My neighbour says her dog is vegetarian. Is that healthy?
Dogs are natural carnivores and therefore should derive their protein from meat sources rather than grains. Unless allergy testing shows a verifiable and specific problem digesting animal protein (this is very rare) a high quality diet using meat protein is preferred. Cereal proteins are low in certain amino acids, animal protein is clearly superior. A complete animal protein contains all of the essential amino acids required by a cat or dog. Cats cannot thrive on a vegetarian diet at all. Cats cannot get all necessary nutrients from plants and plant products and must consume some animal tissues in order to meet their needs for high protein levels, taurine, arachidonic acid and preformed vitamin A. True meat protein (chicken, lamb, beef, pork meal) has a far superior amino acid profile than cereal/vegetable protein. Cereal proteins are low in many of the amino acids and specifically, the four most important amino acids (Methionine, Lysine, Arginine, and Threonine).
