Vegetarian Dog Food Diet"Is Vegetarian Dog Food Safe For Your Cocker Spaniel?"
There are others, however, whose dogs simply can't extract enough nutrition from their vegetarian diet to keep them fit and healthy. Where a vegetarian diet fails to satisfy nutritional requirements, the dog soon begins to show symptoms of malnutrition such as lethargy, a dull coat, and skin problems.
Arguments For And Against Vegetarian FoodOverall, there appear to be arguments both for and against a vegetarian dog food diet.
Foods such as eggs, soya, tofu, lentils, yoghurt, and cottage cheese, are excellent sources of vegetarian protein and, combined with The vegetarian's argument against meat is a fairly strong one; mainly manufacturers' widespread use of by-products and scraps of poor quality meats and their sometimes unscrupulous manufacturing processes - although this argument flies out of the window when applied to organic or responsibly farmed meats. Over the past few years, there have been many recalls in the dog food industry as a result of questionnable practices, which go some way to supporting their argument. Stay up to date with the latest information on pet food recalls.
They argue that dogs need animal protein, which they can't obtain from vegetables and, although there are some proteins in vegetables, they're not animal proteins and, in any case, are insufficient for a dog's needs. They also claim that dogs aren't designed to process vegetables as a staple and if you need any evidence of this, just look at their teeth - they're designed to rip flesh from bones! Generally speaking, your dog's diet should consist of one-third protein, found in lean meats or fish, one-third fresh vegetables, and one-third carbohydrates in the form of grains such as brown rice or oats. Those who advocate that their dogs eat meat may find the following articles interesting: In summary, it would appear that there are many dogs who are fed on a vegetarian diet and are happy, healthy dogs. We believe it's a matter of personal choice, but it's our opinion that whilst a vegetarian diet may be adequate for humans, vegetarian dog food may not provide a nutritionally balanced diet for canines and the content may need to be supplemented. If you'd like to feed your pet a vegetarian diet, we would strongly recommend that you first consult your veterinary for advice so that you can be certain your dog is eating a complete and well-balanced vegetarian dog food diet. Search our site!  Custom Search More Titles In The Healthy Dog Food Series Feeding your puppy organic dog food has many benefits, including adding years to your cocker spaniel's life - learn more here! Natural dog food contains high quality ingredients. You won't find harmful chemicals or artificial preservatives and processing is kept to a minimum so that the dog food retains its natural goodness. If your dog has recently been ill, or is suffering from a health problem, your vet may advise a prescription dog food diet for your cocker spaniel to replace his normal food. Feed your pet a raw dog food diet of fresh meat, bones, fruit and vegetables, with a few vitamin and mineral supplements thrown in, and see a marked improvement in your dog's health! A raw dog food diet (the BARF diet) can greatly improve your pet's health and appearance and can help him to live a longer life too! Try our raw dog food recipes and see the difference for yourself! The word 'holistic' in holistic dog food relates to taking care of the entire body. One of the ways we can do this is by feeding our dogs good quality ingredients that then will 'feed' the entire body! There are many vegetarian owners who choose to feed their dogs a vegetarian dog food diet, and whose dogs appear to thrive on it; however, it's not suited to all dogs. Learn more... Hypoallergenic Dog Food Dog food allergies are more common than you think and, in many cases, vets are recommending owners change their dogs onto a diet of hypoallergenic dog food to combat the allergy. We've some tempting homemade dog food recipies here for your Cocker Spaniel to try. Why not try one - I'm sure he'll love you for it! Dog food allergies often present many symptoms, making an allergy difficult to identify. Learn how to diagnose, treat, and eliminate a dog food allergy or intolerance. Learn how to prevent accidental dog poisoning from innocent everyday foods such as chocolate, onions, grapes and raisins. Also lists toxic household chemicals and poisonous plants.
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There are many vegetarian owners who choose to feed their dogs a vegetarian dog food diet, and whose dogs appear to thrive on it. 
Those who support it claim that a 'no meat' diet can offer their pets all the nutrients they need and put forward their own healthy dogs (thriving on vegetarian food) as proof. 
On the other hand, those against the idea of a vegetarian diet hold the view that dogs were once wild animals and as such are carnivores (meat eaters), although today our dogs are more domesticated and primarily omnivores (meat and plant eaters).