Last week we spoke to a veterinarian about the potential dangers of putting your dog on a vegetarian or vegan diet. And I agree that making your dog a vegetarian purely for lifestyle reasons is probably not the healthiest choice for your dog. But, it's important to know that some dogs have to go on a vegetarian diet because they have an allergy to meat. It may sound crazy to think that pets can have allergies, but they're just like humans in that way. My dog Maggie Mae is a vegetarian because she has an allergy to meat, most likely to the animal protein found in it. Maggie is not very impressed with the fact that she can no longer have steak or the bone from a roast — in the picture above she's using her sad puppy eyes to try to convince us to give her food. But she does love her new vegetarian food —in fact she likes it better than her meaty kibble. You're probably wondering how to know if your dog has a food allergy. It actually took us many years to figure out what exactly Maggie's issue was. The first sign of a digestion problem was that Maggie's anal glands acted up. Yes, that's gross. But without going into too many details, dogs with a food sensitivity may have anal glands that get too full. This is quite unpleasant for the dog and will cause them to scoot their bum on the ground to try to release the glands. Trust me, if they release them, you will know because the smell is quite foul. To help Maggie with her bum issue, the vet put her on a new kibble made of fish. But after a couple of years, Maggie wasn't  enjoying her food. She would leave her kibble untouched for hours, which is quite odd for a golden retriever. We tried switching her food. But she still wasn't eating and then she started vomiting on and off. This led to a trip to the vet where the vet became concerned that Maggie had pancreatitis. After lots of tests the vet discovered that Maggie has a sensitivity to meat. With the advice of our vet we picked out a dog food that will give Maggie all the nutrients she needs. And Maggie is pretty content with this, she loves her new diet, even if she sometimes acts embarrassed at being a vegetarian dog. If your dog is showing any of these signs, then take them to the vet to start the process of finding out if they have an allergy. Does your pet have an allergy?