The dog

BaileyD

I've posted this on another Buddhist forum, but already know what to expect from them. I post it here as well because I don't know what to expect. That's fun.:D

My dog is probably not a Buddhist. She is also a carnivore. I feed her a raw meat diet and sometimes have to butcher animals for her. I don't kill them, just cut them up smaller. Will my karma be harmed even if I feel really bad about all this?

Dazzle

Hi BaileyD,

My view on this is that you are feeding your pet the food needed by dogs to survive and you have not killed the animals yourself. I don't see how this could accumulate negative karma for you.
Whilst a vegetarian myself, I wouldn't feed carnivore pets a vegetarian diet. If they were wild they would kill to eat. They wouldn't choose to eat veggie food.

Kind wishes,

Dazzle

federica

I second that.

Edit note:
However, it is important to give animals some vegetative content.
In the wild, they would eat every nutritious bit of their prey, including stomach contents. Given that for the most part, their prey consists of herbivorous animals, this gives them vegetative nutrition....
the roughage gives them fibre, easing the digestive process, and supplies them with minerals and vitamins not present in meat. Also, vegetable matter takes longer to digest. they'll feel less hungry for longer....

BaileyD

federica wrote: »

I second that.

Edit note:
However, it is important to give animals some vegetative content.
In the wild, they would eat every nutritious bit of their prey, including stomach contents. Given that for the most part, their prey consists of herbivorous animals, this gives them vegetative nutrition....
the roughage gives them fibre, easing the digestive process, and supplies them with minerals and vitamins not present in meat. Also, vegetable matter takes longer to digest. they'll feel less hungry for longer....

Yes, the veg part of their diet can be accomplished by this magical substance called "Green Tripe" I call it puppy crack. It helps with lots of stuff, but mostly drives dogs nuts.:p

Also some veg from time to time, Bailey loves it mixed with some ground meat.:D

BaileyD

Dazzle wrote: »

Hi BaileyD,

My view on this is that you are feeding your pet the food needed by dogs to survive and you have not killed the animals yourself. I don't see how this could accumulate negative karma for you.
Whilst a vegetarian myself, I wouldn't feed carnivore pets a vegetarian diet. If they were wild they would kill to eat. They wouldn't choose to eat veggie food.

Kind wishes,

Dazzle

That's been my thinking on the whole thing from the beginning. Thanks for the support.

Palzang

It's a dog's karma to eat meat, so it would be wrong, imho, to interfere with that karma. If you're going to have a dog as a pet, that's part of the package.

Palzang

Brian

Your intent is to provide the correct sustenance to your dog, not cause needless suffering in prey animals. You can make conscious decisions about the food you feed your dog regarding corporate practices (Where does the supplier get their source meat? What exactly goes into making it? etc.) but as with everything, your intentions are what matter.