Effects of Vegan Diet on Dogs

Can I put my dog on vegan diets? - 2024 research

In this article, we will discuss the effects of vegan diets on dogs. Yeah, you read that right, dogs can be vegan too!

Most vegans feel guilty when they are buying meat for their pets and that’s why they came to this idea that there is no difference between killing animals to feed humans or killing them to feed pets.

With that mindset, many vegans try to put a stop to the killing of animals with no exceptions.

A lot of vegans around the world have put their dogs on vegan diets and they try to feed their dogs just plant-based whole foods because they assume that vegan diets are beneficial for dogs too.

And when I say we will discuss the effects of vegan diets on dogs, I mean that we will dive deep into this subject.

I’m going to bring in different researches from different people and health magazines including doctors and professors.

We’ll start with nutrition facts and basic information and later on we will get into tips and personal advice.

We will also talk about subjects like:

• Benefits of vegan diets for dogs
• Health issues in dogs
• Symptoms of nutritional deficiency in dogs

Vegans Put Their Dogs on Vegan Diets

You might have seen some people try to put their dogs on vegan diets, and you might ask when the term “vegan dog” became a thing.

The origin and idea of vegan diets for dogs don’t trace back to a long time ago and it isn’t very complicated.

Vegan diets (for dogs) started to go viral after certain people on social media, including celebrities claimed dogs could be vegan.
Given that, a few vegans were feeding their pets vegetables and plant-based foods until other vegans found out about these vegan diets.

Lewis Hamilton, the famous Formula One champion is one of those famous people who have made their pets vegan.

Roscoe, Lewis Hamilton’s 12-year-old bulldog is fully vegan, and funny enough, Lewis has made an Instagram page for his bulldog.

Lewis Hamilton has also stated that the main reason behind his dog’s vegan transformation was the health benefits that come with vegan diets.

“His coat is much softer, his swollen paws have healed up, he is no longer limping with pain of arthritis and his breathing has opened up.” said Hamilton.

Furthermore, there are also other vegans who have vegan pets, including famous people and most of them have said that the vegan diet has helped their pets with their health issues.

Can Dogs Be Vegan?

The answer is yes but the bigger picture here is the dogs’ response to a certain diet.

Just like humans, dogs can either be healthy or unhealthy, and one of the most important things that is related to their health is nutrition. Because of the importance of nutrition, we will look at vegan diets from every single aspect.

In response to “Can a dog be vegan?” the PetMD website says:

Dogs have adapted to live with humans, making them capable of adjusting to a meat-free diet, unlike their wolf ancestors. Thus, while vegan diets are not healthier than other diets for most dogs, canines can still thrive with a vet-approved vegan meal plan.

Despite the environmental impacts of meat-based dog foods, we must also care about morals.

Do you think that it is fair to feed our animals meat too?

As a vegan dog owner, I don’t think so, because humans are already ruining the world and the environment that we live in by their own meat consumption and now, they want to feed their dogs meat too.

I’m not claiming that all animals must be vegan but my point here is that morally, we have to look for better alternatives and if we can find better options why shouldn’t we use them?

Moreover, billions of animals are killed every year for food needs and some people really want to increase that number by putting their pets on the carnivore diet.

How Animal Products Impact The Environment

We all know that every action comes with consequences and as we always said, animal-based products impact the environment that we live in.

Not only animals are being killed every day all around the world for food needs, but the environment is also being destroyed by many different things that are caused by animal agriculture.

We are not saying that all animals must be vegan because that is senseless but in addition, if we don’t control the amount of animal-based products that our pets eat, the earth will be in trouble.

Animal agriculture produces over 65% of the world’s nitrous oxide emissions which has a global warming impact 296 times greater than carbon dioxide.

And by moving towards a plant-based diet can increase your food-related carbon footprint by 50%.

Now let’s get to the environmental impacts of food consumption by dogs and cats.

According to UCLA’s researcher, in the United States, there are more than 163 million cats and dogs and they constitute a considerable dietary footprint.
Moreover, the researcher also said that in the US, dogs and cats consume about 19% of the amount of dietary energy that humans consume and 33% of animal-delivered energy.

Pet food is also responsible for 5% of GHC emissions globally.

Dog Owners’ Top Concerns

If you are a dog owner who cares about the environment you must always pay attention to these factors:

As a responsible dog owner, you are supposed to have enough knowledge about pet health, nutritional soundness, good quality, palatability, and environmental sustainability.

Speaking of nutrition, every pet owner must care about their pet’s nutrition because it plays a big role in their health.

In the case of dogs, their bodies need different sorts of protein, carbohydrates, and fats, followed by vitamins and minerals mainly because they are different from humans.

One of the disadvantages of raw meat for dogs is the nutritional deficiencies that might happen.
The most common deficiencies are calcium imbalances and vitamin deficiencies.

Besides deficiencies, there are some other disadvantages.
Bacterial and non-bacterial pathogens are common side effects of eating raw meat.

The healthiest diets for dogs are vegan diets because they are the ones with the fewest dietary hazards.

New studies have also shown that vegan diet dogs may live longer.

Studies have also shown that vegan dogs are less likely to suffer from ocular and liver disorders.

must be fed more frequently.

The health benefits that vegan dogs get from their diets isn’t only physical.

Bloodwork has also shown that the well-being of vegan diets for dogs is real.

So, if you were hesitant about starting your dog’s vegan journey, we can firmly say that even the bloodwork test shows the health transformation.

How to Feed a Dog Vegan Diet: A Complete Guide

Vegan Dogs’ Nutrition

As I said before, the type of macronutrients that dogs need is different from humans.
With that being said, you have to prepare a balanced diet for your dog especially because your dog is vegan.

The essential minerals for dogs are iron, copper, chromium, zinc, calcium, and phosphorus.
These minerals are very important for their bone health and teeth.

Vitamins are also crucial especially vitamin K, vitamin E, and vitamin D.

Professor Andrew Knight was asked about the best vegan protein source for dogs and his answer was vegetables and peas.

To balance your dog’s nutrition, you have to bring in good sources of carbohydrates.
pumpkin, white rice, and brown rice are high-quality carbohydrates for dogs.

To implement healthy fats in your dog’s diet we recommend seeds like sesame seeds, flaxseeds, chia seeds, etc.
You can also add olive oil to your dog’s food so that they can get in their omega-3 easier.

Dogs also need dietary amino acids for better gut health.
The best amino acids for dogs are arginine, tryptophan, isoleucine, leucine, methionine, and phenylalanine.

To summarize the list of foods, you can help your dogs reach their necessary macro in-take with:

Peas for protein, vegetables for fiber, rice for carbohydrates, and special dog supplements for vitamins and minerals, and amino acids.

In addition, I wanted to talk about some of the best vegan dog food brands so that you can have some go-to options if you don’t want to prepare your dog’s food.

The vegan dog food brands that I suggest are:

• PawCo Foods
• Bramble
• Petaluma

These brands always provide healthy plant-based foods that are rich in amino acids and minerals so that the owner doesn’t have to worry about finding supplements.

Most dogs aren’t allergic to these products because they are organic and clean.

You should also keep in mind that your dog needs the right balance of amino acids and because of that you must feed your dog based on a balanced vegan diet.

Foods That Vegan Dogs Mustn’t Eat

The heading might look confusing but I have to bring in the list of foods that your vegan dog mustn’t eat.

As a dog owner, you probably know the foods that are not good for your dog. But some vegan dog owners don’t know that there are some plant-based that your dog shouldn’t eat too!

I am not saying that the prohibited foods for vegan dogs are different but you have to know that just because something is plant-based and clean doesn’t mean that you can give it to your dog.

Here’s the list of foods that you must make sure that your dog will never eat:

• Avocado
• Onion
• Garlic
• Macadamia Nuts
• Grapes

Although these foods are organic, they might be toxic if your dog is allergic to them. So, we recommend you to avoid them.

Which Breed of Dogs Adapt to Vegan Diets Better?

There are no criteria, but I have to assure you that in most cases, dog breeds with smaller sizes adapt and respond better to vegan diets compared to giant breeds.

I also have to make it clear that even large dogs can be vegan too and everything just comes down to their body.

Some dogs respond well to vegan diets and some don’t, as simple as that.
That’s why you have to take your dog to a vet and let them run bloodwork test to see the results or even a physical examination.

But, to give you a list of breeds, I will tell you that you have to be more cautious if you are an owner of one of these breeds:

Scottish deerhounds, Irish wolfhounds, Saint Bernards, and Great Danes.

I am not saying that these breeds can’t be vegan but most of time these breeds have a little bit of difficulty in the process of switching to a vegan diet mainly because are prone to DCM.

According to Penn Medicine:

“Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a condition in which the left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber, is enlarged (dilated). As the chamber gets bigger, its thick muscular wall stretches, becoming thinner and weaker.”

This condition usually happens when your dog is having problems with the protein balance of vegan diets.

Given that, you should always take your dog to a vet before and after the start of your dog’s vegan diet especially if your dog’s breed is mentioned above.

There are always exceptions too!
Some large dog breeds are completely ok with vegan diets.
Like pit bulls and German shepherds.

Although we wanted to talk about breeds that prefer vegan diets more, we had to talk about breeds that aren’t usually adaptive to the transformation because there is no specific dog breed that we can firmly say they are born to be vegan.

Vegan Dog Challenges

Earlier in this article, we talked about the vegan dog owners’ concerns but our main focus was mainly nutrition.
But in this part, we are going to look at all those challenges and concerns as a whole.

In simple words, vegan dogs won’t struggle to meet their nutrition needs if they are consuming the essential nutrients.
And that’s why we always recommend supplements.

In most cases, the main challenges that vegan dogs and their owners face are time and effort, limited availability of plant-based resources, and potential health issues.

Finding high-quality plant-based food can be challenging for the dog owner because plant-based dog food can’t be found everywhere.

Health issues can also happen if your dog goes vegan but that is just a probability since some dogs have no problem with going vegan. But as I mentioned some of the health issues before, the most common health issue for vegan dogs is CMD.

Time and effort are also challenging since the dog owner might have a hard time from finding the special dog food.
Plus, some dogs need more time to adapt to a vegan diet and that can be irritating for the dog and the owner but that’s completely normal.

Another challenge that even vegans themselves might face, is the macro or micronutrient deficiency.
Deficiencies can only be happen if you aren’t feeding your dog based on a meal plan.
But the good news here is that you can use supplements to avoid deficiencies.

You can also detect some health issues without bloodwork.
Dogs will usually have diarrhea and skin problems if they have deficiencies.

Long story short, try to implement supplements in your dog’s diet to avoid deficiencies (if needed), and also try to visit a vet every once in a while.

Final Words

I decided to write this article, just to send a message that we can make better decisions as pet owners.

Billions of animals are killed every year just to feed humans and as a dog owner, I felt devastated that many pet owners are making this situation worse with their lack of knowledge.

You can put your dog on a vegan diet if possible. Since many dogs are okay with going vegan.

The best part about putting your dog on a plant-based diet isn’t just about environmental advantage.
You should make them vegan for their own health.

Throughout this article, I brought in my own vegan personal experience and my dog’s vegan journey followed by authentic research by famous professors like Professor Andrew Knight.

Most dogs respond to vegan diets very well and they also adapt to them in a short period.

My best advice for everyone who wants to make their dogs vegan is to visit a vet so that everything would be on point.

I hope this article will help you with your dog’s vegan journey.

Tell us about your experience and share your thoughts with us.

sara

Hi, I’m Sara, a vegan mom of two. My family and I have been living a vegan lifestyle for over 8 years now. I’m excited to share tips and insights about veganism and plant-based living through my posts. I love exploring new ideas, reading, and finding ways to grow. My passion for learning drives me to share what I discover, hoping to inspire and inform others along the way. As a content writer and screenwriter, I’m passionate about creating impactful stories around veganism, animal rights, and social justice. I’ve written several short films that explore the connection between veganism and social justice, with my work featured in various publications. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to drop them in the comments section or shoot me an email through the contact form on the website—I usually respond within 24 hours.