vegetarian dogs

I suppose if humans can be vegetarians, so can dogs...?

 
 Our nutritional needs are much different from dogs; we would be better off limiting meat to about three meals a week and eating red meat only once a month; we've been resaerching this because my husband has high cholesterol. When Jessie's allergies got to the point that she was going to the vet every two weeks for skin infections I did research on how to boost her immune system and learned from reading books and numerous websites that dogs do much better when they have more protein from meat than grain in their diet. Also, they do not have problems with cholesterol from meat like we do. If vegetables are included in their food they must be cooked or pureed or else the dog cannot digest them well enough to receive nutritional benefits; they lack some of the enzymes that digest plant material.
  The disregard for animal's rights in the East is shocking, disgusting and pervasive; it goes way beyond keeping dogs in inhumane conditions. If you've ever seen films of their markets they sell everything in cages to be eaten and sell parts of tigers and gorillas to be made into aphrodishiacs(I'm sure that's spelled wrong) and other concoctions.
 

cc; What were the prices like at that restaurant? It sounds like they were doing some hunting in alleys to save on their costs. My mother-in-law was born in 1901 and tried cat during the depression; couldn't stand the taste. [:'(]

The cost of the food seemed comparable to any other Chinese restaruant...I know what you're thinking, we were getting ripped off!

I don't need to see the pictures either for I already saw the PBS special regarding this several years back.  They have factory floors piled up with a mountain of dog skins ready to go to clothing manufacturers.  What was very upsetting is the typical way they kill the dog.  Unexpectedly, tail still wagging happily, they take a knife to the back underside of the leg where there is a large vein so the dog bleeds out quickly to death.

Shortly after seeing this show, I was in a store known as The Burlington Coat Factory.  There may or not be one in your area,
but they are around here scattered about up and down the North East corridor.  I was in the Groton, Connecticut store where I saw this.  They sell mostly coats, a lot of womens leather jackets but also have winter style jackets, shirts, ties, socks, etc.
So I'm checking out this winter jacket, I was really looking for a goose-down winter style jacket.  So I'm reading the tag on one of these jackets and it actually listed Mongolian Dog Fur as one of the materials.  No, I didn't buy that jacket, like I said I was after goose-down.

Looking at things from a cultural perspective, we might find there style repulsive and unacceptable however there are probably things we do that they feel are strange and peculiar as well.  It depends on where your from I guess.  I am not going to pass judgment on them for their cultural lifestyles as I would hope they wouldn't on our customs and lifestyle.

What I find more repulsive is seeing some of basic manners of some Asian people, NOT ALL, but many.  Every see them eat in an employee cafeteria of restaurant?  Chewing away food with mouth wide open, often talking at the same time, spitting food out or letting it fall out of their mouth back onto the plate.  But the weird thing is then they start picking their teeth and cover their mouth carefully as if to conceal what their doing.  After that show of table manners, why bother?

Table manners vary from culture to culture.  It is very rude in some places not to belch loudly after a meal.  It is inexpressively rude in France to ask for any condiment or additional seasoning at a home prepared or sit-down restaurant meal.  Americans habitually leave food on the plate for fear of looking like a pig- in many places that would be a serious insult to your host.  There are still many places in Asia where using a knife at table is akin to irreligiousness, much less impolite.

I agree, however, that there are many places where animal husbandry practices reflect a basic low value for life in general.  I  do beleive that objective standards exist in this respect, so these things make me shudder on many levels.

Edited to add:  the Mongolian dog fur thing is kind of puzzling.  The mongolians are a culture that has great respect for their beasts - their horses are king and their dogs - big mastiff looking things - are literally family members who have secret names, their own totems, are buried with great respect when they pass, and of course stay in the shelter with the family.

The only thing I can think, if it's really Mongolian dogs, is that someone is stealing these stately dogs and raising them for pelts.  What a tragic thing for the Mongolian people that would seem.

I'm a vegetarian who would never dream of feeding my pets a vegetarian diet.  I understand the difference in their needs and respect that.  I have the option to choose, they however do not.
 
And I will add (MO)......although I agree that the 3rd world practices of what animals they choose to eat and how they keep them is disgusting, I am no less disgusted with the state of animals in this country.  The complete and utter excess that our society grows and processes every year is horrific and uncalled for.  The quota requirements and demand has caused horrible living conditions (today's beef industry feed lots) along with extreme modification with hormones.  And I have even less faith in the slaughter industry for a myrid of reasons.  I believe that a lack of respect for human life that is becoming more and more common has warped our sense of respect of all life.  Humans used to value and respect the animals they obtained food, clothing and tools from and that is such a distant thought now. 
 
I was once at a Scottish festival when a cattle farmer was telling us that the reason the Scottish Highland cow is favored is because it is more docile and more easily handled.  They warm up to humans well.  It's possible that this is a consideration for the use of dogs in other countries.  The adaptability of the dog and willingness to work with humans.  I'm sure their smaller size is a consideration as well.

I was raised on a farm.  We slaughtered a calf or hog  each year, sometimes both, and Daddy did a lot of quail, dove, duck hunting, plus occasionally rabbit and often squirrels, plus we had fresh chicken every Sunday.  And of course we did fish.  Hunting was not for pleasure (however it was great watching the dogs work while quail hunting), it was for food. 
 
Our chickens were loose, not penned.  Our cow/calves had the freedom of several acres.  Hogs were kept in a pen, but had a nice shaded area in their sty, plus we made mud for them from time to time in one dorner of the pen.  These were all just farm animals and we knew calves and hogs  and chickens were killed for food and didn't get close to them like we did to the cow, dogs, cats, mule, etc.
 
Well, Daddy decided to raise some turkeys for us for Christmas and Thanksgiving and bought 6 baby turkeys,.  Now I have heard that turkeys are so stupid they will stand under a tree and drown rather than have the sense to get up in the tree.  I have not idea if this is right or not, but our turkeys seemed pretty smart.  Us kids took a shine to them and they followed us around everywhere.  We 4 would walk the 1 1/2 miles down to the general store to get something for Mama, or to get the mail (post office was in one corner of the general store) and those turkeys would following along behind us in single file like we were walking.  People use to get the biggest kick out of seeing "those 4 Pike kids and their turkeys" walking down the road single file.  Well, come Thanksgiving, Daddy killed one and use kids would not touch it.  Ever see the movie Giant where the kids are crying over Pedro the turkety being served for Thanksgiving dinner.. I think of us and our turkeys every time I see that movie.  Well, Daddy had no desire to feed 5 other turkeys us kids wouldn't eat, so he sold them.

why do you refuse to have an open mind to anything or learn anything new? if you dont look at the pictures and see whats actually going on you cant make any sort of judgement on whether is better or worse. that picture posted in this thread was the very least of them.

I do not refuse to learn new things. I've seen a hundred sites like that. I'm stressed out enough without adding to the stressor of my dog possibly having cancer..... I already know what goes on in other countries. I've seen photos from people who've been there IRL. I've talked to people who've actually eaten dogs. I *am* informed on this topic, believe it or not, and most other things dog-related. I live dogs.

I don't think it's any worse than American factory farms, or American animal abuse. It's just a matter of cultural perception. In *my* pereption, all animals are to be treated equally, with respect for their lives, and for the sacrifice that they've made, if they're to become food. It's wrong to raise any animal in a cage, and wrong to keep any animal in it's own waste, and wrong to keep any animal out of the natural light of day, and out of the natural cycle of seasons and days.

I'm sorry, but I just don't see the huge difference in a dog and a pig.

I almost got a pet pig this week, but ended up turning him away, because Teenie is having a medical problem that's going to take quite a bit of money and attention to solve. He is just as smart (and as cute!) as a dog.

jennie, its not the difference between a dog and a pig.  its the conditions.  the conditions the dogs in question have to stand is far worse than any conditions i have yet seen.  its far worse than whats portrayed on that chicken farm site.  i dont think any animal should be abused like that either but you cant comment on something you havnt seen yet.

ORIGINAL: sandra_slayton

Daddy killed one and use kids would not touch it.  Ever see the movie Giant where the kids are crying over Pedro the turkety being served for Thanksgiving dinner.. I think of us and our turkeys every time I see that movie.  Well, Daddy had no desire to feed 5 other turkeys us kids wouldn't eat, so he sold them.

i totally understand this.  we had a similar situation when i was a kid when our mother killed our favorite chicken for dinner. 

I have no moral objections to killing animals for food and fur, but at least you can raise them humanely and kill them quickly. I don't care what culture you were raised in or what species it is.
I've seen pig and chicken factory farms in the U.S., and the conditions, while unpleasant, are nowhere near as horrific as what you see in the farms and live-meat markets in asia.

Good point about the hearty belch after a meal.  I had heard the Amish (PA Dutch Country) is a culture that welcomes the belch and a sign a disrespect if none is given after a meal...BTW...love the shoe-fly pie!
 
Mongolian Dog Fur:  Just did a google search on those 3 words and got some hits, and there it is Burlington Coat Factory is mentioned.  One site stated they unwittingly purchased the jackets with the fur-line around the hood being of Mongolian dog fur.  Another site advertised the boycott Burlington Coat Factory.  This occurred in 1999.
 
 
[linkhttp://archives.foodsafetynetwork.ca/animalnet/1999/6-1999/an-06-09-99-02.txt]http://archives.foodsafetynetwork.ca/animalnet/1999/6-1999/an-06-09-99-02.txt[/link]
 
[linkhttp://www.petitiononline.com/2155/petition.html]http://www.petitiononline.com/2155/petition.html[/link]
 
[linkhttp://www.naiaonline.org/articles/archives/furfree.htm]http://www.naiaonline.org/articles/archives/furfree.htm[/link]
 

So there's a good chance the Mongolian dog fur is mislabeled.  Good.

Here's some information about the Mongolian dog to balance the horror of the Asian dog farming practices:

Dogs are the only domesticated animals Mongols give names. All the other animals are given nicknames based on their color or shape while dogs are considered a family member.

When puppy is brought to home for the first time it is fed with some milk. After this the foundation of its ears and the tail end are smeared with some fat with the wish of turning into a lion. Then the new owner whispers the dog name into its ear.

 Try this with your next puppy, by the way - puppy will love it!

This is funny- have you ever been tempted?

Dog hair is known to be most warm and light furs. Each spring up to 400 grams of soft under hair can be combed from one dog. This is used for knitting winter socks with which feet never get cold during winter.

Though one can find many rare dogs on the local market, it is rare to see a puppy of true Mongolian dogs on sale.

Information gathered by Filippe Touret, Reims, France - original text in French: Mongolia Today.

good info brookcove!