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Old 04-29-2008, 01:18 PM   #1  
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Default 2 Random Questions for other Vegetarians

Okay so 2 things I've thought of in my decision to switch to a vegetarian lifestyle:

1. My dog and her food. She has no qualms eating other animals I'm sure but I feel slightly guilty buying her dog food that I know contains animal parts. How do others deal with this? Before you suggest I cook a vegetarian diet for her myself please keep in mind she is a 150lb mastiff and I'm not certain I can afford it or have the room in the fridge to feed both of us!!


2. Bugs. Outside we can coexist, I'll even give the right away most of the time however my house is a different story. If you're a friendly spider, grasshopper, anything other then a roach I'll attempt to catch you and put you outside. Roaches really honestly they just must die. Before you think I have a gross house this isn't the case it's just that I rent a very old home near a creek that has far too may ways for bugs to get in. So do we hire an exterminator? Bottom line, I'm not sharing my bed with bugs!!

I know (i think) where vegans come down on these 2 topics but would like to hear how you cope anyway. Thanks!!

~Heather
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Old 04-29-2008, 02:06 PM   #2  
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Hey i have a mastiff...so i had to put my two cents in, ha ha, from one big dog lover to another.

ANyway, i am not a vegitarian now, but i used to be for about ten years and i never made my dogs do the same. I may get slammed for this on a veggie thread, but if you do a little research into the digestion of a dog...their bodies do not use vegtables well. It is more of a filler. They cant break down celulose from plants very well. So while we humans do just fine on all veggies...no so much with animals that were built to be carnivors. And a mastiff especially would have problems with calcium versus protien absorbtion etc...you know they have calcium/bone issues anyway with all their joint problems as they get older. SO if you do go veggie with your mastiff...i would really get someone educated about it to figure out the ratio of calcium to vitamin D to protien ect. I tried to go veggie with mine but it was just not the best thing for an animal that was intended to be a meat eater. (PLEASE DONE SLAM ME....these are just my opinions and what i found after a tireless effort to investigate this very question)

As far as the bugs go. I do what i can to take them outside, like you do...but i have the same feelings about flies and misquitos that you have about roaches.
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Old 04-29-2008, 02:29 PM   #3  
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I believe Dogs, like humans, are omnivores and you can successfully feed them a vegetarian diet. I bought vegetarian dog food for my dog and she will get that sometimes (she is picky but loves her vegetarian dry dog food). I also have meat dog food that she will get in her rotation.

From my research on vegetarian dog food and cat food, I found dogs can successfully be vegetarian but cats are carnivores and should never be fed a vegetarian diet. I'm working on it with my dog but with my cats, they get meat products. Also, I couldn't imagine formulating my dog's food although it is possible (with proper supplements), so I buy it. This is her favorite http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/p...brand%5Fid=389

I reconcile feeding my cats cat food by buying them good cat food and they don't really eat much so its not really a lot of meat.

As for bugs, they get escorted outside but sometimes it is necessary to kill bugs.

Overall, I think I just try to do the best I can.

Last edited by nelie; 04-29-2008 at 02:30 PM.
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Old 04-29-2008, 02:37 PM   #4  
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Thanks guys.
My big slobby girl is going to keep getting her regular food for a while until I can do a lot more research on it. She has her annual checkup soon so I may broach it with her vet, they're very into holistic healing so I don't think they'lll give me the you must be crazy look. I do feed her high quality w/o a lot of filler so that makes me feel a little bit better. She loves her carrots though, moreso then even treats!! I have a brindle girl, what do you have get n healthy?

Nelie I think you said it: Just do the best one can. Good point!

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Old 04-29-2008, 05:32 PM   #5  
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I'm vegan and have been for a long time. I have 3 dogs, and I feed them regular dog food. I might get slammed from other vegans or vegetarians, but honestly, I already buy then very good quality food, but I just can't afford the vegetarian dog food. If I only had one, I could probably swing it, but three?? Not a chance.

Bugs-I escort them out; however, I don't have to deal with cockroaches, so I'm not sure how I would deal with that .

You truly have to just do the very best you can. This world is not easy for vegetarians and vegans, so you can only do what you can do, and don't feel guilty!! When I first went vegan I drove myself crazy with guilt! Don't do it. And don't let other people let you feel guilty about feeding your dog a veggie diet or not feeding her a veggie diet. I never argue with anyone about my choices, but there are lots of people out there who love to argue about it. Do they really think they can change my mind?

Whew, went off on a little rant there!

Anyway, just my 2 cents. Good luck to you!
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Old 04-29-2008, 06:13 PM   #6  
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I have been a vegetarian for 26 years. I did feed my dog vegetarian dog food for a short time. My cats - never. Now, I buy Iams for all of my pets. They do well on it.

Bugs - outside - live and let live (except mosquitoes - they get swatted if they get to close). Inside - catch and release - except house flies and mosquitoes - both get swatted.
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Old 04-29-2008, 09:39 PM   #7  
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I've been vegetarian for more than 15 years. My cats have never been vegetarian. Cats are just so darn carnivorous, and as long as I don't have to prepare the food from scratch, I can deal with it. My house rules are:

1) I don't prepare meaty food. Why the heck would I cook something I won't eat??

2) I don't put meaty food on my dishes. We use paper plates when friends come over and have meaty pizza. The cats use their own, dedicated dishes, so they are ok on this one

3) My loved ones (cats, spouse, future children, etc) will never ever get any flak from me for eating meat, as much as they want, as long as they stick to rules 1 and 2. Everyone has to make their individual decision about whether to be vegetarian or not.
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Old 04-30-2008, 05:59 AM   #8  
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I've been a vegetarian for about five years now and I've had many many many animals.

I don't think you need feel guilty about feeding your animals meat, because when you look at the food chain many animals wouldn't exist without being in there somewhere! I think the thing is, us humans dont need meat and we have a CHOICE where as most animals it comes naturally to preffer meat or grass.

For me, I don't eat meat because although I love animals and preffer them not to die for myself, I just don't know where my meat is coming from and how it's being treat. If they were my pigs I were eating and I knew they'd been looked after well it would be entirely different.
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Old 04-30-2008, 09:25 AM   #9  
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My cats get normal food. I have heard that they, unlike us, are carnivores so they need the meat.
As far as bugs, I generally leave them alone. My cats usually take care of any ones inside but I will catch and release sometimes. Outside I leave them alone except we just had hornets build a nest in the container we keep the lawn mower in. We sprayed it because if we didn't it would be hard to get the lawn mower without getting stung. It's not a big shed its just a small thing that just fits the lawn mower with the handle collapsed. I do feel bad about doing stuff like that but sometimes it's hard to avoid.
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Old 05-02-2008, 01:23 PM   #10  
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I don't believe in putting an animal on a vegetarian diet. It's not their nature, and their nutritional needs are a lot different than ours. Also, vegetarianism is a choice and our pets aren't making that choice.

There are a lot of really high quality "human grade" organic and ethically produced pet foods now. You won't find them in a supermarket and you probably won't find them at Pet Smart. We have a local natural pet food store that is fantastic, and our local health food store carries a good variety as well.
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Old 05-02-2008, 01:55 PM   #11  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzanne 3FC View Post
I don't believe in putting an animal on a vegetarian diet. It's not their nature, and their nutritional needs are a lot different than ours. Also, vegetarianism is a choice and our pets aren't making that choice.

There are a lot of really high quality "human grade" organic and ethically produced pet foods now. You won't find them in a supermarket and you probably won't find them at Pet Smart. We have a local natural pet food store that is fantastic, and our local health food store carries a good variety as well.

I'll have to look into that. I've often shuddered (even before becoming a vegetarian) about how her food is produced.
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