Should dogs be vegetarian too??

Cheers mate, that's quite a compliment coming from you, probably not warranted really, but thanks all the same, will have to look him up.  

Considering that foods like veganpet contain all of the nutrients essential to a dogs diet, there's no reason that they can't be. It's not like you can't reproduce what dogs need from meat in vegan foods.

Another way of looking at this "dilemma" is to ask if the question being posed is based on a valid quandary.

Can we synthesise "meat" from vegetable sources? Yes IMHO, so then why do all of these other animals die needlessly from the misguided beliefs that a vegan diet is inadequate?

And:

Do we really know enough about what a dogs diet really should be? What presumptions are we working on when we assume that all dogs/some dogs are carnivores/omnivores?

So glad you raised this, I have been thinking about this also!

Which is exactly why I think having "pets" is pretty f**ked up when you actually think about it. Obviously, saving cats and dogs from being put down by adopting them should still be encouraged. But if you're going to feed those animals other animals, can that really be justified? Unfortunately, it's too late to "unbreed" domesticated animals so we're stuck with huge dilemmas on how to address these issues.

Dogs did derive from the wolf which do predominantly eat meat,  yet of course an animal's diet is able to change and vary over the ages and has.  It seems wrong that we should have to change the dog's diet completely and not the resolve the issue at hand which is the large amount of different animals that make up pet food for the one dog.  Perhaps one could consider buying a whole chicken for example and preparing it themselves or a thigh of something or other from the 'butcher' (one would presume it would be from the one animal (and yes, I said the 'b' word).  Pet food is for conveniences' sake, there are alternatives that can cost more and take more time, but it's the owner's choice.

I came across the following which may interest some folks, two contradicting exerts somewhat if you like:

"Despite their descent from wolves and classification as Carnivora, dogs are variously described in scholarly and other writings as carnivores[144][145] or omnivores.[3][146][147][148] Unlike obligate carnivores, such as the cat family with its shorter small intestine, dogs can adapt to a wide-ranging diet, and are not dependent on meat-specific protein nor a very high level of protein in order to fulfill their basic dietary requirements. Dogs will healthily digest a variety of foods, including vegetables and grains, and can consume a large proportion of these in their diet.[3]"

"Historically, dogs have been carnivores, or meat eaters. To stay healthy, they rely on vitamin B-12, which is rarely present in non-meat sources. Dogs also have a high need for calcium and protein in the diet -- in fact, higher than in humans. Though you can get these nutrients from non-animal foods, the quantity needed to provide adequate amounts for your dog is fairly large. It's also possible that a dog used to a meat-based diet won't like the taste of a vegan diet; in this case it may lose weight and take in fewer nutrients because it eats less."

One does wonder what about poor old cats in that case who aren't equip to handle solely a vegetarian diet?  Isn't that discrimination somewhat?  Just because a dog can tolerate it does it make it right?

I think it depends on the individual dog. Dogs are omnivores meaning they can consume both plant and animal matter. Some dogs will take well to a plant based diet and actually benefit from it, whereas some dogs may not do so well and will still need some meat incorporated in their diet. My dogs aren't vegan, but they both still require different foods. My youngest can't eat red meat so she mainly gets fed chicken pet mince/necks, rice, veggies etc. and she is extremely fussy with what she eats  so I don't think she would take well to a vegan diet. Our staffy however eats just about anything and is not allergic to any foods, so I think he could quite comfortably eat vegan.

The best way to feed your dog a vegan diet would be to prepare your own meals for him, and then mix in the recommended amount of veg dry food to ensure he is getting all the nutrients needed.
http://www.biopetonline.com.au/productsVeganDog.html
http://veganpet.com.au/articles/
http://www.pawsforlife.com.au/product/biotic-plus-dog-vegetarian

Agree, but unfortunately not all dogs will take well to a vegan diet. So the best way to overcome that is to buy pet mince or 'scraps' from the butcher which are the leftover parts of the animals that humans are not going to eat anyway. That way at least animals aren't specifically being killed just so your animal can eat.

This is why none of us (well I certainly hope so) here support breeding. It would be inhumane to let carnivorous animals die for the sake of being carnivores. If killing a cat simply to reduce meat consumption is justifiable, then killing a lion to save zebras would also be justifiable.

In the future I'd love to adopt more animals, which includes obligate carnivores like ferrets (ferrets are just so cute *squee*). I'd still be forking over much less money to the meat industry than the average meat eating human.

Different animals have different digestive systems. We as humans can absorb plant protein perfectly fine, but other animals such as cats absorb animal-sourced protein much more readily. Dogs are much less fussy about protein sources than cats are.

Still, a raw carnivorous diet would still be optimum for a dog's health. But then again, one dog's health wouldn't be worth a hundred other lives. But then again, even if we don't buy meat, we're NOT actually saving any lives. Leftover farm animals get shot if demand is low. What we ARE reducing is the number of animals being bred into existence.

My point is that I think food technology has made the dilemma of "should animals die so that pets get fed?" completely redundant. Brands like Veganpet make catfood and dogfood that contain all of the nutrients that cats/dogs need using vegetable sources.

But I think we also need to question what we really know and think of what the natural diet for these animals is. Dogs may well be descended from wolves, but since then they have spread throughout the world and undergone domestication. This changes their physiology, their nutritional needs and where they have evolved changes their diet also.
Chef and author Ani Phyo's dog Kanga is fed a completely raw vegan diet (as far as I know, not even food like veganpet, which I consider to be like a meat replacement) and he looks like a pretty healthy, happy old puppy. I think alternatives should be explored and people should be open minded to new ideas.

Anyhoo, this is a good discussion!