MURPHDOGS (my dogs) GO VEGAN!

The Murphdogs (my dogs) are going Vegan! That’s right! VEGAN! This is a personal choice; not one I am pushing on any pet parent.  It’s simply my choice for me as well as for my canine family. I do have a reason, however. It wasn’t just a lightning bolt idea that struck me as one I want to try. One of my dogs, Phoenix, who is 3 years old, became poultry intolerant. The most common food allergy dogs suffer from is protein. Additionally, my cholesterol was a bit high, so I decided to go vegan as well. There is commercial Vegan Dog Food available, but I do not feed dog food to my dogs.

 

Scratching himself was only a minor issue. He had become extremely ill and was vomiting blood. Other signs indicated what Phoenix might be suffering from, but this is about food and not illness. If your dog is showing signs of not being well, it’s best to discuss it with your veterinarian. Those of you who know me well, know that I am a strong advocate for canine health and well-being. Being lucky enough to have benefited from the research and experience of studying and practicing nutrition and home-cooked human food for dogs, I now had to turn my cooking savvy in an unfamiliar direction. Yes, I felt overwhelmed as this is new territory for me and my dogs.

I started by making a list of what was healthy, nutritious, and safe for dogs to eat. I also made a vegan food list of what I would like to eat and found there was very little on my list that I should not feed my dogs.

By the way, I have three dogs and decided the best way to keep Phoenix safe and healthy was to feed Vegan to all my dogs.

I’m delighted to say that Phoenix was showing improvement within the first 24 hours and is now completely healthy. All three dogs love their vegan diet and seem more interested in eating than ever before.

There are two very important things I need to mention. If you believe your dog has a food allergy, do some research about the following.

One- Vegan food (home-cooked) cannot supply three major components to maintain a balanced and healthy diet. Taurine, and L-Carnitine, are both amino acids found in animal products. The third is B12, also from animal products. All three must be included in a healthy diet.

If a dog is poultry intolerant, it’s important to review all the ingredients in canine supplements. Any supplements that are not designed for vegan-fed dogs will contain animal products like chicken liver.

I am researching the supplement that I will be giving to my dogs and let you know as soon as possible.

Two- Hydrolyzed dog food. This dog food contains protein that has been chemically broken down into tiny molecules to prevent an allergic reaction. Hydrolyzed dog food should be used for a limited amount of time, approximately eight weeks. This is considered a trial food so that your dog has a chance to recover while testing one protein source at a time to determine which food your dog has an allergic reaction to. Hydrolyzed dog food can have many side effects and should not be used long-term. I did not use hydrolyzed dog food.

Let’s start with the list of ingredients I use.  More info to come…

Whole Grain Pasta   Brown Rice   Quinoa   Oatmeal   Whole Grain Matzos  Sweet Potatoes   Peas   String Beans   Chickpeas     Broccoli   Carrots  Spinach   Tomatoes   Red Pepper   Blueberries   Strawberries   Mango  Apples   Applesauce   Banana   Pumpkin   Red Pears  Zucchini   Cantaloupe  Watermelon   Butternut Squash

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