Health
Vegan shares photo saying her dog is excited to eat vegan dinner, gets shut down by Veterinarian
"This dog does not look excited, this dog looks malnourished"
Jessica Adler
02.13.19

The United States (and many other countries as well) has seen an exponential increase in people choosing to lead a vegan lifestyle over the last couple of decades.

While this is all good and well for humans, and only if they have done thorough research and are supplementing their diet with appropriate amounts of protein, it’s actually not a healthy lifestyle for your pets, particularly if they are carnivorous animals in the natural world.

Unfortunately, though, more and more people choosing to go vegan or even vegetarian are trying to force the same dietary habits onto their pets, and they are doing so at the expense of their pet’s long-term health.

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The vegan woman posted a picture of the puré she had whipped up for her dog’s dinner that night, describing all of the ingredients including sweet potato and brown rice.

While these ingredients are decidedly vegan, they are not all that great for her poor pooch or its digestive system.

The problem is that these foods require certain digestive enzymes to be broken down, and a dog’s gut doesn’t come equipped with the right tools for the job because they have evolved as meat eaters.

Her caption to the post may state that the sweet lab is stoked about his dinner but the statement, like the diet, is being forced on her.

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Granted, the vegan woman is trying to supplement her dog’s diet with “digestive enzymes”, but here’s the thing; a dog already comes equipped with the digestive enzymes they need in their gut to break down the foods they should be eating for optimal health.

In other words, people should be feeding their dogs based on the knowledge we have about their digestive system’s capabilities and their nutritional needs, and NOT feed them plant and starch-based foods based off of what we think is a healthy diet for people.

It sucks that needs to be said, but clearly, it does. Unfortunately for the original poster, a lot of people do know this small fact and were all-too-ready to rip her a new one for her ignorance on the subject.

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It could have ended there, but this concerned reader was only getting started.

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Before ending his educational rant at the vegan lady as to why the diet she was feeding her dog was, in reality, horrible for the golden furbaby, he let the woman know that he meant no disrespect to her lifestyle choices, only that of the lifestyle she was imposing on her pup.

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The words may have been a bit harsh, but the commenter is clearly coming from the stance of a concerned dog-lover.

Of course, the dog-owner had some backup on the issue from other commenters, but they ultimately didn’t help her case at all when they took an anecdotal approach to her argument, with no hard facts to back it up.

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Even while this commenter was trying to back-up the choice of this vegan woman to feed her dog a vegan diet, they still advised her to supplement with meaty treats to meet her lab’s protein requirements.

After reading all of the misinformation going on, one veterinary hospital worker decided it was time to speak up on the subject matter.

You can pretty much expect anything even slightly controversial posted to the internet to get ripped to shreds by naysayers, but sometimes it’s actually helpful to read through their comments with an open mind toward education on the matter.

What this person had to say in response to the above comment regarding whether or not it’s a good idea to force your dog to go vegan pretty much shut the argument down.

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While this first part of the commenter’s response was thorough and enough to make most people stop in their tracks and do a little extra research, they weren’t content to let the argument rest there.

Feeling it was their personal duty, based on their professional experience, to clear misinformation like this up for readers the commenter went on to address each and every one of the arguments made by the previous commenter.

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After dispensing an education in dog heritage, bloodlines, and nutritional requirements for digestive health, there was still one more thing to add.

Out of all of the arguments for or against a pet’s lifestyle, the biggest issue to address is all of the misinformation there is surrounding proper pet diets out there.

There’s a reason people spend years acquiring an education in vet medicine and animal health; there’s a lot of information there to digest.

So, with his last statement, the commenter made it crystal clear what people wanting to give advice should do…

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

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Boom! Can you say mic drop?!

Before people get online and start dishing out advice on matters as important as your pet’s health, make sure to do your due diligence and research the everliving sh*! out of it.

Why? Because it’s your pet’s life at stake. They can’t speak up or make informed decisions on what they put in their bodies, so when you take ownership of a pet that is the responsibility you’re signing up for.

Handle with care.

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