By nature, dogs are omnivores; this means dogs eat both animal and plant based foods. A dog’s body has the capability of transforming certain amino acids into others, which means a dog will be able to obtain all the essential amino acids for his diet without having any meat at all. However, since they are omnivores by design, dogs tend lead healthier and longer lives on a meat-filled diet.

Is it healthier for a dog to be meat-free? There is no real answer to this, yet, but, there are dogs out there with food allergies, and meats are no exception. Studies have shown that between 10 to 20 percent of all dogs have some type of meat intolerance.

If you’re dog suffers from a food allergy, then it makes sense for your dog to be on a meat-free diet. When a dog has an allergy to food, he may begin to have ear inflammation, bite his paws, obsess over licking, break out in a rash or hives, have nausea or diarrhea, vomit, pass gas often, and his coat may not look well anymore.  If you bring your dog to the vet, he or she will be able to put your dog on an elimination diet.

If it turns out your dog has an allergy to all meat (or even just one or two), it’s in your best interest to seek out vegetarian or vegan dog food options, so his stomach no longer is aggravated. However, there aren’t a whole lot of dog supplements out there that are meat-free. Just recently, Ark Naturals released a joint product that can help with both your dog’s joint issues and diet sensitives and allergies. Although they do sell this product in meat flavors, they now offer Sea Mobility Joint Rescue soft chewables in sweet potato and cranberry flavors.

Overall, most vets would recommend and prefer that dogs eat a meat-based diet, but if your dog suffers from an allergy, he can still live a good life on a plant-based diet.

Ark Naturals’ mission is to offer the most complete, scientifically-formulated and healthy products for people’s pets. If you’re interested in Ark Natural’s meat-free joint product, click the link.  Ark Naturals also offers a variety of other remedy, wellness products. To browse the dog-health products, click the Dog Supplements page.