Can I put my dog on a vegetarian diet?

It may seem like a strange question considering what we’ve grown up knowing about dogs, but whether or not dogs can be vegetarian—or even vegan—is a subject of much controversy in the pet world. There are proponents on both sides of the debate, and so many opinions they’re likely to run on for many Google pages.

Don’t worry—we’re not wading into the debate. But if you’ve asked yourself ‘can I put my dog on a vegetarian diet?’, then this article is for you—we’ll giving you a brief idea of what an answer to this question might be and what best practices could look like.

Phish! Of course my dog’s a carnivore!

We’ve grown up with enough stories of how dogs are the descendants of wolves and how they first helped us during hunts that a vegetarian dog seems… odd, to put it mildly. After all, you don’t quite imagine a wolf munching happily on some grass. Stories will tell you dogs cannot do without meat; they cannot eat anything else.

Well, this would be false. Like humans, dogs are omnivores, which means they can very much eat a plant-based diet and absorb all the nutrients in that diet. This is unlike cats, which are obligate carnivores or true carnivores—cats simply aren’t designed to absorb plant-based nutrients and need meat in their diets. Dogs on the other hand… it could go both ways.

Okay… So my dog can be vegetarian?

Yes! It’s entirely possible to put your dog on a vegetarian diet. The main concern about taking your dog off meat would be protein, and eggs have the “highest biological value of all the protein sources used in pet food”, according to Dr Jennifer Coates . (A biological value is basically the ability of a protein to provide the amino acids that an individual needs.)

Right! Time to make my dog vegetarian!

Not so quickly. While a vegetarian diet may be more possible than originally imagined, vets and professionals still have some concerns. Here are some of the issues:

Is your dog built for it?

While dogs are omnivores, their bodies are better suited, from an evolutionary standpoint, to consume meat. Their jaws and teeth, for instance, have not evolved: their point teeth make it easier to tear into raw meat and their jaws are built to chew up bones and cartilage.

Moreover, their digestive tract isn’t as long as a human’s, which makes it trickier for them to process plant-based food. We’re not saying it can’t be done, only that it’s trickier for them than eating meat.

Can they get their nutrients?

Several vets and professionals worry that dogs cannot, in fact, easily get all the nutrients they need from a vegetarian diet. Dogs need high levels of protein and calcium along with certain nutrients more easily obtained from a meat-based diet. It is possible to create a vegetarian diet that is balanced with these nutrients but here is where the margin of error increases—several brands that sell vegetarian dog food do not necessarily cover all the nutrients required. And a home-based vegetarian diet is even trickier: it requires meticulous planning and a clear knowledge of what you’re doing.

Will your dog like it?

This is where the pet community gets split down the middle. There are those who say that their pets love a vegetarian diet and have thrived on it. Proponents of a vegetarian diet for canines mention that your dog may be reluctant to move to the diet at first, but if you introduce the change slowly—i.e. mix in vegetarian food with meat for a while, gradually reducing the amount of meat—they’ll take to it in no time.

Yet there are those who say that dogs don’t enjoy a vegetarian diet; it just isn’t as tasty to them as meat. This may seem like a silly quibble, but it is an important point. Keep in mind that mealtime is an important part of your dog’s day and contributes greatly to their psychological sense of well being and happiness. If mealtime suddenly transforms into a meal they don’t look forward to, it can impact their stress levels and their overall well being.

But of course, India has numerous stories of strays being fed on a happy diet of daal and chawal, so it’s difficult to know how to rate this advice. Here’s what we suggest: check with your vet. They will know your dog best and they will have a clear idea of what’s healthy for them and necessary for them to thrive. It may well be that you can move your dog to a vegetarian diet with a few allowances for meat and meat-based treats. Your vet will know best and, importantly, if you do choose a vegetarian diet, they will be able to guide you through the best ingredients for it and what to keep in mind.