Dogs can be vegan too!!

Dog being vegan, think about it seems quite interesting right? Recent research studies show some positive results on giving dogs a vegan diet. As vegan diets are a lot healthier and safer for dogs than their regular meat-based diets, as long as they consist of all the required nutrition that a dog requires. Dogs are omnivores as long as their diet is completely balanced you can give them meat, vegetarian or vegan diets. Their diets must be planned carefully by professional nutritionists ensuring that their diet must include all their needs.

Dog being a vegan and the hate against it

This topic of dogs being vegan is a controversial topic as there is enough hate against it. There is not enough evidence. No dedicated study has been conducted by organizations that can help people to believe in vegan as an option for dogs. Dogs are omnivores an animal that can survive on both plant and animal-based food. This can be a strong reason to believe that like many other omnivores, dogs can also rely on a plant-based diet entirely.

Image source: nypost.com

 Supporting studies and surveys: Vegan dogs

In support of this, there were some studies and surveys have been carried out to study the effects of changing your dog’s conventional meat-based diet to a vegan diet. Prof Andrew Knight of the University of Winchester, UK, led the study. Through his study, he revealed that the healthiest and least hazardous choice of diet for dogs nutritionally sounds vegan.

Statistical data

More than 2500 dogs were studied over a year using surveys filled out by their owners. These surveys have seven general indicators of health, such as non-routine visits to the vet and different common illnesses. The researchers analyzed surveys of over 2536 dog owners. 51% of dogs were given conventional meat-based diets, 36% were given raw meat diets, and about 13% were given vegan diets.

The survey study says that 17% of dogs on conventional diets had five or more visits to the vet throughout the year. Whereas when compared to 9% of dogs on vegan diets and 8% for those on a raw meat diet. Next up were health disorders, the percentage of dogs suffering from health disorders was 49% for the conventional diet, 43% for the raw meat, and 36% for the vegan diet.

The survey suggested some other important factors which one can keep in mind during comparing which suits or fits the best for their dog, for example overweight, being obese is one of the most common health issues for dogs, After a particular age due to obesity dogs, lose their alertness and become lazy. Meat-based diet can be one strong reason behind the obesity factor for dogs as a meat-based diet are a lot more calories than compared to a vegetarian or vegan diet.

One would not recommend changing your dog’s diet without taking help from an expert veterinary or nutritionist. The purpose is to avoid dietary deficiencies and diseases associated with it, but it is theoretically possible to feed a vegetarian diet so one can always look up to the option.

Are vegan dogs healthier?

Research published in 20

16 concluded that dogs can rely on meat-free diets. This is particularly for improvement in body coat, allergy control, and obesity control, for overall health benefits. It helps in increasing vitality and can have some serious health benefits like a regression of arthritis, diabetes, and cataract resolution. One would always consider a plant-based diet if it would save their beloved pet dog from such hazardous diseases. Research also helped to notice a decrease in the incidence of cancer, infection, and problems related to ectoparasites like fleas, ticks, mites, etc.

A separate study was carried out in 2009 related to the physical condition of dogs when they are given meat-free diets. They chose highly exercised dogs to determine the effects

of a meat-free diet. The results were tremendous as the dogs on a plant-based diet remained in excellent physical condition.

Why do Vets also support a vegan diet for dogs?

Veterinary doctors from different countries tried recommending plant-based diets to their patients.  Many positive outcomes have been seen in their health. Vegan diets proved to be effective in gastrointestinal issues, certain allergies, and other illnesses.

There are some scientific reasons supporting the use of a vegan diet given by vets:

• Dogs are omnivores.
• A plant-based diet is recommended for longevity and better health.

Replacing meat in pet diet

Health concerns are been raised by some companies about contaminated dog food. This is because most of dog food is made from the ‘4D animals’ (dead, dying, diseased, disabled). . According to the food development authority (FDA), raw meat from 4D animals may cause a potential health hazard to the animals consuming it.

Raw meat-based food can be even more potent health hazardous or damaging. It can cause some serious infection if infected meat is consumed. Samples of different brands were looked into and more than half of the samples were contagious with bacteria like Enterococci, etc.

Also check out- Tibetan Restaurants in Delhi you can’t miss out! – My Biology Dictionary

Not only just dogs but even humans too poses the risk of getting infected as we have close contact with our pet dogs. We must raise awareness about the potential health risks of feeding raw diets to our pets. There should be proper selection and screening of the ingredients used for making dog food with hygiene practices.

Environment-friendly diets

Climate crisis, we all hear this word every now and then over the news. Climate change is happening at a rate like never before. In today’s time not only dogs, cats or other pet animals even we humans are dependent on a meat-based diet like never before. This has eventually created pressure on animal farms. The pressure is to produce meat at a high rate in order to meet consumer demands. Ultimately it has created a burden on our planet and we are producing more waste than can decompose.

Another key point is that animal products like beef are huge generators of greenhouse gases. Research has shown that plant-based food has a lower impact on the planet. It’s our duty to spread awareness and minimize the suffering of animals. Over 64 million tons of carbon dioxide are produced by the food that our dogs and cats consume.

One simple way to minimize all this is by shifting to a vegan diet for our pets and even for us. All together we can make this planet a better place to live for our future generation. Such small changes that everyone can make at their level.

What are the people choosing?

To summarize, we can see exponential growth in the number of vegan dogs in the past few years. It’s great to see that owners are choosing a great alternative that can completely replace a meat-based diet. This is a healthy and environment-friendly approach. Research has shown that owners are likely to give their pets the diet they prefer for themselves.

Keep reading and love your dogs!

Team MBD

Purchase vegan diet food for your dog- V-PLANET Regular Kibble | Vegetarian/Vegan Dog Food for All Breeds | Dry Adult Dog Treats with Balanced AAFCO Formula | 100% Plant-Based Nutrition & Cruelty-Free | for Itchy & Sensitive Dogs (2 Kg) : Amazon.in: Pet Supplies