"I lift my vegan dogs"

The Adelaide woman, Lea McBride, 48, is in the image of her good health, as are her two senior gold diggers, Darcy, 10, and Emilie, 8. Like Lea, both dogs are strictly vegan and have benefited from a plant-based diet for almost all. of their lives.

"We raised them vegan," said Lea, director and event coordinator at the Vegan Festival Adelaide. "The farmer fed them meat, but we went from Darcy to vegan after four months, he was completely vegan after six months, Emilie was 100% vegan after four months – we had already researched with Darcy, (so) it was a lot easier. "

Looking at healthy, energetic older dogs, the question is: can every dog ​​survive or even thrive on a vegan diet?

THIS IS A YES FROM THE VET

By changing the diet of her dogs, Lea worked closely with Dr. Derek McNair, veterinarian at the Norwood Parade Veterinary Clinic in South Australia, to ensure that all nutritional requirements were covered.

"At the time, there was not much documentation on pets that were high-vegan," she reveals. "We did as much research as we could and Dr. Derek promised to go back to a meat-based diet if their health was slightly affected."

Dr. Derek admits to being skeptical at first, but 10 years later, he is constantly impressed by the good health of the dogs.

"I take care of them since they are puppies," he says. "They are extremely healthy and have never had a problem, they do a lot of physical activity and they have a good level of energy.

"Lea feeds them with commercially-produced dry foods that companies consider balanced, and she also makes extra efforts by giving them home-made foods and alternating their meals, adding supplements like LSA for omega-3s and yeast for vitamin B12, which includes soy products, which provide vegetable protein and fatty acids for shiny coat, healthy skin and a healthy nervous system. "

It may not be nutritionists

Ruth Hatten, a pet nutritionist in Brisbane, thinks that some dogs can safely follow a vegan diet, but points out that extra care is needed for the dog to grow.

"It's about the bioavailability of nutrients," she says. "Dogs are carnivores and current research shows that nutrients in animal sources are more bioavailable to them.

"You can increase bioavailability by feeding a wide variety of plant proteins, but the food has to be supplied in such a way that the dog absorbs all the nutrients.

"Dogs lack amylase in saliva, an enzyme needed to treat carbohydrates.They also do not produce cellulase, which is essential for the digestion of plants.This means that they will have trouble to digest plants if measures are not taken to facilitate digestion. "

With this in mind, all plant material should be administered to partially digested dogs that are cooked, pulverized and / or mashed. Ruth also recommends a digestive enzyme supplement containing amylase and cellulase. Similarly, apple cider vinegar can help.

While plant proteins can provide dogs with sufficient building blocks, the essential nutrients of coenzyme Q10 and vitamin B12 are only available in meat and need to be replaced every day.

"Other nutrients include essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, found in foods of plant origin," says Ruth, "but I still encourage to include raw meat bones, raw eggs in Freedom and Fish Without being vegan, it helps reduce meat while significantly reducing any health problems that may arise from a vegan diet.

"I understand that vegans may have a hard time feeding their dog with meat, but I believe our primary obligation is towards the animals we care for.Sometimes a dog does not enjoy a vegan diet, and it is also an important factor.If this becomes too difficult, a person could choose a pet that does not eat meat, such as a rabbit, a guinea pig, a chicken or a horse.

"Another option is to feed the most ethical meat available from your local organic butcher, which will bring additional health benefits to your pet compared to factory-reared meat."

MAKE TRANSITION

If you are ready to raise your dog as a vegan, experts insist on doing it slowly and, of course, include all the nutrients mentioned above.

"Take at least a month," advises Dr. Derek, "to allow time for the gut bacteria to adapt."

Lea recommends gradually replacing the meat with vegan options at each meal.

"I've started adding vegan dog products to their meat and alternating brands to vary," she says. "Finally, we completely eliminated the meat and turned their plant-based meals with supplements to create a nutrient-friendly, holistic diet."

Although Lea relies on store-bought vegan foods, she also prepares home-cooked meals several times a week.

"I prepare a lot of moist foods using vegetable protein textured with different beans, lentils, vegetables, yeast and cider vinegar.We alternate vegetables for different flavors using sweet potatoes, kale, spinach and carrots, "she explains.

DO NOT FORGET REGULAR HEALTH CONTROLS

"If your dog is just starting a vegan diet, have it checked every six months," suggests Dr. Derek. "After about two years, if the blood tests, etc., give you a good look, try to stretch it every year, which we recommend to all dogs, regardless of their diet."

As for Darcy and Emilie, their recent annual health check has given an irreproachable health check.

"Someone is still trying to attack me, but the evidence is between my dogs," Lea laughs at the criticism. "I can not imagine any reason why I would go back to eating meat, their hearing is good, they get up well, their eyes are fine and they are still very active.

"I admit to being a little nervous when we go to the vet.I am afraid people will judge me if something goes wrong.However, this year we have another report on two dogs in very good health.

"I would say to all those who are curious about this, think about it, but as for any dietary change, research and caution!" Darcy and Emilie are happy, healthy, intelligent and very well socialized, at 10 o'clock. efforts to make sure they stay that way. "