vegetarian dogs

Some people think dogs are omnivores and some others think they are carnivores. But their are some dogs that can live on a vegetarian diet.

ITA luv4gsds!  Dogs can be omnivores or carnivores it depends on what's available for them to eat OR which site you happen to be reading that sort of info at the time.  If it's a RAW foods website they of course say they are carnivores b/c that's what they feed.  This subject could go on till the end of time.  Agree with dvet, I think we all live and learn daily. Nothing is etched in stone nowadays.
 
Thanks Jaye for all the links you posted it is very interesting.  Xolo's are pretty dogs.
 

Canids (Canidae) are carnivorous (wolves, jackals, coyotes and so on). But when dog breeds where being evolve their where fed a diet of what ever was available to them be it veggies, meat, leftovers and ect. So the Xoloitzcuintle breed was a vegetarian dog, if that is what it was fed in the beginning of its evolvement. Just like I call my dogs omnivores, they eat meats, veggies, and fruits.

   It would be nice to know if their teeth were different from most dogs and adapted for eating lants and if their digestive system is different too since dogs do not digest plant material very well. I did find a site that recommends a meat based diet for the breed;

                  [linkhttp://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/health/xoloitzcuintle.html]http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/health/xoloitzcuintle.html[/link]

To me the fact that they can do well on a vegetarian diet makes them an oddity among dogs. In the "Nature of Animal Healing" by Goldstein he described a case where some vegans had a very sick dog which they had fed a vegetarian diet. Goldstein, also a vegetarian, fed his dogs and cats a meat based diet and told the vegans that if they didn't give their dog meat it would die. They refused to do so and the dog died several days later.

ORIGINAL:     Goldstein, also a vegetarian, fed his dogs and cats a meat based diet and told the vegans that if they didn't give their dog meat it would die. They refused to do so and the dog died several days later.

 
Good point!
 
One of Jayes link stated the dog is "capable" of being kept on a vegetarian diet.  Makes no mention of the quality of life or if the dog would actually "thrive" on a meat based diet.  All they indicate it is "capable" of survival.  There is a difference between simply surviving (barely) and thriving.
 
Another posted link stated this: "Named after the Aztec God-dog Xoloti and often eaten by its Mexican breeders..."  OK, so if that is the case, no wonder it starts out as a vegetarian.  Why waste the meat if the dog is supper in a few months anyway?  Meat no doubt took effort (must be hunted...no guns back then) and desperately needed for the tribe.  Oh my, what a wonderful way to justify and promote the vegan way of life for dogs as some websites attempt (look through the smoke).  All dogs may be "capable" of a vegan diet, but for how long and what about the quality of life.  Gosh, hate to see those Vet bills.
 
To back up Jesssies_mom in regards to Goldstein and his warning not heeded by naive pet owners we find a quote from the Abady Articles-raw diets:
 
"The problem with the current raw diets is that most of them are primarily composed of plant matter which is indigestible to the dog (and cat), even though it is well known that feeding raw plant matter exclusively to dogs will result in starvation, because dogs do not produce the enzymes needed to break down cellulose (there are many other reasons as well). "
 
Note, this is in regards to commercial raw diets being sold in attempt to capitalize on the BARF or carnivore theme.  They still insist on cheapening the mix by adding raw plant matter...anything to increase profit margin.  Thank goodness the home-prepared raw feeders need not worry for they can regulate what's going into the ration
 
 

I'm a vegan but I feed all my cats and dogs meat based diets, because I know it is best for them.  In my little perfect world the meat would be raised and slaughtered in a humane way, but alas, there is no such food...!

CC,  those sites i posted are not justifying or promoting a vegan way of life for dogs or anyone.  they are simply stating facts about this particular breed and also state that they can quite easily be converted to a meat based diet.  neither am i suggesting a vegan way of life for dogs.  just thought it was interesting.  people dont get defensive.

Um, just a thought - if these dogs were largely bred for their meat value, are we talking about "corn-fattening"?  Maize was the primary food source in the prehistoric Americas and would be available in abundance.  Corn has plenty of protein - our modern cultivars and hybrids average around 8% DM  Long term - well, that's an ongoing argument here, but dogs raised for meat wouldn't have to worry about that, right?  [:'(]

raised and slaughtered in a humane way, but alas, there is no such food...!

 
Actually, there is. Ted Nugent practices his marksmanship religiously. 98% of the time, he hits dead on. He carries a side-arm in case the shot didn't take. The animal suffers no more than a moment.
 

You got that right ron.

Jaye,
I was wrong about that website with a first impression ( I always admit when I#%92m wrong).  I was thinking just another ‘artsy-fartsy#%92 website about dogs.  Well I went back to take a look to see if my first impression was right but I find not at all artsy fartsy (nothing wrong with a website being artsy fartsy mind you, no need for anyone to take that expression the wrong way).  So, I find a very nice article on the history on military dogs which I enjoyed reading, took a US Presidential quiz on their dogs and discovered I was truly wrong w/ first impression.  I would like to mention though I never implied that you personally were reflection an opinion, so I think you took something the wrong way in regards to people getting defensive.  I was really speaking in general anyway but readily admit I was wrong about that particular site.  Funny how you singled out one sentence I said though and felt the need to comment…you don#%92t hate me do you?
 Charlie

I saw the Cat Scratch Fever tour…about 23 years ago!  I#%92m sure Ted does a much better job of killing animals and humanely than the slaughterhouse where they probably die of fear before crunch time.
 
Charlie 

I was reading messages at a yahoo group once on veggie pets.  One story made me kind of sad.  I think it was a Catherine Lane group.  Anyway, this woman is telling her story about how she is determined to keep her cat on a veggie diet.  So she is naturally at the Vets office like every other day for problems.  The office keeps insisting she has to feed her cat meat-based but she insists otherwise.  What made me sad was she said she was in the waiting room, the door was left open in the back and they were laughing at her.  I don't think that is right.  Even if you have to tell a client until you blue in the face what they need to do, one would expect some professionalism from the Vet office and there is no need to ridicule and laugh at someone for their belief.  Her money is just as green as the next clients, so they should be grateful she comes through the door every other day.  It is her prerogative to feed her pet anyway she sees fit, even if they tell her she is slowly killing her cat.   She believes otherwise, so be it…maybe after slowly starving to death a few cats she will come to her senses.  In the mean time, no need to be laughed at in a doctors office.

Charlie

no CC i dont hate you, im just tired of some people (not you necessarily) turning every thread into a meat vs. vegie diet argument, or a kibble vs. raw diet argument.  cant they EVER just see something and say, hmm thats interesing ?  i dont think its funny or odd at all that i commented on what you said in your post.  i would just like to try and keep the thread on topic which has nothing to do with anyone advocating any type of diet, and i think i helped do that by pointing out thats not what those sites are doing at all.
 
edited to fix typos

  jaye; I hope you didn't take the account I related from Goldstein's book the wrong way; I do find it interesting that there is a dog that can eat a vegetarian diet and apparently be healthy. As I said in the other post it would be nice to know if the breed had teeth that were better for chewing plant material than other dogs and if their digestive system had adapted more than other dogs to be able to digest lant material. I just related the other story to illustrate how important meat is to a dog's diet; as I look at it now it was probably inappropriate.