In article , "Rachael of Nex, the Wiccan Rat" wrote:
As long as your dogs are getting enough protien... :-)
Highly unlikely on a veggie diet, tho some of the small pet breeds
(ie. those not bred for a mission in life) can get by on diets that
would be starvation for a working dog or brood bitch.
Well, I have two gsd's (both very big and full of life) and a springer, and
my vet seems to be completely happy with their diet, which is based on a
prepared food (Wafcol veggie diet) supplemented with with fresh vegetarian
options from my own kitchen - which I put together after no small amount of
research. The elder shepherd has digestive issues with meat products. His
diet as a pup was quite a story. Both of the gsd's becpome veggies when they
became adults (though I still call the younger one my pup).

Vets are not taught anything about diet in school. They go entirely by
what dog food companies send them. The ONLY company I've seen put out
honest information about canine dietary research is Purina, even if
they don't always follow their own advice. I used to manufacture dog
food for my own kennel, and my background is biochemistry; I've been
through all the original university-based research (not just
that skewed by manufacturers, or tinfoil-hat interests). Plus I have
35 years as a canine professional, feeding on average 30 to 40 dogs
every day, of every age. I am indeed qualified to comment, whether you
choose to believe it or not. However, I'll not go beyond this post,
because I no longer give canine advice for free (I presently charge
$75/incident), having wearied of wasting my breath with people who've
had some success with 2 or 3 pet dogs and think that makes them an
expert.

They are big and hearty enough for me and my vet, anyway, so pardon me if I
feel that as you don't know the dogs in question or the diet I feed them,
you cannot exactly comment on their diet or on any nutritional inadequacies
you might imagine they have.

http://www.wafcol.co.uk/vegetarian.html

Dogs, being fairly flexible in what they can utilize, can scrape by on
such a diet, and even look good so long as the dog is not stressed
(tho if you have trouble keeping them out of the trash, it's due to
protein and fat deprivation). But if it gets sick, it's going to be in
a whole lot more trouble than a dog who has better reserves. And try
feeding this diet to a bitch nursing pups -- she'll be skin and bones
in a couple weeks, and look like death warmed over by weaning, no
matter how much she eats. Whereas a bitch fed a good diet will
actually gain weight while nursing.

BTW, the actual cost of ingredients and processing of any dog food is
$3 to $4 per 50 pounds. Everything else is distributor markup.

And I don't recommend it for compost, because it molds and draws
mice.

~REZ~
Longplain Kennels, Reg'd
old-fashioned classic Labs since 1969
(eleven generations to date)
http://www.longplain.com