Is your furry friend ready to embark on a plant-based adventure and trade kibble for kale? While this path towards vibrant health and happiness is exciting, there can be unexpected stumbles along the way. But fear not, pet parent! With our expert guidance and a touch of ancient wisdom, we'll help you navigate this journey with ease.
We'll unveil the 9 most common mistakes that could derail your dog's plant-based journey, inspired by the holistic principles of Ayurveda. From ensuring balanced nutrition to understanding their unique needs.
INCOMPLETE RESEARCH
  Did not complete enough research about plant based feeding. Often pet parents start out by swapping ingredients from the dogs bowl with plant based ingredients without understanding their dogs nutrient requirements. This can lead to nutrient deficiencies or excess, as a result causing an imbalance in the body leading to disease.
NOT ESTABLISHING A ROUTINE
In my practice I see pet parents often who do not walk their dogs everyday before meal times. Additionally they are also free fed, that is have food in their bowls throughout the day or constantly fed tid-bits or table scraps everytime their humans eat. What is worse, is a lot of times pet parents end up feeding human processed foods like bread, biscuits, toast etc to their canine companions. All of this can inculcate bad eating behaviours in our dogs much like a little child, like not eating at meal times, being very picky or fussy because they want the human processed food.
RUSHING THE TRANSITION
Very often people swap the current food to a new plant based diet too rapidly or they follow the 25 - 50 -75 -100 rule over a couple weeks. Quickly transitioning your dog(s) to a new diet may cause gastrointestinal upsets like diarrhoea, vomiting or flatulence. This experience may make your dog reluctant from consuming these foods again.
If your canine has been on an all meat diet with very little or no plant based foods or has been mainly eating processed food like kibble or canned or retort packed foods, they may lack or not have enough gut friendly bacteria (good microflora/microbiome).
NOT ADDING PROPER SUPPLEMENTS
A very common issue in the Indian households feeding plant based diets to their dogs, is feeding an imbalanced diet. Very often I see dogs lacking certain nutrients and as a result have poor immune function, skin issues, poor gut health, mobility problems etc..
Lack of nutrients is as much of a problem as much as over supplementation. Both can cause disease.
NOT FEEDING A BALANCED DIETÂ
Oftentimes we see people feeding an incomplete or unbalanced to their canines.When the diets are not complete and balanced it can impact physical and mental well being, leading to a disease state such as arthritis, cardiac issues, kidney problems, poor skin and coat, gut issues or obesity etc. Not incorporating the right amounts of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals in your dogs bowl can cause health issues.
FEEDING ENHANCED/PROCESSED HUMAN FOODS
Purchasing and feeding seasoned, sweetened (Breads, Human Crackers and Biscuits etc) to dogs is not advisable and healthy. Adding Bone Broth, Milk or dairy over the Plant Based Meals can make the transition difficult. Once dogs acquire the taste of processed foods with added flavours, sweetness and salt, it can make the transition process very difficult. Also these foods not healthy for our canine pals.
PROVIDING TOO MANY OPTIONS or TREATS
When dogs dont have a disciplined routine, they are mostly likely to be picky eaters. Some breeds can be picky inspite of a well defined routine. So pet parents end up giving them too many choices to choose from when their dog pal does not eat, or they end up feeding treats instead of meal or may feed treats close to the meal time. All of this can encourage picky eating behaviours. I know it can get quite frustrating when this occurs. So people just give up.
NOT FEEDING FOR PROPER LIFE STAGE
Pet parents bring home a new puppy or adopt a dog and they immediately start them on home cooked food like beans and rice or lentils and rice thinking they are providing complete nutrition. No. depending on whether your dog is a puppy, adult or a senior dog it is important to feed for the life stage they are in as the nutrient requirements change from puppyhood to senior. If these requirements are not met you companion can develop health issues.
Additionally as the lifestage changes if their nutrient requirements are not met you will notice behaviours that get attributed to food because of the diet is not compete and balanced for that stage. And when these behaviours or issues crop up, people give up.
BECOMING OVERWHELMED
Sometimes pet parents overcomplicate the meal preparation and planning that they tend to get overwhelmed when the canine pal does not eat the new recipe or food, because they now start offering a dozen different alternatives .This can get stressful for both the pet parent and pets pretty soon and so most pet parents give up.
Conquer the Overwhelm
Feeling lost in a sea of information? We've got your back! Join our Plant Powered Pets Challenge 2024 and receive personalized wellness coaching and support to answer your questions, ease your concerns, and guide you every step of the way.
Ready to ditch the kibble and go green? Join the Plant Powered Pets Challenge 2024 and unlock the secrets to avoiding these common mistakes, unleashing your pup's plant-powered potential, and experiencing a thriving, Ayurvedic-inspired life together!
Remember, with the right knowledge and support, you can overcome these challenges and embark on a joyful journey with your furry friend. Join the Plant Powered Challenge 2024 and let's get started!