Something special arrived on my porch yesterday. I wasn’t going to talk to you about it til’ January, but I can’t help myself. I’ve been plant-based now for nearly a year. Our Portuguese Water Dog, Lucky, is part of our pack. Since we changed our diet as a family, inevitably, he’s wanted to change his. He’s started to turn up his nose at his (upmarket brand) dog food. He steals loaves of freshly baked whole grain bread. When I open the crisper door of my refrigerator he cries for an apple. He’s been known to sneak off with a whole bunch of bananas if they’re left on the counter-top, later I find the peels (expertly peeled) in my back yard. I suspect he needs to go back to dog training school, but I also suspect he doesn’t really like his greasy smelly commercial dog food much. Who can blame him?
Look at that smile! 🙂 We had to use our “leave it” command to get him to not gobble these up while I was taking the photo.
The owner of V-dog generously offered Lucky a couple bags of dog food and some treats to try out and for me to review my dog’s response here. Lets just say the response was overwhelming. As soon as I cut one of the bags open, he was right by my side. To my surprise, the food didn’t smell unpleasant at all like other dry dog food does. I offered him a few pieces as a treat. Gobble gobble, my kids came home from school and wanted to test it out on him too. Gobble gobble. For dinner that night I mixed 1/3 V-dog with 2/3 of his other commercial food. Guess what? He somehow sorted the bits and only ate the food from V-dog, leaving the other dog food behind in the bowl. I all ready know he’s a convert.
Take it!
For those of you who think I’m nuts (I’m sure even some of you vegans do!), next week I’ll be presenting you with evidence as to how dogs can thrive on a plant-based diet and how commercial dog food is full of yucky stuff. Indeed V-dog meets all the national nutritional standards that traditional dog food does. The label is 100 times cleaner though. In fact, it’s so clean that they say their dog food is human grade… So I ate a piece. It tastes like an unseasoned lentil loaf or a vegetable type cracker…
I’ll let you know how Lucky is doing with it and I’ll be doing a GIVEAWAY to some of you who may be interested in transitioning your dog too. Check out V-dog’s website for more details. Stay tuned for another Giveaway tomorrow!
Vedged Out 
Lucky is no fool :-)! I’m tryin’ one of those kibbles tomorrow, girl!
Glad you’re behind me! The backlash has all ready (understandably) begun on facebook! Lucky loves it. So I love it.
p.s. read recently that one of the World’s Longest Living Dogs was a vegan. http://realfoodforlife.com/vegetarian-dog-lives-to-189-years/
Awesome.
My dog will soon change his food for vegan dog food too! So sad that I can’t find V-dog in italy! I heard it’s really good! But luckily we have others 🙂
Good luck Desiree! I’m super excited about this! Maybe V-dog will branch out worldwide. I love the compostable bag!
I hope it will!!! 🙂
Yay!!! I love how he picked thru and only ate the good stuff! One of my macrobiotic teachers says that dogs can be vegan easily, but cats have a harder time. I know so many dogs that LOVE vegetables. Your dog looks so sweet. Thank you for sharing your WHOLE family’s journey!
He’s pretty sweet AND smart 😉 I’ve heard the same thing about cats. I’ve wanted to cook for him, but don’t know how to provide all the nutrients he needs. V-dog makes it easy. I’m sure he’ll be supplementing himself with his frequent trips to my pantry.
You have to use a supplement if you cook for you dog, but it’s not difficult. Here’s something I wrote on the subject on my blog: http://veganindoha.com/companion-animals/vegan-dog-nutrition/
It would be nice if they had something like this for cats. I have yet to find anything that meets the nutritional requirements for cats.
I hear ya, V-dog has no plans to make food for cats. Maybe that’s because cats really are true carnivores whereas dogs are omnivores….? Not sure.
Hmm, that could be. My cats are in-door only; however, I do have a small colony of ferals that I take care of and they are infamous for killing everything in site. Last month I found a dead bird in the yard with teeth marks & blood (sorry). 😐
It’s totally ok. When I was little, my cat used to bring me birds, mice, lizards you name it… She liked to play with her food.
Indeed they do. LOL! 🙂
Really??? Never would of thought…
I know, right? The idea started to bloom when my dog stopped wanting to eat his dog food….
Oh I’m all over that giveaway! We buy the most expensive commercial brand but I’d love to try this! Our dog isn’t vegan, but I bet he’d love it!
Holy cow lacy! Your dog would totally love it! Check out the ingredient list:
http://v-dog.com/products/v-dog-kibble
Incredible. Trying to figure out whether to giveaway the one big bag or break it up for some sampling….
Wonderful! Can’t wait for your next post 🙂 I’ve been collecting info about plant based diets for dogs over on my blog and am writing a piece about it soon for a pet site here in the UK. http://littlevulpe.wordpress.com/links-resources/ 🙂
Yay! Following you now. Looking forward to seeing this! xx
My little guy has loved his V-dog for over a year now 🙂 His vet is always enamored by his good health and proportions! Plus- he loves it! {and he’s a super picky guy!} the breath bones they offer are great too- they smell amazing!
I got some of the breath bones too. I’ll try one this afternoon! I can’t wait to see how Lucky does on this long term. My guess is that it will make him a very happy and healthy dog. Funny thing about the high end holistic brands I’ve seen. they contain things like tomatoes, garlic, onions and salt. These are all things dogs aren’t supposed to have. Weird.
We had our first bag arrive yesterday. Our very picky eater (who is grieving the loss of our other dog & not eating well) absolutely loved it! We also mixed it with what she is currently eating and she scarfed it down and wanted more. We’re converts too!
Oh that’s so great! I’m sorry for the loss of your other dog. Here’s to extending both of our pups lives with V-dog.
He is adorable 🙂 One of my friends just got a puppy Portuguese waterdog – I am in love!!
XXXX
They are the sweetest creatures. He thinks he’s my child and follows me everywhere. He’s also the best running companion you’d ever meet! At mile 10 he’s still smiling and pulling me up a hill. Love his guts! The puppies are ridiculously cute!
I wish, I wish – but my son is terribly allergic.
I am lucky to have friends with cute puppies I can love
🙂
Oh, Anne, that’s where you may be in luck! My husband and daughter are both highly allergic AND have asthma. Portuguese Water Dogs are one of the breeds that are supposed to be “hypoallergenic” and extremely low shedding. Which is why we bought him instead of getting a rescue dog. We have to bathe Lucky once a week to keep the dander at bay, but both family members can put their faces right into his soft snuggly fur and not have any reaction. You may want to see if your son can spend some time around the pup to see if he reacts. My husband does react slightly if Lucky licks his skin, but we put a little Tea Tree oil and Lavender oil on his skin and any allergy hives clear right up.
😉 Now you got me thinking Somer! I would LOVE to have a dog again!!!
Sounds amazing – I will try that!
Thank you!!! XXXXX
Just look at that pup, how can you resist? 😉
https://vedgedout.com/2012/12/05/vapoorize/
So fun!
I am in love!!!! Totally 🙂
He’s just as cute now, just a lot bigger! 🙂
How old is he now?
2 years old, so he’s full grown. My 3 year old wrestles him and teases him and he’s endlessly patient and sweet. Really the best fit for active families.
Wonderful 🙂
Sounds like an amazing dog!
He really is. Thanks Anne! xoxo
Thank you!!!
🙂
i have to try v-dog, so i am waiting for a giveaway;) we phased out chewies food a few months back to Natural balance vegan formula and some home cooked meals(lots of lentils, beans, veggies, a little brown rice coz he will eat anything with rice in it, all cooked and mashed and then frozen into cubes which last for 1-2 months). He is doing very well on it. he loves both the kibble and the wet food cubes and veggies. he gets some multigrain bread while training;)
While growing up in India, we had quite a few people around who were strict vegetarians and their dogs wouldnt get any meat or eggs( also because packaged kibble was not available everywhere). they did get a little dairy/cheese but they all lived long healthy lives on a vegetarian diet. There were hardly any C word problems which I see are so prevalent in pets here these days. Not sure if there is any connection since the stats are from 20 years back. my cousins tell me that everyone is on the kibble dog food wagon now back home too.
I have an article I’m sharing next week, but I’ll email it to you now. I’m positive the current kibble is causing the C word in so many dogs, which is one of the (many) reasons I was determined to switch. I want Lucky to live for a very long time.
i think i saw Dr armaiti mays video some time back. I was already convinced by then:)
Chewie is one fat vegan dog. i thought he would shed some lbs like us after the transition, but no luck in the last 6 or so months.:)
Haha! I think Lucky is getting slightly chubby as well. Maybe it’s all about the portion sizes. I’m a bad mom and just leave a full bowl of food and fresh water out at all times.
I haven’t seen the video. I’m gonna google it.
my mom cooked for her dog the first few years of her life. She used recipes that the creators of Spot’s Stew developed. Her dog refused anything commercial for years, and was never healthier. She did use chicken in her main recipe, but to this day, that dog will knock you over if she thinks you have a carrot or organic, plain yogurt (only organic!!)
Beautiful dog! Mine loves veggie and fruit treats too.
Thanks Heidi! Your dog is super cute too, must be all those fruits and veggies they love 😉
Lucky is indeed very lucky not to have to eat gross dog food filled with unmentionables!
You are not crazy! I have thought about transitioning our pup over , I can’t wait to read up about your overal experience and difference in cost, also accessibility! Part of the rehabilitation of fighting Dogs is to transition them to a vegan diet as often times meat is used as a reward during their fight traning!
Heather, thanks for backing me up. I’m really all ready very passionate about this. Our dog is all ready so CRAZY about this food. I think that V-dog may be slightly higher in cost, but the health rewards and the quality is really there. I also spend more on groceries for our family than I used to, but heck, I’m not taking Lialda or Prednisone or any other nasty drugs anymore so the additional cost is SO worthwhile. I didn’t know that about the fight dogs. One of my brothers works at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in the Wild Friends department, I’d love to visit there and talk to their dog program.
You are NOT gonna believe this. We have a “temporary” dog, that is, the little guy showed up on our back porch late last night. He’s a cutie. And today, after spending the night in our bathroom (he’s not potty-trained) he was hungry.
For the first time ever, I see a post on vegan dog food (this one). For the first time ever, I asked a store clerk for vegan dog food (I must admit, that was weird). For the first time ever, I actually bought some, along with some vegan doggie treats. He gobbled them both.
Now…here’s hoping the owner claims him in a few days…
Girl, that is crazy! I hope you find the owner soon, but I love that you went with your intuition. I feel like this last year has been such a whole re-education process. I’ll be posting an article from a vet next week with an update. It’s packed with good information. Oh, and since he’s not house trained yet, here’s this for you:
https://vedgedout.com/2012/12/05/vapoorize/
xx
Bad news. The owner claimed him. It was not as we expected (dysfunctional neighbor) and we didn’t give him back. Long story; neighbor didn’t know it was me who had the dog. Suffice it to say, Seymour is gone to a new home which is NOT my crazy neighbor. We really miss him. And now we have all this vegan dog food…
Oh, you were probably getting attached! Maybe it’s time for a puppy. We really love ours 😉 It’s really hard for about 6 months, then it’s just wonderful.
I had some veganpet cat biscuits sample pack at the cruelty free festival in Sydney and my kitties loved them!
Samantha has more than thrived since we switched her to vegan dog food a little over a year ago. Her coat’s shinier, her breath doesn’t smell as bad, she has more energy and she even lost weight (but she was a little thick before). I’m a totaly believer. I will definitely be checking this brand out!
That’s awesome! I can’t wait to see how Lucky will do long term! I do have to say though, I think V-dog is where it’s at, being a vegan company and all 😉
“Totally a” believer. Thank you, dyslexia. 😉
Gotta love comment errors. I do it all the time 😉
Our greyhound *loves* this food!!! And she is super picky. 🙂
So glad to hear it! Love greyhounds. I think it is pleasing enough to tempt any canine 🙂
Great work! This is the kind of information that are supposed to be shared
around the internet. Disgrace on Google for not positioning this submit upper!
Come on over and seek advice from my site . Thank you =)
After googling the ingredients on our rescue pups kibble label we knew we had to find something different. The same ingredients found in anti freeze?! Anyway, we found v dog. We googled all the ingredients and saw that it was cheaper than the kibble we had been buying but exponentially better, health wise, for our fur babies. We were hooked after seeing their reaction to the food. My husband separated from the military for health reasons and we had to move in with family until we got back on our feet. We didn’t realize how long and hard that would be. Our savings ran out and we had to begin relying almost entirely on our family member that took us in. A friend gifted us some vdog one month and the next we we were able to afford it. We accidentally received 2 orders instead of the 1 we ordered. When we told them that we couldn’t afford to pay for the second one they gifted it to us for Christmas!! A compassionate company to animals AND people? We already were convinced and loyal customers. My extremely allergic sisters Yorkie no longer has issues after buying it instead of her special $90 kibble and my old fashioned meat loving mom buys it for her very picky 5 yr old tea cup chihuahua who gobbles her food up for the first time in her life. After reading the owner of V-dog’s email, giving away a 20lb bag of kibble to us for Christmas, I was left in tears. They enabled us to keep our rescue promise to our two fur babies. They came from an abusive hoarders home that left them malnutritioned and hopeless. We promised to take the best possible care of them and make up for all the years they were in that “home”. V-dog has helped us keep that promise.
The company is wonderful for sure. I’m so glad you’ve had such a wonderful experience. Our dog is still eating V-dog and is very healthy!