Just as there is contention from the 'old world animal protein' audience around leading a plant-based human lifestyle there are also questions around the nutritional efficiency of putting your dog onto a vegan diet.
This newly released study entitled "Reported Health Benefits of a Vegan Dog Food – A Likert Scale-Type Survey of 100 Guardians" set out to "acquire data to disprove the hypothesis that “Feeding a vegan diet to dogs does not provide health benefits”.
The study was designed to comply with established ethical standards and it was decided the protocol did not need formal external review panel approval. The study complied with guidance set out in the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeon’s Ethical Review for Practice-based Research and guidance on ethics in questionnaires published online and involving 100-pet guardians.
It makes for fascinating reading with the upshot that an animal suffers no adverse affects from eating all plant-based food. Dogs are now classified as being omnivores and not strictly carnivores.
I can attest to the success of such a diet which I am sure added a few years onto the life of my maltese/shitzu male dog called Toastie.
In his later years Toastie suffered from what can best be described as epileptic fits with very distressing affects for both him and I. They would pass after a few minutes and they would come and go with sometimes six months between events.
As he grew older - he passed at the age of 14 several years ago now - the fits became more frequent. He also suffered from major skin issues when on a largely chicken/beef /dried food diet. Below I describe what happened to him when I removed ALL animal products about 4.5 years before he passed.
As I was eating largely raw plant-based food I decided to give Toastie what I was eating augmenting his food with high protein hemp powder and hemp hearts. with a little white rice from time to time. Note whilst I enjoyed avocado and grapes DO NOT FEED your pet either of these as they can suffer from increased digestive issues which can lead to organ failure (kidneys and liver)
The following occurred:
His fitting stopped for almost two years
His dry and red skin episodes disappeared entirely (eczema-like in appearance)
His energy levels increased dramatically despite being more than 11-years old at the time
No more tooth infections
His chew-bones became carrots which he adored - great for cleaning his teeth and digestion
Not every dog is the same but I do know from my own research and anecdotal evidence that smaller dogs seem better able to integrate a fully plant-based nutritional regime. Nowadays you can also obtain vegan plant-based dried food which can be integrated into the animal's plate of fresh/diced/pureed plant food.
DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT BELOW and find out for yourself what the professional vet says about putting your dog onto a vegan diet. You will be pleasantly surprised by the findings which essentially conclude that there are no adverse affects. Good luck and I hope you can add years to your pets life just as I did.
CLICK ON THE ICON TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT
Footnote: Toastie eventually passed away in my arms after his fits returned and became painfully all too frequent. However I am personally convinced I got to enjoy an added four years of life with him. He was the dearest friend and companion who will be remembered for ever. RIP little man.
ENDS
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