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  There is nothing wrong with living a vegetarian lifestyle
if the Vegan is TRULY omnivorous. The thing is, though,
dogs are  NOT  omnivorous, truly or otherwise! All you
have to do is look at their teeth to figure this one out. A
canine’s teeth are sharp and pointed, even the molars. This
helps them to rip off chunks of meat, (among other things).

  This is totally unlike an omnivorous set of teeth, like
humans have, which consists of tearing and cutting teeth in
the front of the mouth, and flat, grinding molars, for grinding
plant matter.

  Dogs completely lack flat “grinding” molars! They also can’t
assimilate enough protein and calcium, to name just two of the
essential nutrients dogs need to thrive, from a vegetarian diet.
Dogs need high quality animal-based proteins and fats if they are
to look and feel their best.(No, you can’t “turn” them in-to a
Vegan either, it doesn’t work that way!)

  So, why does my dog “graze”? You ask. Well, in the wild,
canines get the plant matter they need, in a state that is already
slightly “cooked”, from eating the stomach contents of their
prey, which ARE Vegans! (I know, it sounds gross, but,
that’s the way it is.) The ratio of plant matter to meat is about
1 to 10 in most wild canines, including Dingos and African
Wild Dogs, both of which are true Dog sub-species.
 Humans have been feeding their dogs pre-prepared,
grain-based food for only about 50 years. This is not nearly
enough time for them to have “evolved” into Vegans! It takes
 a LOT longer for a species to change that drastically!

  Besides, if Dogs had evolved to eating grains and plants
 we would have farmers shooting or trapping dogs, coyotes,
 and wolves for attacking and killing corn fields! I haven’t
 heard of that happening yet!

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Marti is a retired Dog Groomer with more than 30 years
in the “Dog Business”, including training, breeding,
showing and being owned by a variety of dogs.
All articles, comments and quotes by Marti are
copyrighted, and may be used (unchanged) only with
the Author’s permission.
Wynjamr@att.net