Is Vegan Dog Food Better?
A new study on Vegan Dog Food makes the claim that Vegan is the healthiest and best diet to feed to your dog. But is it?
This study was done at the University of Winchester, and came to the conclusion that dogs that were fed Vegan diets had better overall health outcomes.
3000 dogs and dog parents were included – 55% of the dogs were fed conventional kibble, 30% of dog parents were feeding their dogs a raw diet, and 15% were fed a Vegan diet.
This was a balanced, specifically formulated Vegan diet and 7 general indicators of health were studied, here are some:
- Unusual number of Veterinary visits
- Number of dogs having to go on medication
- Dogs that had to change their diet to go on a more therapeutic diet
- Pets that were diagnosed Veterinary disorder
Dogs that were on the conventional kibble diet faired the worst, and dogs that were fed the raw diet faired marginally better (though dogs that were fed a raw diet were much younger).
50% of the dogs on the conventional kibble diet were diagnosed with some sort of disease or illness, 43% for the raw diet and only 36% of dogs who ate the Vegan diet.
It was also suggested that dogs who are on the raw diet do have more potential to contract illnesses due to pathogens, or possible nutritional deficiency.
As well, dogs who were on the vegan diet were less likely to have issues with allergies – which is a very common issue in dogs.
This study was supported in part by the “Pro Veg Society” that is looking to expand plant based foods, so there are possibilities of flaws – including how the pet parents were relied upon for the results.
So, what do I think?
I do not believe everything plant based is bad – I do see environmental benefits as well as in some cases some health benefits.
Ultimately, it’s up to what works best for your dog — what they respond to best!
Thanks for joining me! What do you feed your dogs?
Dr. Andrew Jones
Study: Vegan versus meat-based dog food: Guardian-reported indicators of health..https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0265662
Pro Vegetarian Society which provided funding for the study: https://proveg.com/
My dog had itchy rash all over for along time treated with steroids and OTC meds till I started him on cooked chicked,sweet potatoes, and small amt. of leafy greens. Problem solved and he has no smelly odor.Thank you for all u do. You are my go to vet.
I have a nine month old female exotic Pocket boy who has all the symptoms that your channel talks about with scared skin irritation hair loss ear infections and I hear that they meaning those type of dogs pocket bullies are allergic to a lot of foods if you could please help me figure out what to feed my baby girl I would greatly appreciate it thank you Dr Jones
Hello! Here are some recipes that can assist you in deciding what to feed your dog.
https://veterinarysecrets.com/?s=dog+diet