As so many studies have already shown, dogs can easily digest starch (i.e. the plant-based carbohydrate storage unit). They even produce the enzyme in their mouths to begin the digestive process – we are quite sure that many of you have seen the long strings of saliva hanging from your dog’s mouth when they smell something irresistible?
The rest of the starches can then be processed in your dog’s small intestine. Calculations have revealed that they can digest about 99 % of plant-based starch if provided to them in a suitable form.
It is so important to blend or carefully mash any homemade food that is fed to your dog to ensure that all valuable nutrients can be absorbed adequately.
A fascinating study proved how mutations in key genes occurred allowing increased starch digestion in dogs relative to wolves. These results indicate that early ancestors of modern dogs could thrive on a diet rich in starch which was a crucial step in the early domestication of dogs (interesting reading if you required further proof that dogs digest starches).
So please don’t worry about feeding your dog a purely plant-based. As always, the key is a balance of nutrients and taste to keep your dogs healthy and happy!
Will a vegan dog food diet affect my dog’s behaviour?
Owners of dogs on plant-based diets do report that their pets appear happier and calmer
Top Vegan Dog Dental Chews
Which dental plant-based chews are advised by our vet and which should you avoid?
Vet Reflections Of 2020
They say that to be truly happy, you need to have gratitude and I have to end the year with thanks to these wonderful people (and dogs)
Wispy’s guilty pleasures
We live in a zero carbon house. Wispy seriously offsets our carbon savings!
Wonderful David Attenborough
When our future seems so precarious, we finally have hope for our fragile natural world with the very wise and passionate words of Sir David Attenborough
Never use the word VEGAN!
Only by convincing vets that it is the way forward, will we together have any success as plant-based feeders of ensuring that it becomes a very viable and superior option to feeding our dogs
*The Top 10 Zoonoses In Your Home*
There are cases of dry food or treats (especially the raw hide treats and chews) causing transmission of diseases to people
Fireworks tips for our plant-based dogs
None of us want our dogs to be stressed – there is nothing worse than seeing them anxious and unhappy
Evidence Based Medicine
The meat-based fed control group showed 11 deficiencies while the long-term vegan fed category presented only two deficiencies
Race Against Time
As a vet and a mother and a dog lover, I am passionate about feeding dogs a plant-based diet to support our future
The most common allergen in dogs
We discuss the most common allergen in itchy dogs and what can be done about it
Confessions of a vegan vet
David Attenborough makes a stark warning on extinction and I felt it would be too upsetting to watch!
