Charlie

From Teja Pribacs:


i think charlie would benefit from a more varied diet but he’s not easy to please, i.e. not one of those dogs that just devour anything, so we’re sticking to what he likes/eats. ideally, i think i’d have more pulses in the diet (e.g. lentils) and perhaps a greater variety of vegetables.

there are many new info sources for canine vegan food/nutrition online, i can’t recommend anything but i saw ppl sharing links on fb etc. shouldn’t be hard to find. however, when i was writing my slovenian vegan shopping guide in 2008, which included info on vegan ‘pets’, i found that the available info is slightly biased - based on, guess what? local cuisines and culturally informed ideas of healthy foods. e.g. the italians would say that tomato, olive oil and garlic are great for dogs, while some others would say to avoid them all at all costs.

anyway, charlie has been on this diet (with slight variations) for the past 10 years:

  • TVP, soaked, drained, stir-fried til crisp-ish with Massel stock powder (either veg, beef or chicken, whatever is around), set aside

  • TOFU, cut into small cubes, also stir-fried til crisp-ish, with soy sauce, not stock, set aside

  • vegetables: carrot and broccoli , cubed/cut into small pieces. boiled, drained. stir fry with stock powder. add some garlic and brewers yeast if living in an area with tick/fleas problem

  • THIN (#1 or #3) SPAGHETTI, cut up after cooking, and/or RICE, cooked.

stir fry the vegetables, add spaghetti and/or rice, when the lot is dry-ish (think stuffing for spring rolls, Charlie likes it dry but other dogs may not mind more soggy stuff), stir in tofu and tvp.

we rely on commercial vegan dog food for nutrients balance. the dry food is mixed into the wet before serving. charlie likes his dry crisp so can’t leave it there for too long, hates it when soggy unless i throw it out for the birds etc., then he loves it but that’s another story…

we use Veganpet. shifted to BioPet for a short while … but then shifted back to Veganpet because biopet bikkies were too large and charlie was getting tired of them - he liked them for a change but dind’t really last long, so i think he prefers veganpet - a bit more expensive than biopet too

and to make it all more palatable we also chop some (about 1tbsp) commercial vegan salami and sprinkle it on top. he was on Sanitarium smoked vegan salami for many years until they stopped producing it, then we shifted to Fry’s chicken-style salami (slightly too salty but he liked it), then when they stopped producing that we went on those sweet-ish Lamyong giant vegan sausages (they come frozen), they’re stil in circulation but since we haven’t been able to buy them at the local store for a while we started giving him homemade seitan - chopped up and stir fried with soy sauce and liquid smoke. we keep it in a separate container and just sprinkle some on top of the food. also need it as he has to take anti-inflammatory pills every day for his hip.

sometimes i’d give him coconut oil. ppl say it’s very good for dogs’ coats and everything else, but this too could just be a fashion fad. he likes coconut but in moderation. e.g. he liked a little bit of green curry but not sure he’d like to eat it every day. the most amazing thing is that his teeth are totally beuatiful and healthy. vets always say that even before knowing he’s vegan. and he doesn’t even chew on sticks etc.

and he’s also vegan by choice! i heard someone say that they didn’t want to impose veganism on their dog so they put out a bowl of vegetables and a bowl of meat. and the dog ate the meat so they figured the dog chose not to be vegan. i thought this experiment had huge methodological problems so we did our own: we gave charlie a bowl of vegs (as described above) and then we let him loose on the property to see if his hunting instincts and all that comes alive at the sight of sheep, ducks, rabbits and other meat sources. while it is true that he wants to lick them all he’s never tried to kill and eat anyone so we concluded he is vegan by choice.

hope this helps!