Feeding your dog vegetarian, vegan or flex

Some owners have their personal reasons for keeping their dog on a meat-free diet. And you may want to give you dog less or no meat if it is allergic to animal proteins. We will tell you all about vegan, vegetarian and flex diets for your canine.

Meat or no meat

The debate has been going on for years: do dogs need meat? A clear answer to this question hasn’t been found yet and the discussion has many proponents and opponents of a meat-free diet for dogs. Some owners are vegetarian or vegan themselves and would like the same for their pet. This may be a reason to consider a vegetarian or even a vegan diet. Considerations vary from animal cruelty to the impact of meat consumption on the environment.

Meat allergy in dogs

Another frequent reason for a vegetarian diet is when dogs suffer from a meat allergy, making it difficult for them to digest animal-based proteins. Consumption may cause diarrhoea or vomiting, as well as symptoms like itching and inflammation. These dogs may benefit from a vegetarian diet. For more on meat allergy, read the blog: “What to do if your dog has a meat allergy?”.

Vegan, vegetarian or flex

There are several options to choose from when it comes to reducing or eliminating meat from your pet’s diet:

• Vegan: no animal-based ingredients, e.g. milk or eggs
• Vegetarian: no meat (or fish)
• Flex: occasional vegetarian/vegan meals

A balanced diet

We’ve mentioned several reasons to consider an animal protein-free diet for your dog. But first and foremost, you want to make sure your dog gets all the nutrients it needs. You’ll read all about it in the blog “Essential nutrients for dogs”. For one thing, your dog needs proteins. They help your dog grow as well as repair and maintain bodily cells and tissue. They play an important role in your dog’s immune system. But animal proteins can be replaced with plant-based proteins. Always provide your dog with a balanced diet that contains enough nutrients. Which means opting for complete food. Yarrah has been offering various options for vegetarian dog food and vegan dog snacks since 1995. When developing these products, we made sure that the result comes packed with all the necessary nutrients. The main protein source of this food is soy.

What meat does Yarrah use?

Yarrah isn’t just good for your pet, but for all animals and the world around us too. This is why all of Yarrah’s food is organic. We will explain when a product is considered organic and why organic food is good for your pet. It is important to note that Yarrah doesn’t have any animals slaughtered for our food. Instead, we use so-called residual streams. Bits of meat that remain after the steaks and chicken fillets have been cut away aren’t wasted, but put to good use instead.

A vegetarian diet for cats?

In theory, dogs can extract enough nutrients from a vegetarian diet because they can process plant-based proteins. Cats are carnivores and need meat-based nutrients. We will tell you all about it in the blog: “Why cats need meat”.