Another Vegan Dog Book!

If you haven't dedicated an entire bookshelf to the topic of vegan pets, now is the time! This latest book is called It's a Vegan Dog's Life and is available for purchase here. There's a pretty extensive description posted there, I'll just say that it looks like this book covers tons of info, and it has over 50 vegan treat recipes. I'll be adding it to book round-up post here. And you can check out the It's A Vegan Dog's Life blog here.

Happy Reading!

(What's Halloween without a thoroughly humiliated collie?)

News, Apologies, etc.

First let me say that I am very sorry for neglecting this blog for so long. There are 2 reasons for this: 1.) My poor beat-up old laptop finally died (for good this time) and 2.) I am an excessively lazy person.

Sable is wonderful (9 years old now, a vegan since 2003), everything is running smoothly, and (although I still have limited computer access) I will try to get in more updates when I can. On to the news...

The formerly out of print book Obligate Carnivore:Cats, Dogs and What it Really Means to be Vegan by Jed Gillen is now back in print, in a second expanded edition. Available from VeganCats.com and Vegan Essentials, among other places. Buy it, read it, memorize it, and be ready for pop quizzes (okay, okay, no quizzes).

An upcoming book entitled The Simple Little Vegan Dog Book by Michelle Rivera will include veterinarian opinions on vegan diets for dogs, lists of healthy vs. harmful foods, and dozens of recipes. (UPDATE: This book is now available for purchase!)

For those times when you just need to grab a quick can of dog food (pet emergency preparedness kits, anyone?) Natural balance has released a canned vegetarian formula to complement their dry Veg formula. The website describes it as " A TRUE Vegan Formula" containing "no dairy products or products derived from trace amounts of meat or dairy sources", yet it does list Vitamin D-3 (usually animal-derived, Vit D-2 is vegan friendly) in the ingredient list (the dry food lists D-2). Not sure yet if this was a typo, or what. As far as I know, Natural Balance Vegetarian Formulas (canned and dry) are the only wheat-, corn-, and soy-free kibble and canned veg dog foods on the market.

I will really, truly try to post more frequently in the upcoming months. I do have several post topics floating around in my head (along with a million other assorted thoughts!). Until then, Sable says "Woof, woof!'

New Vegan Dog Nutrition Book

Just stopping in to alert you guys to a great new resource. Vegan Dogs: Compassionate Nutrition by James O'Heare, is now available as a downloadable pdf file. The book contains in-depth information on nutrition for vegan dogs, as well as a balanced vegan recipe. It is a free download, however they ask that if you find it useful, that you consider donating to the association. Get it here.

Book Round-Up!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I actually had this one all written up, took me an hour to do it, and then my stupid elbow hit the keyboard and the whole post got deleted! So, here we go again...

Today we will be looking at books that promote (or at least are accepting of) veg diets for dogs. If you have to pick and choose, the first two books listed are essential for guardians of vegan dogs and cats.


First up is Obligate Carnivore: Cats, Dogs, and What it Really Means to be Vegan by Jed Gillen. If you have vegan pets, or are considering switching your pets to a vegan diet, you need to read this book. It discusses the ethical arguments for putting pets on a vegan diet and refutes the misconceptions that many people have on this topic. UPDATE: Now available in an updated and expanded 2nd edition!

Then we have Vegetarian Cats & Dogs by James Peden (one of the developers of the VegeDog and VegeCat supplements), which is currently only available on CD-ROM. UPDATE: I have been able to obtain a used copy of the print version of this book. The copy I have is from 1992. It covers the reasons why people might choose vegan diets for pets, basic nutrition info, has stories of people who have been successful feeding a veg diet to their dogs and cats, and lists and refutes common arguments against veg pets. This book has tons of good info, and I recommend picking it up. It wasn't easy to find an affordable print copy, so the cd version is probably your best bet.

There is also an older book called Dogs and Cats Go Vegetarian by Barbara Lynn Peden. This one is currently out of print, but you can locate used copies online. The one I have is from 1988 and mostly discusses the history of the VegePet supplements, along with the reasons people have veg pets, some basic nutrition info, and recipes meant to be used in conjunction with the VegePet supplements.

Next is Vegetarian Dogs: Toward a World Without Exploitation by Verona reBow and Jonathan Dune. This book has basic nutrition info for dogs, as well as vegan dog food recipes and a few stories of the authors' vegan dogs.

UPDATE: There is a new e-book, Vegan Dogs: Compassionate Nutrition by James O'Heare. It has in-depth nutrition information for vegan dogs, discusses feeding a homemade diet, and includes a balanced recipe. According to the introduction, the book will be updated periodically, as new information becomes available. The book itself is free, however if you find it useful, please consider donating to the Vegan Dog Nutrition Association.

UPDATE: A brand new book about vegan dogs, is now available. The Simple Little Vegan Dog Book contains information on vegan diets, expert opinions from vets, and many recipes.

UPDATE: Another brand new book, It's A Vegan Dog's Life is now available! It covers lots of topics and has over 50 vegan treat recipes.

I also have a few books that, while they aren't specifically about veg diets for dogs, are supportive of the idea.

First is the classic Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, by Richard H. Pitcairn, DVM, Ph.D. and Susan Hubble Pitcairn. The book is a great resource on natural health and nutrition. There is a section on vegetarian diets for dogs with some ovo-lacto veg recipes, and even a section on why people should go veg! The book is not as supportive of vegan diets, but it is amazing for a vet to promote even ovo-lacto diets in such a popular book. The copy I have is the 2nd edition, printed in 1995, the 3rd edition printing is available now.

Another "natural health" book is The Complete Holistic Dog Book: Home Health Care for Our Canine Companions by Jan Allegretti and Katy Sommers, DVM. Both of the authors are vegetarian, and one of them has a vegetarian dog. The book has a section on vegetarian diets for dogs (which includes the wonderful quote "many dogs actually blossom when switched to a meatless regimen",) and has a short section on what the authors feed their own dogs.

There are many books out there about home-cooking for dogs and dog nutrition. One that is frequently recommended is Home Prepared Dog and Cat Diets by Donald R. Strombeck, DVM, Ph.D. It includes basic nutrition information for dogs and cats, info on cooking for your pet, and recipes. There are several veg recipes for dogs and puppies, some of which are vegan except for the use of bonemeal as the calcium source. If one wanted to, one could certainly calculate the amount of calcium in each bonemeal dosage and substitute with a vegan calcium supplement.

I also have two vegan dog cookbooks. One is the Yummy for Dogs cookbook, which I already mentioned a few posts down. It has tons of recipes for meals and treats, for all occasions. They are all vegan, except for a couple of recipes that use honey.

The second cookbook I have is The Wholesome Dog Biscuit: A Barker's Dozen. This is a great resource for dogs with allergies, as all the recipes are wheat and corn free and most are soy free. It has 13 vegan dog treat recipes, with helpful info on the easiest way to prepare and bake dog biscuits, as well as short articles on safe and toxic foods for dogs, dealing with food allergies in dogs, and living with vegan dogs.

It seems veggie dogs are becoming more widely accepted. I picked up the Collies magazine from the Popular Dogs series, and in the feeding section it mentions "dogs can get along quite nicely on vegetarian dog food...". Now that is something I didn't expect to see in a mainstream publication. The magazine DogFancy even had a short blurb on veg dog foods several months ago that was very positive. I hope to see this trend continue.