Vegetarian vs. Vegan Pet Food

I’ve got a bit of a Gray Matter, here. Both Charles Hobson Booger, III, and Violet Rays comfortably transitioned from a diet of raw animal carcasses to a vegan diet (by Evolution, which is a vegan company that doesn’t test on animals). But things just weren’t right because:

• They had to eat 3x as much vegan food as raw.
• The expelled prodigious amounts of unbelievably-stinky poop. (Think of the average grocery store bag: Together they would produce a total of one filled-to-the-brim bag of poop each day.)
• Charles (3-years old, 80 lbs.) pooped within seconds of eating and kept losing weight. He was up to 8 cups of food per day. Meanwhile, Violet (7-years old, diabetic, 66 pounds) ate only 3 cups per day, and pooped within an hour, but wasn’t desperate to "go" within minutes of eating.
• 3 of the first 4 ingredients are wheat flour, corn gluten, and soybean meal, all of which I want to avoid (for Violet).
• The food is not made with organic ingredients (not a deal-breaker, but would be nice).
• In addition, I have to mail order the food, which results in $80 for a 40 lb. bag, and I needed two per month.

Meanwhile, Emme the Wonder Cat, who is a carrier of Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) and was supposed to drop dead six years ago, does quite well on VEGAN food from Evolution.(Yes, it is supplemented, because yes, cats are carnivores while dogs are omnivores). In addition, the kind vets at Evolution have had great success treating kitties with FIP. I now supplement Emme’s diet with a concoction of herbs, supplements, flowers, and oils, and her symptoms are decreasing (her organs are swollen and she has fluid in her belly). Once a month I do get a can of tuna for her from Whole Foods. Don’t hate me.

Back to the smelly-pooping canines. I decided to go against my "vegan in 2007" motto and purchase PetGuard’s Organic Vegetarian dog food, which is quinoa-based and has no wheat, soy, or corn. It also has oatmeal and barley, and oatmeal, barley, and quinoa are just about the best things diabetics can eat, because they have low glycemic quotients. It also has loads of organic veggies and fruits. And PetGuard doesn’t test on animals. The only problem is that the 5th ingredient in the veg food is "organic dried eggs." (Note that they have a canned vegan food, but it’s way too expensive to feed my large dogs with canned food. It’s $3.69 per can, and even if each dog needed only one per meal, that’s almost $15 per day, which is $450 per month.)

I transitioned to PetGuard and my problems have been solved. I also have some unexpected bonuses.

• Charles is back to a normal quantity of food and is gaining weight.
• Violet needs less insulin, probably because the grains in PetGuard don’t raise her blood sugar as much as soy, wheat, and corn.
• Both dogs leave a fraction of the amount of poop than they did with Evolution (although not quite as miniscule as with raw food).
• Said poop doesn’t make me dizzy and about to pass out.

The dogs still get Newman’s Own vegetable cookie dogs treats (the peanut butter ones give them the runs), as well as Sam’s Yams (dehydrated sweet potato that’s like rawhide but doesn’t smell or stain and is vegan) as snacks. Mr. Barky’s vegetarian biscuits by PetGuard, which are vegan, are also a staple.

I have looked at the ingredients of other vegan dog foods, and PetGuard’s are far superior, in my opinion, for the specific needs of my dogs. I respect and admire the people at Evolution, as they work on many levels to rescue and rehab all kinds of animals. If you want a totally vegan food made by experts who know what they’re talking about, please visit their site. And definitely try their food for your companion animals.