I'm vegetarian, does my dog need meat for optimal health?

As long as the diet is certified to be complete and balanced for dogs, this diet should be fine. Check the package for the AAFCO certification. This will ensure the diet is balanced. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

It's not the best choice for a dog as dogs are natural carnivores but if you do decide to feed him vegetarian food chose a good quality ready made diet (kibbles) such as Benevo or Yarrah for example.

No. I understand the ethical reasons for becoming vegan but feel that it is unhealthy and inhumane to force that diet on omnivorous or carnivorous pets. Dogs have not evolved to utilize a completely plant based diet efficiently and will end up malnourished or sick on a vegan diet.

No - a diet of milk, rice, and chappati is absolutely not adequate for the nutritional needs of a dog. While it's technically possible for dogs to survive on a vegetarian diet, it must be specially formulated by a veterinary nutritionist in order to be complete; or, you can use a commercially available food such as Natural Balance Vegetarian. I don't normally recommend this unless there is a medical reason on the dog's part (such as severe food allergies), since dogs are biologically designed to prey on other animals and eat meat.

Bruno is a dog and dogs are carnivores. So, unlike humans, they really need to eat animal protein to stay healthy. It is like having a tiger. Tigers will get ill if you feed them plants only and they will die. Dogs can eat veggies but will need to eat some meat or animal protein based food to stay healthy. feed a good brand name dry food and he should be fine. At this time Bruno is too small to eat solid food and should be fed puppy milk from a bottle. By the time he is around 5 weeks old, you can feed him some canned puppy food until he is about 3 months old when he can get dry food. You never have to feed him meat only or fresh meat.

It is possible to make a balanced vegetarian diet for dogs, and if you are interested in this I would check with your vet first to make sure your vet feels it would be safe to try for Cooper. I typically recommend Royal Canin's Vegetarian diet since it has gone through feeding trials. If you are interested in formulating a home cooked diet it may be more difficult to make something balanced, but would certainly be possible particularly if you do have access to fish or game. You should ask your vet for referral to a veterinary nutritionist who can help formulate a balanced recipe.

For one, I wouldn't have Pavi as a vegetarian. Dogs should have meat, being a vegetarian is a human construct and really shouldn't be forced on a dog. I would feed her a high quality dog food like Royal Canin. You should also make sure she is fully vaccinated, has regular flea treatments, is spayed, and sees the vet as soon as she is sick. If she is healthy, have her seen by a vet once a year for a health check. Best of luck.