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The Vegetarian Dog - Feeding Your Dog A Healthy Vegetarian Diet
by Wayne Kostencki
Many dog owners are looking for a healthy way to feed their dog. One way to do that is with a vegetarian diet. If you are already following a vegetarian diet yourself, feeding your dog in the same way should be simple. If you are not a vegetarian, but wish you dog to be, the following are some simple suggestions on how to do just that.
Dogs have a higher protein requirement than humans. Although no optimum protein level is known, a vegetarian diet can meet the standard with a variety of legumes or other foods. There are many people who practice a vegetarian diet and are as healthy as those who do not. There is no reason that dogs cannot follow a similar diet.
To Vegetarians, the following is nothing new, but for everyone else, a little common sense and plenty of variety will make nutrient deficiencies unlikely and make your vegetarian dog healthy and happy.
A vegetarian dog would probably do better with multiple feedings as opposed to the one feeding with dry dog food. Larger vegetarian dogs should be fed twice a day while smaller breeds may need to be fed three or four smaller meals spread throughout the day.
Hint: Dogs do not get worms from drinking milk. Diarrhea or constipation is common due to your dog's inability to break down lactose.
Wholegrain cereals like muesli or Shredded Wheat in milk would be good for your dog's first meal. The later meal should be some combination of each of the following groups:
Protein
1) Cheese, eggs, nuts, textured soy protein, cooked lentils or beans, tofu, seeds (sunflower, sesame). Feed several of these at one meal to get a good balance of amino acids.
2) Raw or cooked vegetables and raw or dried fruit.
3) Brown rice or whole grain bread.
You may also want to mix a teaspoon of vegetable oil in your dog's food to provide some of the essential fatty acids that he needs.
Foods to avoid
Macadamia nuts, Grapes or raisins, and raw onions should all be avoided as they can be toxic when ingested in large enough quantities. Chocolate and other caffeine products should also be avoided as it can be toxic and affect the heart and nervous systems.
Puppies that are weaned can be fed four times a day rotating the cereal meal and the later meal ingredients. Once they reach eight months to a year old, you can cut back to feeding them three meals a day and then down to two meals a day.
If your dog has been brought up on a regular meat diet, make the changeover to a vegetarian diet gradual. If your dog is very active there may be a problem of bulk to energy. Make sure you consult your veterinarian to ensure that sufficient energy can be obtained from the amount of food given.
Milk alone may not be an adequate source of calcium for puppies. Rapidly growing dogs of heavy breeds particularly need a high calcium intake, please consult your veterinarian if you have any questions or concerns about your dog's vegetarian diet.
About the Author:
Wayne Kostencki is a dog lover. He has owned or lived with dogs since he was a small child. During that time, Wayne has struggled to learn how to not just train his pets, but to be able to enjoy them as companions. You can find more information on his website, http://www.averagemansguides.com/.
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Who's Fault Is It When The Horse Has A Bad Habit?
By ContentMart Editor
You timidly ride your horse hoping he won't get so spooked over the littlest thing this time. But sure enough, you ride past that same bush and you can feel your horse tense up fifty feet before you get to it. Not only that, he slows down before he gets to it. He swerves his body away from it and he's ready to jump out of his skin.
Suddenly, he bolts past it and you're hanging on for dear life wondering why you even bought this crazy animal.
These scenarios are fairly common for horse owners. I get lots of questions from people asking how to get a horse to stop doing some kind of bad habit.
Interestingly, the horse doesn't know it's a bad habit. He doesn't know if something is good or bad. He just follows his instincts and does what nature tells him to do.
If that's the case, why does he do it then? After all, if you have a horse that bites, balks, bolts, bucks, kicks, shies, spooks, etc., why does he do it in spite of your vigorous attempts to stop it?
The answer may surprise you. And if you're thin skinned, it may make you mad. But the truth is the truth. And once you know it, only then can you do something about it.
The answer, then, is mismanagement.
What does that mean?
In a nutshell it means that you or the previous owner have made or let that horse get into the habit of whatever he's doing.
Let me give an example.
Say you're teaching a horse to drive. Let's say further you've done the necessary prep work by teaching him to stop, move forward, getting used to the harness, and so forth.
Now you've got him hitched up and for the first time he's going to pull the wagon you have him hitched to. You get in the wagon, grab the lines, and tell him to "get up."
Eager to please you, the horse jumps forward and then stops. The weight of the wagon surprised him. It kept him from moving freely because he now has to pull weight instead of just moving his own body without constraints.
Right about here is where most horse owners mess up their horse. It's here where the horse learns to balk.
As the horse pulls forward, the wagon moves an inch or two then stops. Then the handler raises his voice volume and says "Get up!" The horse may or may not try again. If he does try again, and the wagon weight stops him again, and the handler gets upset and starts tapping him with a whip and yelling "Get up" then this horse is on its way to balking.
When he balks, he'll just stand there. Often he'll turn around and just look at you. His senses even seem to be blunted...like he's in another world. No amount of harsh talk and hard tapping on his butt with a whip is going to get him to move.
Congratulations, you just taught your horse to balk.
Many horse owners would say "But I don't get it. Why did he do that?"
The answer lies in understanding horse behavior.
You see, the first time the horse has to pull a wagon he's never done it before. When he jerks forward and the wagon weight stops him from moving as freely as he's been used to, it's a shock. It surprises him. He doesn't quite know what to think of it. And knowing a horse's nature, it's probably frightening and thus confusing.
So what you must do is keep this in mind and help your horse deal with it. How you help him deal with it is treating him kindly when the wagon doesn't move.
Thus, when you're in the wagon and he steps to move but the wagon holds him back, you should get out of the wagon and go caress him. It may sound funny, but tell him you know this is a little difficult but that he can do it. Do it in a soothing tone.
Why tell him he can do it? Does he really understand words? No. I'm simply saying you must be sympathetic with your horse. Talking to him like this will help you be sympathetic and talk soothingly to him.
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