Latest Vegan Dog Food Published Studies Are Positive

In 2022, we had a number of studies published both in the UK by Prof Knight and Dr Mike Davies, as well as in North America by Dr Sarah Dodd to name just a few that claimed that vegan dog food resulted in not only healthier dogs, but also that they could live up to 18 months longer!

This has obviously caused quite a stir amongst the larger pet food manufacturers who do not produce a vegan option and rely on the meat by-product industry for their high turnovers. Up until now, we haven’t had a formal assessment of the scientific evidence put forward by these top veterinary professionals.

Why critique of these original papers is so important

There is something called the ‘placebo effect’ that we may all be guilty of. This occurs when you believe so strongly that a certain medication or lifestyle change is going to help you, that you are immediately biased. We may all be guilty of it, and some of us with such strong passions and beliefs (such as those of us choosing to eat no animal products or feed them to our dogs), may be biased enough to want to ‘skew the facts’ to work in our favour.

This is what has resulted in the latest research published this week (from Australia this time and scientists from Mexico) in Veterinary Sciences University of Adelaide. They have brought together the health findings from the 16 recent studies on dogs and cats fed vegan diets.

They concentrated specifically on this fact that – “Much of these data were acquired from guardians via survey-type studies, but these can be subject to selection biases, as well as subjectivity around the outcomes.” ie they had to look at the results subjectively as the answers came from vegan owners themselves who were so passionate about the diet and wanting it all to be positive.

This latest published paper from Australia is therefore even more important as they had to conclude from all the evidence that –

Domínguez-Oliva et al. (2023) concluded, “there was no overwhelming evidence of adverse effects arising from use of [vegan pet food] and there was some evidence of benefits. … Much of these data were acquired from guardians via survey-type studies, but these can be subject to selection biases, as well as subjectivity around the outcomes. However, these beneficial findings were relatively consistent across several studies and should, therefore, not be disregarded.”

They advised, “… if guardians wish to feed their companion animals vegan diets, a cautious approach should be taken using commercially produced diets which have been formulated considering the nutritional needs of the target species.” [ie. that are nutritionally-sound].

How very positive and what a turnaround from saying that vegan dog food diets were harmful only 15 months ago, to now saying that “there was no overwhelming evidence of adverse effects arising from the use of vegan pet food and there was some evidence of benefits.” – such great news and all that is needed is more people to feed their dogs nutritionally sound vegan dog food diets (such as the ones we sell) to continue to have dogs that thrive and truly benefit.