New Research Supports Vegan Diets for Dogs, Reduces Health Concerns

The latest study in canine nutrition, centering on vegan diets, utilized enhanced statistical methods, including machine learning, to reevaluate data from a comprehensive 2022 study involving 2,536 dogs. This previous research had suggested that vegan diets could be among the healthiest options for dogs, provided they are nutritionally adequate. However, critiques point out a potential bias in owner-reported health outcomes. The new analysis indicates minimal bias in owner perceptions when feeding dogs a vegan diet.

Prof. Andrew Knight, who led the initial 2022 study, expressed increased confidence in these results, reinforcing that a well-planned vegan diet may offer equivalent, if not superior, health benefits for dogs compared to traditional meat-based diets. Additional studies, including a systematic review and long-term research, underscore these findings. A notable study in 2024 followed 15 dogs on vegan diets for one year, revealing comparable health outcomes to meat-fed dogs. Furthermore, earlier research highlighted that dogs on vegan diets could live an average of 1.5 years longer than those on meat diets.

Environmental advantages were also considered, with Prof. Knight's research indicating significant potential reductions in greenhouse gases if dogs globally adopted vegan diets, paralleling the urgency to address climate impacts from livestock production.