Vegan Diets Are Healthier For Dogs According to a New Study Of Over 2500 Pet Dogs

Researchers from the University of Winchester surveyed 2500 pet dogs for over a year and analysed their health and found that vegan dogs fared much better compared to dogs fed diets with processed pet food or raw meat.

THE STUDY

The pet parents of 2536 dogs filled in a survey over the course of the year as part of the study. More than half of the dogs were fed conventional meat-based diets, one third of them were fed raw meat and 13% were on vegan diets.

The dogs were assessed based on seven health parameters which included the number of veterinary visits, use of medications, and specific dog health disorders.

The study was led by Dr Andrew Knight, Professor of Animal Welfare and Ethics at the University of Winchester.

“Our study is by far the largest study published to date,” said Prof Andrew Knight, at the University of Winchester, UK, and who led the study. “It revealed that the healthiest and least hazardous dietary choices for dogs are nutritionally sound vegan diets.”

The researchers were able to conclude that 17% of dogs on conventional diets had four or more visits to the vet over the course of a year, compared with 9% for those on vegan diets and 8% for those on raw meat diets. The percentage of dogs reported to have suffered from health disorders was 49% for the conventional diet, 43% for the raw meat diet and 36% for the vegan diet. The study also showed that dogs fed the conventional meat diets were more likely to be on medication compared to the dogs fed raw meat or vegan diets.

“The key limitation of our study is that we didn’t have a population of animals locked up in a research facility and fed one specific diet without any alteration,” Knight said. “We studied what real dogs in normal homes ate and their health outcomes. It gives us a good indication as to what the outcomes are for dogs in the real world.”

THE DECLINING HEALTH OF OUR PETS

Pets, especially dogs, are increasingly being affected with the same illnesses that are common in human beings. Cancers are as common in dogs as they are in human beings.

While there is no consensus on why cancer is so common among dogs, one of the many causes scientists attribute to a general drop in the health of the dogs is the overuse of commercial pet food.

“We know the health hazards associated with overconsumption of meat and dairy for people and it’s often the same ingredients,” says Dr Knight, and in many countries commercially produced pet offds contain discarded animal parts that are not even fit for human consumption.

Many pets are also dealing with obesity further compromising their musculoskeletal health among other issues. While reporting for illnesses in dogs and cats is not centralised as it is for human beings, there can be conclusions drawn based on studies such as these to show that pets are suffering in part due to misinformed dietary choices made by the caretakers.

While dogs can be considered omnivores, there are numerous instances of dogs doing very well on balanced vegan diets. In fact, a study published in the journal Plos One in 2021 showed that dogs accept vegan food just as they do with meat-based alternatives.

Dr. Knight, a vegan himself who does not own a dog, devised and led the peer-reviewed study, which was funded by the charity ProVeg.

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