Before we consider this food let’s consider what comprises of a native canine diet. What would a dog eat in the wild? As a predator would they be stalking wild animals or stalking wheat crops? The answer is an obvious one, so a Vegan food should ring alarm bells. Pure and simple fact.
Let’s take a look…
The main ingredient is wholegrains. This isn’t very descriptive, and could be anything from wheat to popcorn. It could be a decent grain like oats or barley, but if these were used over cheaper “filler” grains then I guarantee they would be written on the label.
Malt comes next, which is again very nondescript. It’s a process of soaking grain in water then dried, a process that converts the starches to sugar. This ingredient will be included to enhance flavour. Cereal Meal is yet more grain, as is rice, and maize gluten (read corn) and wheaten millmix found further down, which are grain ingredients of worsening quality.
On the upside we have a few nice inclusions of veggies – peas and beans for protein and fibre (in the absence of any meat ingredients), and it’s nice to see alfalfa, carrots, and seaweed meal. But as a whole I’m really struggling to find anything positive to say about a vegan food for dogs.
I find this food very clever. Don’t be lured in by marketing. I see this as being a very cheap to produce food marketed in such as way to attract new age dog owners into feeding something not right for their furry friends. The absence of meat ingredients ensures the cost of production will be minimal.
Dogs may well be omnivores like us, but they have a shorter digestive tract more appropriate for absorbing meat proteins than vegetable proteins. You may be a vegetarian or vegan yourself, but I certainly wouldn’t recommend imposing such a diet on a dog.
Definitely not recommended. Don’t buy it.
Ingredients
Wholegrains, malt, cereal meal, rice, field peas, soybean meal, sunflower meal, green beans, maize gluten, wheaten millmix, vegetable oils, limestone, dicalphos, molasses, alfalfa, carrots, potatoes, seaweed meal, garlic, iodised salt, vitamins, trace minerals, natural antioxidant, yukka extract.
Another carnist review that can’t see past ideology to science based facts.
I wish I knew 15 years ago when my 16 year old staffy started eating vegan food prepared at home. He now has a range of other vegan dry kibble to choose from, is very healthy and nearly as active as when he first arrived as a discarded unwanted pet puppy. There are things called meta-analysis and systematic reviews that should inform your opinions rather than ideology.
I am sick off seeing ‘chicken or beef or roadkill”
This is really good option for my dog! His never been better!!! He gets simple meat on the side once a day and choice of veg.
His gut never been better.
Great option for allergy prone dogs too!
‘Dogs can’t survive on a vegan diet.’ So I must have been feeding 3 healthy and a little overweight ghosts for the past 10 years then.
RECOMMEND!!
Get biopet on line if GREEN EDGE CAFE, Brisbane.
Hi Lisa, not sure where that quote came from? Many dogs survive on terrible processed kibbles with barely any meat ingredients, so there’s an argument a vegan diet can be more nutritious than many kibbles!
Always good to have feedback like this on any dog food. Vegan for dogs may be against my beliefs, but I have no issues hearing positive endorsements for a brand if it’s worked for someone.
Trash option. You’re dog can’t live off of a vegan diet (I work in a pet store). If the problem is an allergy there a plenty of options to go for that still contain meat. Stop pretending that your dog is healthy if you’re feeding it this. It’s full of fillers anyway, and the fillers are probably the thing you’re dog is allergic to (grain free dog food like Leaps and Bounds and Black Hawk are great options)
Dogs need a vegan diet if the are allergic to a meat based diet. My 3yr old staffy has tried and failed with a fish, chicken, pork, beef and kangaroo based dry dog food. There are dogs out there that can not tolerated a meat based diet for medical or allergy problems.
This is the case with my staffy he is highly allergic to these meats and can only tolerated a plant based diet.
So before you say all dogs that have a meat based allergy to a certain meat source can normally tolerate another meat source you might want to check first before writing your reviews as there are dogs out there that are actually highly allergic to a number of meat sources and my staffy is one of them
Yes dogs are carnivorous but in the wild they also eat the grains, grasses and what ever else is laying around they are generally not fussy in the wild and sit there and pick out all the grains before eating.
Vegan diets are great option for dogs like my staffy who is highly allergic to all the available meat based foods
Do some research on allergic dogs before writing off certain foods that are the only option for allergic dogs
My dog is doing great on a vegan diet now we have identified what was causing his allergies
Hi Maryann, I appreciate your comment, and fully understand the difficulties with dogs who suffer food sensitivities and allergies – very prevalent with staffies.
Can I ask if it was only dry foods you tried? Did you try natural or raw with meats? All dry foods contain other possible triggers such as cereal grains, preservatives, and so forth.
I tried my Aussie bulldog on grain free dry food, top quality biscuits brand. Tried raw diet – weighed out how much a dog needs of proteins offal and vegetables. Even tried all kangaroo raw diet – nothing worked. Still itching like mad to much she would bleed. So I did my research and found dogs are omnivores like humans. I never agreed that dogs should be vegan, but the more I researched, I decided to try it. And 1 month being on the biscuits scratching reduced by half. 6 weeks in. She rarely scratches at all.
But I have 2 dogs. My boxer is on meat biscuits and is fine on them. Just like every human responds differently to certain foods. So do dogs. And my bulldog has never been happier.?
Hi Lani, thank you for sharing the information, and I think the main thing is your Aussie bulldog is doing better on BIOpet Vegan. As much as I advocate meat diets for dogs, it has to be said most dogs are fed poor quality grain-based kibbles. With that in mind I’m not surprised some vegan dogs are healthier.
Some breeds, Bulldogs included, can be very susceptible to food intolerance. Sometimes genetic, sometimes from a previous diet, medication, or antibiotic which has disrupted their microbiome. When this is the case it can be hard to find a food which agrees with them, so we can only do the best we can to make sure they’re comfortable and happy!
Hi There – Former Vet Nurse Here.
Very foolish commentary – a total misrepresentation.
This food meets the AAFCO standards – same and Hills Science Diet and Royal Canin.
It is a perfectly healthy food for anyone who wants to feed their pet a top quality diet, as well as reduce their impact.
DOGS ARE NOT VEGAN! DOGS ARE OMNIVORES! maybe if you paid attention at vet school you’d know that. I work in a pet store so apparently you’re knowledge is very limited. “It’s impacting the planet” shut up. Don’t make your dog suffer under a vegan diet just because you feel like depriving yourself of the nutrients you need. You seem like the type of vet who thinks Hills Science Diet and Royal Canin are absolutely disgusting and low quality. I’m glad you’re not a vet anymore
Hi Kim,
May I enquire what qualifications you have to work in retail that makes your opinion more valid than a vet nurse? If you have valid research and qualifications to reference regarding your views above I’d love to see them.
With respect, done correctly a vegan diet can be healthy for dogs as it can any omnivore, especially humans. Whilst I personally think that feeding dogs kibble of any form as their sole diet is a poor health choice, screaming statements and demeaning someone making a simple remark is poor form.
Perhaps you should keep your comments about diet respectful also and consider what happens with the environment before spouting your non researched opinions and being nasty.
To jump in – I think an important point in your comment Stacy is “done correctly a vegan diet can be healthy for dogs”, especially when you consider how bad most “meat-based” dog foods are. i.e. it’s not hard to raise the bar, and this is possible with a vegan diet.
My concern, based on my experience of raw/homemade feeders, is many think they know what they’re doing, or think they’ve researched enough (usually on social media groups), but they really don’t. It’s very easy for dogs to become malnourished on any diet over a period of time, especially without variety. It only takes the absence of one nutrient over time to potentially cause dietary-related disease or diminished organ health. Most of the time it will be many years before a dog shows any symptoms whatsoever, so that’s the risk we take.
Hi All, my Siberian Husky has been on this diet for over 12 months, previously on Royal Canine Hypoallergenic due to allergies she was suffering, the vegan diet has helped her very much and no longer has her allergies and far better value than the Royal Canine product and she seems alot more active for an 11 year old dog.
Well yeah Royal Canin only cares about money it’s super horrific trash food lol that anyone with a Facebook account and certain people added would know :p as in me haha.
I’m glad you found something that helped your pup and moved away from junk made by Mars yay!
http://www.realfoodforlife.com/vegetarian-dog-lives-to-189-years/
Hi Pet foods review person,
If the dogs are healthy, happy and live just as long if not longer on a vegan diet when compared with an omnivorous diet then why does it matter what a dog’s digestive system is “geared towards”?
Do dogs live longer on a vegan diet? I haven’t seen proof of that. When you say a dog is healthy on a vegan diet do you mean the dog “is” healthy or “appears” healthy? Many people with eating disorders “appear” healthy when we know they’re not.
A dog may be healthier on a vegan diet than a supermarket kibble (with most lacking in real meat anyway). It’s largely open to debate, but the bottom line is a dog is carnivorous and should be fed a diet inline with what we factually know. They’re not obligate carnivores, and evidence suggests they can survive without meat, but personally I wouldn’t risk a dog that I love and am responsible for because of my own personal dietary beliefs.
Sounds like it’s an allergy to the fillers and not meat. Try switching to grain free and not making your omnivore dog a vegan. You’re literally starving it of the nutrients it needs
You are misleading others with the statement you have made twice now regarding owners personal beliefs and it doesnt actually strengthen your argument. The facts are that the majority of the meat produced today even for human consumption is contaminated with hormones and anti-biotics and sometimes other medications with very little (if any) thought given to the mental or physical welfare of the animal.
So to think that the 10% or so of the animal products (sludge and leftovers that have been scraped off the abattoir floor and dried) thats added to conventional dog food is essential and/or nutritious is wishful thinking.
This page is very judgemental towards a very diet, you are focusing more on the idea of a vegan eiet rather then the positives of the actual foods. Yoh mention ‘wholegrains’ is bad but atleast its not cerial by products which is in almost every dog food… and is a horrible ingredient. This review is not fair at all. My dog has been on this food for 3 years and is perfectly healthy and her vet says so too!!
Hi Erin, I appreciate you feel differently, but this review is based on ingredients and nutritional merit as a whole. I know of no legitimate reason why a canine would not be fed a meat based diet, other than the owner’s personal beliefs. I don’t see that as correct.
There are grain mixes available (based on quality grains, vitamins, and minerals) as supplements to a meat/raw based diet, and they would rate higher than this. The ingredients are mainly nondescript, and there are long term health issues with ingredients such as CGM found in this food. It’s possible for a dog to do well on a food such as this, arguably better than common supermarket brands, but my opinion is a dog will more likely suffer health issues in later years if fed a diet such as this.
My 2 dogs have been on this food for a year I do add grated carrot and other left overs to it. They love it. both are collies and would run all day they have so much energy. You are misleading people in saying dogs should go and scavenge in the wild ……if you go this far then we shouldn’t have them as pets. I am their owner and choose what to give them just like any other owner choosing to give them meat that isn’t even fit for human consumption. Could you eat the food you give your dogs? My previous 2 dogs were collies and lived a long healthy life with no illness’s in fact my beardy died naturally in our kitchen. They were on a uk vegan dog food. Bio pet are not fools.
Here is your legitimate reason… For those who own dogs who have Uric Stone Disease (USD) which is fairly common in Dalmatians in particular although other breeds are also stone formers, they can not process purine in foods and meat and meat by products is very high in purine and therefore these dogs do much better on a vegetarian diet. Just having even a little bit of meat has landed my dog in emergency surgery to save his life. Since going totally vegetarian he has been happy and healthy. We use this vegan dog food and he loves it and keep him healthy and prevents stones in my Dalmatian. So thank god that there are companies out there that do vegetarian dog food, as stone forming is more common than you would believe.
We have fed our Shitzu/Maltese on Biopet Vegan for at least 5 years now. Our Vet, on the yearly visit, always underestimates his age by at least 3 years and comments on how healthy he is. When we tell him we feed him a vegan dogfood he goes very quiet as the concept is so against the grain. I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss this food, it works for our dog.
Hi Dave, can you do the grain free one too. It is species appropriate withbeef and chicken.
Especially for you – BIOpet Grain Free.
Hi,
Dogs are omnivores and can thrive on a vegan diet. Its just a question of getting the right mix of ingredients to provide them with the required amounts of protein, amino acids etc.
Check out the 12 pages of testimonials from people whose dogs have gone vegan and are thriving on v-dog, a vegan dog food.
http://www.navyaz.com.au/testimonialcat/vdog-4/page/12/
Aanand
If you’re going to feed a dog a vegan or vegetarian diet rather than a species appropriate one, there is far better than this.
For one 52% carbs is ridiculous for a normal canine… and the protein is low especially considering plant based proteins are less bioavailable to a shorter digestive system like the domestic dog, you would want the protein to be closer to 30% or above. The fat is also very low for the average dog.
You don’t even have to look at the ingredients to know its not a worthwhile food…
Hi Aanand,
An animal may appear to “thrive” on any food, but it’s scientific fact a dog’s digestive system is geared towards digesting meat more effectively than vegetables. I see no reason why a vegetarian or vegan diet would be imposed on a canine other than a person’s own dietary beliefs. Granted, there are testimonials on your website where dogs have overcome allergies on a vegan diet, but there are many meat-based diets that avoid allergenic grains, and it’s very uncommon for a dog to be allergic to all forms of meat. If a dog has chicken intolerance I don’t see cutting out “meat” as a healthy solution.
You talk about the dog’s digestive system being geared more towards digesting meat, however you also called humans natural omnivores. Given the fact that we are biologically herbivore in every way, and have chosen to feed ourselves a omnivorous diet which is the primary contributor to our health issues as a species, I find it difficult to believe what you are saying about vegan dog food. If we were going to just eat what we were biologically designed for, the human race would be vegan. Look at the length of our intestines, the way our jaw works, our teeth, the fact that we sweat through our pores to cool ourselves, that we have enzymes on our tongues specifically to break down carbs, all herbivorous traits. I am talking pure biology here, just like you were talking just nutritional content. No ethics or ‘dietary belief’, just scientific facts. Here’s another one. In 2002, Bramble, a 27-year old border collie was considered for the guinness book of world records. She was a vegan.
But you’re not disputing the fact canines are carnivorous?
Oh dear, show someone who claims they talk in facts the facts and they quickly jump into straw-man arguments! hahahaha. Way to go Jessica!