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I'll echo what most people are saying. I don't believe in imposing restricted diets on our pets because of our own moralities.
I'm mostly vegetarian (okay, pescatarian) in that I still eat dairy and fish, but don't eat meat. The reason I do this is simply because I want to make a small difference in the world in not supporting the mass killing of cows, pigs, and chickens; instead, I choose to eat plant-based as much as possible. At some point I will probably give up dairy and fish as well. But I would never expect my dog to have to do the same. So my choice, as I see it, is to either feed my dog a canine-balanced diet, or not have a dog. I choose the former. I would never put my pet's life at risk in order to underscore my own life choices.
I'll echo what most people are saying. I don't believe in imposing restricted diets on our pets because of our own moralities.
I'm mostly vegetarian (okay, pescatarian) in that I still eat dairy and fish, but don't eat meat. The reason I do this is simply because I want to make a small difference in the world in not supporting the mass killing of cows, pigs, and chickens; instead, I choose to eat plant-based as much as possible. At some point I will probably give up dairy and fish as well. But I would never expect my dog to have to do the same. So my choice, as I see it, is to either feed my dog a canine-balanced diet, or not have a dog. I choose the former. I would never put my pet's life at risk in order to underscore my own life choices.
+1. Same diet here. I had bloodwork recently and both nurses who were in the room reading results (about 15 years younger than me) said they wished their own bloodwork looked that good. My doctor said if he didn't see my age on chart he would think all my test results came from a person 20 yrs younger. I have no reason to believe my mostly vegetarian diet is not healthy.
People eat WAY too much meat and the incidence of colon cancer in our society can largely be attributed to that bad habit. Honestly, I think if people ate the amount of meat that is reasonable from a protein standpoint the animals dying from natural causes would be enough. Factory farming is just disgusting. I grew up in the country and people who had farms didn't even eat meat daily. No one could afford that then.
This doesn't apply to dogs and cats of course but they can also be sustained on what is considered scrap or by products for us (organ meat, etc.).
This is off-topic from my own thread, but I’ve been looking into doing more raw for my surviving dog, a young Dobie mix, but I wondered about raw chicken legs. Do you give them to your dog whole, bones and all? I always thought that poultry bones were dangerous for dogs, yet I watched a Youtube video where a styrofoam tray of about 10 raw chicken drumsticks were put down on the ground for a large, male Doberman, and he ate them that way.
I guess I could google, but would rather hear from those who do this. Again, the dog owners that I currently know don’t feed whole, raw chicken parts.
My last Rotti pup was a real guts so I fed him his chicken carcass frozen solid. Didn't slow him up much but it did teach him to chew before swallowing.
When he was 8wo he was fed chicken necks & as he got older he'd get chicken wings & drumsticks.
Once he was big enough to eat an entire chicken carcass that's what he got instead.
Chicken wings & drumsticks are great for small dogs (& cats) but not to larger dogs.
He got the chicken carcass when I couldn't get turkey necks which I preferred (so did Legion) because turkey necks don't have sharp bones & they're much meatier.
A natural diet for wild dogs, like fox and coyote, consists of muscle, skin, and fat from other animals plus partially digested vegetable matter from wild animal poop and innards.
I feed some cooked meat because of the risk of salmonella and other infectious diseases in raw. I feed a little cooked vegetable as a treat. I don't panic if the dogs eat a bite of horse or deer manure. The bulk of the diet is dry food from a long existing reputable animal feed producer. The dry food has probably been eaten by a million healthy dogs before mine have tried it. The dry food contains supplements deemed important for the modern dog who does not live wild.
I suspect a vegan diet would contain vegetable matter that is not partially digested, so one step away from natural to begin with. A vegan diet would also be 100% veg, no meat. So a major step away from natural. Not sure that Mother Nature would approve.
FWIW I was on Chewy.com last night looking for something for my dog who needs a low fat non-poultry food--
That really doesn't exist I think
But I saw a vegetarian canned food from Grainger (I think) that said it could be fed as a daily diet...
I do not worry about Salmonella or E coli in raw food as my dogs sniff other dogs butts, Dazzle loves to eat poop of other dogs or other animals. Chaos loves to munch on dead birds and other dead critters that she finds and she is fantastic at finding them. I do not want her doing that but when she is off leash in the pasture or at the beach there is no stopping her also she catches gophers and swallows them after a crunch or two. My dogs can switch between not only protein sources but other foods each meal and not get diarrhea as I feel I have them were they have a very strong gut biofilm. So much of our immunity comes from our gut so having a healthy gut will protect them from such things that maybe found in raw food.
I had gut issues with both before I went raw and started feeding probiotics and digestive enzymes to build up that gut biofilm ( or flora).
I haven’t been on CityData for a couple of days and then read your reply, and the article you cited. Is this documented elsewhere? Is it even possible?
My oldest dog lived to be 16 years, and I knew someone who had a 22-year old cat, but a 27-year old dog...wow.
The short answer is, “It depends.” Read on to learn about the nutrients dogs need, how vegan diets work, and whether or not a vegan diet is a safe choice for your dog.
According to veterinarian and former president of the U.S. Humane Society Dr. Michael Fox, there are two main reasons people elect to feed their dogs a vegan diet:
Personal ethics (the human’s)
Food allergies (the dog’s).
Dogs with food allergies are typically sensitive to specific animal proteins, and eliminating processed animal products from their diet can help so long as the replacement diet is carefully formulated to provide essential nutrients.
There is never a good reason to feed a vegan diet to a dog. To do so is cruel.
As for citing the US Humane Society, they are a sham, and care nothing about dogs or pets. Taking their advice about anything animal related is foolish.
I’ve read that a dog can be healthy on a vegan diet as long as all nutrients are provided...........
I think the point made by others here is that it isn't possible to provide all the nutrients needed on a strictly vegan diet. Dogs can eat darn near anything, but they do need a lot of protein, and plant based protein doesn't meet their dietary needs for type and digestibility of protein.
I haven’t been on CityData for a couple of days and then read your reply, and the article you cited. Is this documented elsewhere? Is it even possible?
My oldest dog lived to be 16 years, and I knew someone who had a 22-year old cat, but a 27-year old dog...wow.
My dog is 20 years old (documented) but according to the vet, will probably not live past Christmas. She has eaten conventional food (Costco) for the past 15 years. According to my vet, dogs are living longer because the dog food they are eating is better.
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. I do not want her doing that but when she is off leash in the pasture or at the beach there is no stopping her also she catches gophers and swallows them after a crunch or two. My dogs can switch between not only protein sources but other foods each meal and not get diarrhea as I feel I have them were they have a very strong gut biofilm. So much of our immunity comes from our gut so having a healthy gut will protect them from such things that maybe found in raw food. 
