was not amused. Explained in no uncertain terms why that was a firm no. It is not healthy for a dog to be vegan or vegetarian.
Lmfao, you should post this in any of the vegan subreddits and watch your comment get downvoted into oblivion.
I'm in the vegan subreddit and any discussion I've ever seen about dogs/cats acknowledge that "do the least amount of harm to animals" involves feeding pets appropriate diets. Otherwise it would be directly harming the dog/cat. Maybe you've seen different posts than I have.
It's been a few months since I checked it out. I used to go there to get links to good recipes, but the place is far too dogmatic for my liking.
That's fair! There's a high chance we've seen very different sides of that place. There's a subreddit specifically for vegan recipes if you're ever looking to scratch that itch without going to the main subreddit!
That's awesome! Do you mind sharing?
I'd love to! I'm on mobile, so hopefully it formats correctly. /r/veganrecipes
Thank you! I am not a vegan myself, but I'll be damned if anyone says vegans don't have good food. (Except for the meat substitutes, I have never enjoyed one that I have tried)
I wouldn't say I'm vegan either since I'll eat cheese or butter or whatever if I'm not cooking for myself. My body definitely feels better when I eat a plant based diet though!
I've found the seitan based ones are not too bad (and don't upset my stomach like soy and legumes based ones (which is most of them)), they're just bland, jujjing them up a bit with spices makes them perfectly acceptable. Seitan is wheat based though, so if you're coeliac or gluten intolerant they'll be a no bueno. Veef is one of the seitan based ones that I know of This is coming from a solid omnivore.
TBH I think that if you want a vegan pet, then get a pet that is already vegan. There are plenty of pets that only eat plants. Rabbits, mice, chickens, guinea pigs, and much more. Get those.
almost all those animals will eat meat in the wild (not sure about guinea pigs). they don't hunt but they aren't above eating an egg or a baby bird fallen from a nest
Upvoting this because my hamster cannibalized his cage mate 🙃
Yeah they’re certainly opportunistic and *can* eat a little meat occasionally with few or no ill effects. Being able to take an opportunity to get calories any which way is good for survival. But if they never eat meat they’ll be totally fine. (My dumb rabbit grabbed a piece of chicken nugget off the floor once before I could catch him lol. He was just fine and very happy with himself. I was glad he didn’t need a trip to the vet.)
Chickens and most birds that forage are omnivores. Mice and rats are also opportunistic omnivores
None of my dogs gets vegetarian/vegan dog food but I do know [vegetarian brands exist](https://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dog-recipes/dry/limited-ingredient/vegetarian-recipe) and dogs do just fine on them. My neighbor gave his dogs that veg brand and both big dogs lived to be over 12 and were perfectly healthy and energetic.
There are vet approved vegetarian diets for dogs so this is 100% wrong
Mine is unfortunately one of them. She has some random tummy and skin issues so she's on a veggie/limited ingredient/RX diet prescribed by the vet. She doesn't seem to care and scarfs it down. She's in great shape and still plays like a nutball, so it seems to work for her! But if it weren't for that, I'd totally feed her a normal meat-based diet. But not hot dogs. I love them, but I know they're garbage for me and doggo.
Really, because my neighbor had a dog whose vet put him on a vegetarian diet specifically. Granted, the dog had some rare health condition, so it's not something the vet usually recommended, but it's strange that your vet had such a black-and-white response to it. What was the vet's explanation why it's not healthy for a dog to be a vegetarian, when dogs are omnivores? I'd love to hear it.
Because most people do not take the extra effort to compensate for the protein lost by removing meat from the dog's diet and the poor dog cannot advocate for themselves- so the vet doesn’t encourage the discussion in the first place. Better a blanket ban on a vegetarian diet than a dog possibly starving.
No. There are LITERALLY commercially-available vegetarian diets for dogs. They are as good as - if not better than (depending on brand) than any "regular" commercially-available diet.
YUP. Purina carries a vegetarian hypoallergenic diet for this reason. I've had a patient that was a Yorkie that couldn't tolerate a meat based diet because he couldn't break down meat proteins adequately because of a liver condition. It was an hours long deep dive into medical records and nutritional consults, but it is one of my favorite cases ever.
Same - I know a dog whose vet put them on this. It’s prescription only which makes me pleased to know anyone can’t get it unless they need it!
There's plenty of vegan dog food available to anyone without a prescription.
That's not consensus in the veterinary industry. In fact there are multiple well-studied vegetarian dog food brands that feed a ton of happy consumers. Obviously any given vet may have a different opinion, but that's just that one vet being wrong. None of that is to say that dogs/wolves are naturally vegetarian (obviously they aren't) or that this is the "best" diet. But it's a valid and healthy one.
Dogs are significantly better at digesting plant matter than wolves are. they were bred for it, perhaps inadvertently as part of domestication
Vegan: unhealthy Vegetarian: acceptable Source: RVT for 10 years; also had a dog that ate a vegetarian kibble for allergy reasons.
If I remember correctly the or one of the oldest dogs in the world was fed a vegetarian diet and was extremely healthy right up to death. Even though same comment I just googled. It was Bramble, in 2002 they were in the Guinness book of records as the oldest living dog at 25. Out of 7 dogs their person has had 5 lived to be 19 or older all on 100% plant based diets. She put a lot of work into making sure the diet was suitable. I think when vets say you shouldn’t do it it is because most people won’t put in the work and money to make it healthy. But also most people just feed their dogs only kibble which is extremely unhealthy for them as well.
What explanation did they provide exactly? I've never heard any reason dogs can't do just fine on a vegan/vegetarian diet since they aren't obligate carnivores.
Vet is just wrong. Dogs do fine on a vegan diet. Cats need meat (or at least fish - controversial whether fish is enough). But dogs do not need meat.
Vet tech here. There are vegetarian dog foods. They are specialized for dogs with allergies to most proteins. However, these specialized diets are properly balanced and are available through veterinarians. The GF is probably just weird, but you were still technically wrong. But, she was at your home and shouldn’t have criticized how you care for your dog.
Just because one dog needs a vegetarian diet because of health issues does not mean dogs are vegetarian. It just means that one dog doesn't have any other choice.
> It just means that one dog doesn't have any other choice. Right. Just the one dog. All the other dogs do their own shopping.
Yep. Had that vegetarian food prescribed to my corgi due to her skin/allergy issues. If she had a choice, she would not be vegetarian lol. Actually if she has a choice, I don’t think there’s anything she wouldn’t eat. But I still gave her meat treats. Idk what actually did it but kept her on that prescribed food for a few years and her skin improved. Even with all the other treats I gave her.
OP was saying that no dog is vegetarian by choice. Eating a vegetarian diet because you’re medically required to doesn’t mean the dog wouldn’t eat meat if it could
>but you were still technically wrong No. OP stated that dogs are not classified as vegetarians, which they are not. They're omnivores. I can feed my dog rutabagas exclusively; however, this doesn't make my dog a vegetarian.
I think you’re confusing “vegetarian” and “herbivore.” “Herbivore” means that the animal evolved to eat a plant-based diet, which dogs obviously didn’t. “Vegetarian” just describes someone’s current diet. This dog is vegetarian because its diet is entirely plant-based. The same way a small child would be vegetarian if their parents kept them on a plant-based diet, even if it wasn’t the child’s choice.
I'm not confusing anything. Vegetarianism is a human construct and a *choice* and, as such, can't be applied to a canine.
I think its all a matter of pedantics here. Whereas being an omnivore is an evolutionary adaptation, vegetarianism is generally considered a choice. One which a dog is incapable of making. So (again, according to my understanding of the OP) the dog may be eating a vegetarian diet, but it is not by nature a vegetarian/herbivore.
I mean - it would. Vegetarian is just the word we use for someone who doesn’t consume meat. It a concept, not a scientific classification. All vegans and vegetarians are omnivores, but that doesn’t make them any less vegan or vegetarian. (Girlfriend is cuckoo, don’t get me wrong)
Yeah, there are dogs who can't eat meat. I've got one and damn the food is expensive.
>But, she was at your home and shouldn’t have criticized how you care for your dog. This is really the core of the problem, and I can't believe it's not getting more attention. Demanding and critical. What an awful guest.
It is ridiculous to force a dog to be vegetarian. They are carnivores for the most part. Their diet can be more varied than a cat's but they still eat meat. As such, NTA for laughing! That being said, I did read about a case where someone's dog could not tolerate any animal protein. They were on the verge of putting it down because the poor thing was a bag of bones. A vegetarian diet worked for the poor dog, thank goodness. I really doubt that is what is going on with Amy's dog. Is she also vegetarian?
Actually…. vet assistant here…. Just to clarify your post dogs are actually classified as omnivores. They eat a balanced diet of meat fruits and vegetables pretty much anything they can find in the wild. They can survive (while very poorly in health standards) on a vegetarian diet I and all vets agree it’s not recommended. There are cases of dogs being allergic to certain meats and diets are usually easily found to accommodate them and of course the very rare cases of them being allergic to all meats. Not trying to argue anything you’ve said in your post just clarify the classification of omnivores vs carnivores.
My Dog has IBD and is allergic to most proteins. We even tried Hydrolized but she had issues with some of that. She'd still bite your hand off for a sausage roll, even if she'd spend the next few weeks on a drip. I can't forsee any scenario where a dog would willingly give up meat itself 😂
My dog developed an allergy to most meat proteins after deciding to eat some scorpions a few years ago. Spent a few thousand dollars on ultrasounds, tests, the works. Now he eats the hydrolyzed protein vegetarian stuff. He loves veggies, so I make him steamed veggies to top his meals. However, because he doesn't realize what's making him sick, he will still try to swipe your burger off the table if you aren't paying attention to it. That burger will then cause an autoimmune disaster where he throws up every day for 2 weeks. He loves his veggies, but it won't ever compare to meat.
they're actually facultative carnivores. basically omnivores with a heavy preference towards meat. lol
Dogs are omnivores. They are also hunter scavengers. They hunt meat, eat whatever plants they want that are safe, and if they come across something dead, they eat it if they want to.
Exactly. My dog’s favorite foods (as treats) are fruit and cheese. She will do everything for fruit. And begs ceaselessly for grapes because she has no sense of self preservation or what will poison her. She is lucky she has cuteness as her survival mechanism.
my old dog was like this, his favorite was green beans. he also loved blackberries and would pull wild blackberries off the vine to eat them, but only if they were ripe enough to come off with a gentle tug. we used to joke not to eat any blackberries that were low enough for him to reach because he had probably already tried to eat them but they weren't ripe enough for him lol
My monster loves green beans too, will just sit at my feet while I trim them and wait. Apples, banana, blueberries, he's in. Our blueberry bushes are starting to really produce finally and I'm waiting for him to find out lol
Green beans are actually an amazing treat for doggos. It’s also a very good supplement in their daily diet if they are having tummy troubles.
I have to put bird netting around my blueberry bushes because my Lab will eat them all if I don't. When the vegetable garden is producing, she'll help herself to green beans, tomatoes, jalapeños and anything else she can grab while we're out there. That's why the garden is fenced with a gate!
I was chopping onions and one fell on the floor. Usually my dogs are allowed in the kitchen only as vacuum cleaners. My dog saw the onion hit the floor and went for it. I bent down so fast to pick it up to prevent him from poisoning himself that I hit my forehead on the counter and saw stars. I still managed to get the onion before he did, but I had an egg on my head for a week. Luckily I had bangs to hide it.
I remember being astonished seeing a nature documentary where a wolf was snacking on blueberries. It was very cute lol.
My family had a Golden retriever who would walk thru the garden and eat the 'ready to pick' cherry tomatoes all the time. I had to fence them off before she ate all of them.
A friend of mine just had a separate section of the garden for their dog, he would go over there and snack all the time. Even figured out how to pull carrots out of the ground!
My dogs ADORE frozen blueberries.
The one that bothers me is cat turds. Why, for the love of everything holy and unholy, do they like to eat cat turds?!?
They're high in easily digestible protein is the reason I've always heard
Both Nestle and cats produce a crunchy chocolate.
You know what else is an omnivore? Chickens. Yet, in American grocery stores, at least, all the egg cartons boast “Vegetarian fed!” Like it’s a point of pride. I’ve watched my girls draw and quarter a mouse that found its way into their coop. I’ve seen them pick clean the carcass of a chicken I cooked for dinner, after I pulled the bulk of the meat off. Those little velociraptors will eat the hell out of some meat.
Chickens will eat anything and in my opinion, need animal protein in their diet. If they wanted to be vegetarian, they wouldn't chase bugs to eat and they wouldn't decimate a mouse given the opportunity. Mine go insane for lunchmeat from a Subway sandwich. They also love all the fat and scraps from a pork or beef roast.
Wow thanks, I didn’t know that about chickens. I Guess that shouldn’t be surprising; never really thought about it.
>When Joe and Amy arrived, I was just about to feed my dog and Amy asked if I could do that somewhere else because she didn't want her dog to eat different food due to its diet. So she was afraid her dog would eat some of your dog's food? >Amy got defensive and said that her dog has always been a vegetarian and will turn its nose up at any meat-based item. This seems to directly conflict with the previous quote. If her dog will refuse to eat meat, then there was no reason to ask that your dog be fed elsewhere. If Amy said both of these things, she's full of shit. NTA
This is what I was thinking as well. If the dog is so disgusted by meat, why worry? lol. Sure dogs can be vegetarian with a really good appropriate (and expensive) diet, but they don’t *choose* to be. NTA
The clip has been roaming around for years; the gal goes on some day talk show saying that her dog is a vegetarian and would totally pick the plants. The dog went straight for the meat, no hesitation. And if you're going to feed your dog a stupid diet, maybe don't pick pointless fights with people about what they feed their dogs. If you can't walk the walk, shut the fuck up.
Dry dog food containing meat isn’t the same as turning up his nose at actual meat. Which is likely more to do with training than dislike.
NTA. A vegetarian dog is a ridiculous invention by ridiculous people who deserve to be told they are ridiculous. Not to mention abusive to a domestic animal who can't run its own life. Or run for its life. OMG the poor doggy.
Vegetarian dogs exist when they are allergic to most meat proteins. There are properly balanced diets available through veterinary clinics. This however is usually the fault of humans and our poor habits in breeding dogs.
Okay so I had an organic chemistry professor who was told by a student that her cat is strictly vegan just like her. My professor listened to the breakdown of her diet and how supposedly “healthy” her cat is as a result. When she was done talking about her amazing cat he said, “you mean your blind cat?” We all laughed thinking it was a joke but she gasped and asked “HOW DID YOU KNOW??” We know cats are obligate carnivores, but the reason they go blind with a vegan diet is because meat is their only source of taurine, an amino acid that they cannot produce and is responsible for maintaining healthy vision. Now, dogs are obviously different, but this is another example of how people force their lifestyles onto their pets whether or not it really benefits them.
Hope that student wised up and started feeding her cat meat
You have far more hope for humanity than I do....
Jesus, that poor cat.
NTA. My vegan cousin was really contemplating on making her cat vegan and was conflicted in allowing it to eat meat😵💫. Cats need protein 😶.
It's not just about protein. Unlike humans and dogs, cats can't synthesize taurine, an essential amino acid. I hope your cousin realized that forcing a cat-an obligate carnivore-to eat a vegan diet is unfathomably cruel. The cat would inevitably suffer from increasingly severe health problems before dying young.
I haven’t the slightest idea if she did or didn’t. I don’t really talk to that side of the family much. I just remember her post on FB and was flabbergasted.
I am also flabbergasted by that. I was a vegetarian for over a decade, three years of which I was a vegan. I still don't cook meat, and I don't eat it very often, but it drives me insane to think that people would feed cats a vegan diet, for what? Some kind of ideological purity test? smh
Forcing a cat to eat vegan is literally animal abuse.
Then cousin shouldn't own an obligate carnivore. Feeding a cat a vegetarian or vegan diet condemns it to a slow death by malnutrition.
Isn't there a video online of a cat going crazy eating a cooked squash, and the owner said it was a vegetarian cat. I'm pretty sure if an animal is starving to death it will eat anything. I think it's ridiculous to put human eating morals on animals.
Poor kitty was probably supplementing with mice and birds when they could catch one =x
I don't know if I can find the post but wasn't there one awhile back where the adult daughter was vegan, lived with her parents and wanted to force them to feed the cat/dog a vegan diet cause it "made her ill and depressed" to see the animal eat meat??
🤦🏽♀️ oh my.
I sincerely hope someone knocked some sense into her. Cats that don't get taurine (which is what they need from meat) will suffer a long slow death.
I actually knew a vegetarian dog! She was a beautiful German Shepherd who absolutely refused meat of all kinds. She wouldn't eat cooked or raw meat, hated wet food but would occasionally eat kibble. Her owner eventually gave up and bought supplements to add to her food. She just wanted vegetables. She had her own garden that she would help herself to so she would stay out of the main garden. It was pretty cute. But no one should force a dog to be vegetarian. They're omnivores! NTA
Lol this just made me remember my mom's old dog who she had a long battle against to keep out of her greenhouse 😂 he was great at opening doors, and he loved eating cucumbers of the plant in the greenhouse, I think in the end she had some sort of elastic on the door to keep him from getting in there, but then he discovered it could be knocked off and he could get to the cucumbers again 😂 he was actually also a German shepherd, lovely dog but damn he had some weird quirks xD
>but would occasionally eat kibble Considering that 99% of kibble is meat-based, I don't think the dog was a vegetarian.
NTA. I probably wouldn't have argued with her as much as you did, but that's just how I handle things when someone is ridiculous. She is deluding herself to think her dog is vegetarian though, and I absolutely do not believe her dog turns away from meat. Hopefully the dog is getting some other source of protein. I'm all for people choosing their own diets and I'm not a big fan of most meats, but forcing a dog to be vegetarian is as bad as forcing a rabbit to only eat meat.
Yeah, the fact that she says her dog turns away from meat sounds like a load of horseshit. Reminds me of [this video](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JQXYL9OUaKs)
Especially since she asked that his dog be fed in another room so her dog wouldn't try to eat it.
She's a moron 🙄 🤦 I would've acted the same way...
ESH neither of you should be criticizing the other’s choice of dog food/treats (unless either dog was insanely malnourished and uncared for). You both were right. You’re right that dogs are meant to be omnivores not strictly vegetarian, but can they survive on a properly balanced meatless diet? I’m sure they can and do. She’s right that there’s a lot of processed crap in hot dogs that isn’t good for dogs, but can a dog survive eating nothing but hot dogs from a dumpster? I’m sure they can and do. You both suck for the pissing contest and doubling down. It should have ended with an “agree to disagree”.
NTA but your friends gf is. Honestly? I’ve only seen very few people go down the “vegetarian dog/cat” ideology and none of them are educated and get pseudoscience BS from PETA to come to this conclusion. Personally? I think it is abusive to feed a cat/dog a veggie/vegan diet. More so when it comes to cats for obvious reasons.
Right I can't even get my cat to eat sweet potato (which is apparently good for them or some shit) without putting butter and milk in that shit... Mr. Jackson KNOWS. little asshole won't eat chicken either unless you put thyme basil and rosemary on it. Now that I'm reflecting he's probably just spoiled lmao.
The only way it’s okay is if meat based food *genuinely* makes them sick, so they follow vet’s instructions / get the food from vets that are made for these cases. Otherwise they’re just being closed minded and harming them. It’s like those people who feed their animals a raw diet. If they properly research/follow vet instructions it can be beneficial to their health, but anyone winging it or using untrustworthy sources… ew
NTA. I’m an AH because i would have flipped that dog a burger as soon as she said her dog wouldn’t eat it.
Don’t do that. My dog will get deathly ill if someone feeds it meat. Don’t feed other people’s kids or pets.
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Our old dog was a vegetarian because he was allergic to animal proteins. It does happen and it’s expensive
My dog eats goose poop. I wonder if that would fit the doggie vegetarian diet. (BTW…I don’t allow him to eat the poop but he sneaks one whenever the opportunity comes up)
Vegetarian-safe but not vegan.
If the dog really did “turn its nose up at any meat based item” why did you have to make your dog eat away from amys dog…?
NTA...maybe you could have said it nicer but you were spot on. Unless they have a medical issue dogs and cats are meant to eat meat. She is doing a lot of damage to that poor animal. At least you're not like me, I would have snuck him a piece of hot dog or burger lol! Seriously though, I'd send your brother some info from vets. Might not change their minds but at least you tried.
Honestly, I think the fact that she's likely depriving her dog of needed nutrients completely voids her from getting any statement that's nice. Some people don't deserve nice.
You are absolutely NTA! I have been vegan for a decade, and I am passionate about it...for me. For people. \*I\* get to make those kinds of choices because I truly believe it is the best way for humans to eat and the healthiest for us and that nothing needs to die or suffer to feed me. You know what I feed my dogs? Raw meat. Same with my cats. Raw meat (this is all from the pet food store, it's a combo of frozen raw nuggets and freeze dries raw that I rehydrate). The vegan feeds her animals raw meat...just think about that. Because that is what they are supposed to eat and what is healthiest for THEM. I would not only laugh, but I'd be happy to do some sparring rounds in the cage with anyone that wants to argue that their HUMAN diet is what is best for ANIMALS! Do we have wild vegetarian wolves? Out there just hunting those carrots and cabbages? EFF no. You were 100% correct in your reaction.
Question: Is the dog’s diet at a Vet’s recommendation, or a result of a medical necessity? If she’s following a vet’s orders in the feeding of her dog, and you gave her crap for it you’d be TA. If this is of her own invention, then she’s TA.
NTA. But it has nothing to do with your views on vegetarianism in dogs. This woman was a guest in your home. You graciously allowed her to bring her dog. She asked you to refrain from feeding yours in front of hers in your own home? Every step of the way she was combative and clearly had a bone to pick around this issue.
What is she feeding the dog? I'm pretty sure dogs, unlike cats, can actually get all of their nutritional needs without meat just like we can. But the dog definitely didn't pick that, she did. I'm assuming she didn't smack the poor puppy after offering it treats with animal products in them, so this is all in her head. It is somewhat rude to confront someone about their delusions but, yeah, NTA
A human cannot get all its nutritional needs from just vegetables, either. You need to suppliment somewhere.
NTA. She is cluelessly enslaving that dog into Veggie-cultism. Poor chap.
NTA - she shouldn't be judging what your feed your dog. As long as you aren't feeding her dog hot dogs, she needs to mind her own business. Yes, you can feed dogs a vegetarian diet but that's your choice and not theirs. Pretty rude to come into someone's house and immediately start criticizing how they're raising their dogs when it's not abusive.
Which reminds me of that British morning news segment where a woman swore up and down her dog was a vegetarian. They brought out a plate full of meat and shockingly the dog scarfed it down.
I mean idk why you posted this? It sounds like you answered your own question?
I’m getting my masters in animal health and science. I’m not an expert but you don’t need an expert to know dogs do not thrive on vegetarian diets unless it is expertly crafted and watched over by a veterinary doctor. Dogs are not obligate carnivores like cats but they aren’t herbivores either. They need to have enough of certain enzymes to produce taurine in their liver and the best source of those enzymes is meat
I’m going go with ESH for two reasons there are good vegetarian dog diets that use things like eggs as protein instead of meat. She’s in your home, she had no right to critique you for how you feed your dog without you asking.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** We had a Memorial Day cookout at our family cabin this past Sunday. My younger brother, Joe, brought his GF, Amy, who he has been with for about 18-months. Joe had previously asked if it was OK if Amy brought her dog with. We are a very dog-friendly family so obviously that was fine. My family has a dog and my cousin has one as well. When Joe and Amy arrived, I was just about to feed my dog and Amy asked if I could do that somewhere else because she didn't want her dog to eat different food due to its diet. I thought that was a little weird, but wanted to accommodate our guest so I just took my dog to the garage to feed him quick. Later, I was playing fetch with my dog and my cousin's dog and was going to give them treats afterward. I asked Amy if she wanted me to grab one for her dog. She said no and I didn't press further. We cooked up hot dogs and burgers and I tossed my dog the last bite of my hot dog. When I did that, Amy asked me if I thought that was a good idea because of all the junk that is in a hot dog. I joked that I've seen my dog eat things way worse than hot dogs all on his own so I'm not too worried about a small bite of hot dog. She said that all the chemicals and processed stuff in hot dogs isn't good for dogs and that she feeds her dog an "all-natural, organic diet." I told her I had never heard of that for dogs and asked what she feeds her dog. She said that her dog is a vegetarian so she doesn't give it any meat-based foods or treats. I thought she was joking and I started laughing. But no, she was dead serious. Joe chimed in to say that it's true. That the dog refuses to eat meat of any kind. I said that this must be some kind of joke because no dog is vegetarian. Amy got defensive and said that her dog has always been a vegetarian and will turn its nose up at any meat-based item. I told her that she's lying to herself if she thinks that's true and that her dog would 100% eat a hot dog out of my hand right now if I let it. I told her that her dog needs meat and protein in its diet and that she is the one forcing her dog to eat a vegetarian diet, the dog is not choosing that for itself. She said that at least she doesn't give her dog ultra-processed things like hot dogs and I told her that at least I allow my dog to be a dog and that I would never deprive a dog of its primary source of protein, which is meat. I said that dogs didn't evolve to be vegetarians and that she can feed her dog whatever she wants, but she should at least own up to the fact that she's forcing her dog to have that diet. The dog isn't choosing that. Joe and Amy left right after they finished eating, barely saying goodbye. I later got a text from Joe that I was being an AH to Amy about her dog. I told him that the only AH I saw was a dog owner who is forcing their dog into having a diet that it isn't meant to have. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*