Is Vegan Food Actually Good For Dogs? A New Study Claims It Is

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A research on dog owners and their pets' medical records suggests that a vegan diet may be safer and healthier for dogs than a meat-based one. Nutritionally sound vegan food was found to be related to greater overall health in dogs, according to a new study.

PLOS ONE magazine published a study on the impact of vegan, raw, and commercial dog food diets on canine health that is certain to spark some debate among the dog-owning communities. Of the 2,536 dogs examined, dogs on vegan diets made up just 13%, whereas raw meat and regular dog food comprised 33% and 54% of the population.

The researchers focused on how many times the examined dogs had been to the vet, what drugs they were on, and any known health issues. The survey findings were then statistically analyzed by a team of experts.

Dogs who ate standard "dog food" diets were shown to be in poorer health than those that ate vegan or raw meats.

Even if raw meat is healthier for dogs than veganism, researchers feel there are various contributing elements that prevent concluding this definitively. Why did they say that?

Dogs included in this study that were on raw meat diets were a lot younger than dogs on vegan diets.

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A lower frequency of emergency visits to the veterinarian for dogs on the raw meat diet could indicate better health or simply that health problems were not recognized or severe. As you can imagine, statistically, senior dogs have more health issues than adult dogs or puppies.

Vegan dog food has witnessed an increase in popularity in recent years due to concerns over animal welfare, climate change, and the exploitation of animals in the production process. Although this study's findings are only correlative, a well-rounded vegan diet likely has some health benefits even if they are not linked to a cause-effect relationship in this study.

Therefore, they concluded that among normal raw meat and vegan diets, "nutritional sound vegan diets" are the best and least dangerous dietary choice for dogs when evaluating health outcomes in connection with nutritional hazards.

While the authors concluded that vegan dog food is the "healthiest" and "least risky" option, they stress that any dog diet must be appropriate for the dog's needs for them to be healthy.

"Regardless of ingredients used," they stated, "diets should always be formulated to be nutritionally complete and balanced, without which adverse health effects may eventually be expected to occur."

It would be very interesting to see what our dogs would have to say about this and if they would eat vegan food or simply turn their nose away and wait for some chicken.

World Dog Finder team