Introduction

[Retro]

Hi! I'm Retro, and I joined here because I myself have been trying to go vegan. I've gone down many Reddit spirals on r/vegan which have screwed my my mental health if I'm being honest, but at least it motivated me to try and make a change. The only thing that keeps me from being vegan is that throughout these months, I have regrettably still have fed my dogs animal-based food, and just now impulsively fed them dog lamb which (rightfully) sent me down a spiral of guilt.

I'm typing this at 4:27 in the morning and am spiraling because of the guilt. Not trying to justify what I did, but it's also because my dog's been outside for a long time, and I'm always deeply paranoid about his mental health because one of my dogs passed away 2 years ago, and I always worry about him. I usually don't dwell on my past actions like this, but this has been keeping me up on my computer for hours.

I want to say that aside from the dog food, I have tried to follow this lifestyle as much as possible (even though my mom had to find plant-based dog food for me when I could've easily found it myself, so maybe I am a worthless lazy piece of shit) I don't eat or wear *anything* that came from an animal.

But my mom said she'll get me plant-based food for him on Tuesday, so maybe when that day comes, I can finally call myself Vegan. (even though I probably won't call myself that since going down a rabbit hole of a misanthropic and doomer vegan has made not want to call myself one.)

I'm posting this here because you guys seem really chill, and the vegan subreddits fuck my mental health up.

[Red]

Welcome to the forum, Retro!
Word of advice, don't stay on Reddit too much, it isn't good for your mental health (same can be said for pretty much all social media). Some good people on the Vegan subreddit but it's prone to toxicity and insufferables (especially on more niche Vegan subreddits), and in my experience there's an atmosphere of purism (no tolerance for reducitarianism or people who gradually go vegan). We had this guy on the forum who kept trolling us a few years back who was a constant redditor, and I don't think he was in peak mental health at all.

As for your situtation, the best thing to do is recognize that you made a bad mistake, and move on. Dwelling on it obviously isn't going to undo it, and if anything, use it as a motivation to do more good in the future and minimize as much harm as possible. It's good that you feel bad about it, since most people when they fuck up rationalize it away and attempt to justify their actions.

Pretty much every long term vegan has accidentally consumed animal products every now and again, many of whom feel bad about it. Don't beat yourself up over it too bad, remember that, from what you've told us, you're already doing better than 99% of people when you make an effort to not eat or wear animals, and one screw up does not make you an evil person.

And I would say the misanthropic crap is only really an issue with terminally online Vegans or very young ones, most real life Vegans have more sense of nuance. Usually though once the righteous indignation fades you go back to a place of understanding.

What brand of dog food are you getting? Not sure what country you're from (Australia? Philippines?), so let us know so we can offer some input.

For now though, try to get some sleep.

[Retro]

I live in Western Australia, and the kinds of dog food that my mom gets for them is usually called "my dog" and has meats that she often feeds them. During my first couple of months plant-based I usually just fed them that myself because I didn't think that there was any other choice, and that they were obligate carnivores, so there was nothing I could do.

But over time, I began to find out that they CAN survive on a plant-based/vegan diet, so I began not directly feeing them that meat, and began feeding them the dog kibble which although certainly isn't plant-based/vegan, I thought wasn't as bad as directly feeding them that meat.

I have also begun integrating plant-based foods into their diet so I can feel less guilty, and tell myself that I'm at least making an effort, even if for this journey, I've been completely relying on my mom for all of the things that she gets me to help me on this path. (I'm 18, and don't have enough things or any money to get all of this stuff for myself.)

I think my problem is that I know I need to think about it more, but since I've been so sheltered and isolated my entire childhood, I end up relying on my mom to get all of these things. And while I'm still disappointed that she won't go vegan/plant-based and uses the same shitty arguments every vegan has heard, she's still very supportive of what I'm doing, and makes sure I have everything I need, in which I am truly grateful for.

[brimstoneSalad]

AFAIK most vegans don't feed their pets fully plant based. However, with dogs it's pretty mainstream, since they're not obligate carnivores and they evolved with us to digest starch due to domestication. I'm assuming you don't have a wolf dog here.

From anecdotes it's clear dogs can not only survive but thrive on properly planned plant based diets.
Those dogs might have just been special and it was dumb luck, but that's unlikely.
Plant based diets for dogs likely provide some health benefits in aggregate -- there just haven't been any good large controlled studies to be able to quantify it with confidence. What info we have from owner surveys suggests plant based dogs live a couple years longer and suffer less from a few diseases.
The bottom line is it makes sense as long as you get a reputable dog food. If the current state of information suggested they fared worse on some significant metric rather than better, more skepticism might be warranted. But as of now, the theory (of canine nutritional needs) and practice are in agreement that plant based diets can be perfectly suitable if not superior. Just make sure you're working with your vet on this.

Also, I'll echo that staying off Reddit is usually a sound choice.
Welcome to the forum.