Due to people's growing environmental awareness and increased awareness of animal husbandry and sustainability issues, vegetarian, vegan and flexible diets have become increasingly popular. The fantastic innovations and developments of the plant-based food industry in the last few decades have contributed to this. As a result, many dog owners these days also want to provide their furry friends with a meat-free diet. But is meat a biological requirement for dogs or can dogs live well on a vegetarian or vegan diet?
In this blog we take an in-depth look at alternative diets for dogs. From answering the question of whether dogs need meat to stay healthy to exploring possible vegan and entovegan foods. Read our BugBell blog to ultimately decide objectively what to feed your dog.
Do dogs need meat to live a healthy lifestyle?
While it may surprise some, the simple answer is no - dogs don't need meat to stay healthy. Although dogs belong to the order Carnivora - meaning they require meat as their primary food source to survive - they are physiologically omnivores. This means that dogs, like humans, can eat plants, such as vegetables and some fruits, as well as meat to survive. With this in mind, dogs can live long and healthy lives when fed plant-based or insect-based dog food as long as their nutritional needs are met.
However, it is important to know that simply feeding your puppy the same meat-free food that you eat is not enough to keep him fit and healthy. Dogs need a nutritious, protein-rich diet that contains certain nutrients, such as vitamin D3, that cannot only be obtained from plant sources. However, dogs can also get the protein and nutrients they need for good health from a number of traditional meat-free sources. For example, one form of meat-free diet you might consider is entovegan insect and plant-based dog food.
At BugBell, for example, we offer a great alternative to meat-rich food that is made from the best insect proteins. Aside from the environmental benefits, such high-quality insect-based dog food is typically high in protein and iron and low in fat. For this reason, it is proposed that the entovegan diet represents not only an environmentally sustainable model for pet owners, but also a model that ensures that the dog's body and mind are supported through the use of natural ingredients.
Can dogs be vegan?
A balanced diet is essential - regardless of the ingredients used, it should always be nutritionally complete. In addition to water, there are 5 important nutrients:
- Proteins
- carbohydrates
- Fats
- Vitamins
- minerals.
There are still many misconceptions and myths about animal nutrition. For example: "Dogs must eat meat, like their ancestor the wolf." In the course of domestication, dogs' digestion has changed. Unlike wolves, dogs can digest carbohydrates well and use them as a source of energy. Dogs have adapted to the changed diet over time and are omnivores.
Dogs need essential amino acids (= protein building blocks), which they get from food. Various herbal ingredients can be combined to cover all essential amino acids. There are a few things to consider, as it's not just the quantity but also the digestibility of the respective protein source that matters. If these are combined with the other nutrients in the right proportions, a vegan diet is possible.
However, developing and maintaining a completely meat- and insect-free vegan diet for dogs that contains all the nutrients necessary for the animal to thrive can be extremely difficult, time-consuming and expensive, even for professional veterinarians. While many vegetables and dog-safe fruits are great for providing your furry friend with a range of important vitamins and antioxidants that can help him stay healthy, these types of foods tend to lack the required amounts of protein and Iron. This can lead to health problems with the dog's skin, muscles and joints.
Nevertheless, the entovegan diet can be a sensible alternative. This is because insect food can provide the full range of these protein building blocks (amino acids), which are limited in some vegan diets and are traditionally derived from animal products. If you want to give your dog a meat-free diet but are worried that an all-plant, vegan diet won't provide him with the full range of nutrients and proteins he needs, an entovegan diet based on insect-based dog food could be the perfect solution.
