Veg diets for dogs 'young at heart,' but old otherwise?
Posted by hotcooknmama on Oct 15, 2009 · Member since Sep 2009 · 848 posts
I have two older dogs, about 12 years old, one of whom has some intermittent hip arthritis. Ideally I'd prefer not supporting animal-agribusiness for their food either, but I worry about changing them over (a) at this late stage of life, & (b) when my Daisy-dog has lingering joint issues... right now they're on Purina One 'Senior' food, with glucosamine; I can tell that it has helped reduce frequency of arthritis issues. I was just wondering, has anyone had experience with older arthritic dogs going veg? I'd be interested to hear others' input...
no, not older dogs but i turned my younger dogs veg and they r doing wonderfully! my one dog who used to have the nastiest coat now has a super soft coat... i have seen the difference and it is so much better for them... i am not sure about your situation though... sorry :(
My dog Uncle Harry is around 10-12 years old....he doesn't have any arthritis that I know of, but he used to have a severe thyroid problem which caused monthly seizures - once we switched him to a veg diet, he's been fine, without medicine. No seizures, he has a lot more energy and his gas is a little less foul.
Guess I need to talk to my vet... maybe a veg diet with glucosamine supplements? I'll keep lookin' for more info, & pass it on if I come across it... thanks for the input!
:)
My dog died last year at the age of 18. She was vegetarian for the last 8 or 9 years of her life. She was a mix breed medium sized dog & was very healthy & spry up until the last year of her life when her hips started to go. Good luck with your pups!
P.S. Most vets don't know very much about animal nutrition. I'm not putting them down, they just don't focus on animal nutrition in vet school. I would recommend getting their opinion, but doing your own research & deciding for yourself.
I give my 15 year old a liquid glucosmine supplement for dogs, that I realize probably is not vegan, but otherwise he eats vegan. He doesn't have any arthritis problems but the vet recommended it for prevention and so far so good. (Although Deva does make a vegan brand, just not sure how it translates to a 10 lb dog)