Companion Animal Care Articles from All-Creatures.org

Fresh Vegan Dog Food Healthy - 2023 Study

From Plant-Powered Dog
March 2023

The scientific community is noticing and responding to the growing interest in vegan dog diets. More consumer interest means more scientific studies being conducted on the topic. And, as we know, the more science the better!

I talk a lot about the health benefits of fresh vegan dog food in my new book, The Plant-Powered Dog. But one of the most exciting parts of completing that book was knowing that this is a concept whose time has come and that the research will continue to roll in, and that’s exactly what’s happening. The scientific community is noticing and responding to the growing interest in vegan dog diets. More consumer interest means more scientific studies being conducted on the topic. And, as we know, the more science the better!

That’s why I’m excited to bring to you the results of an important new study evaluating key health and nutrition parameters related to feeding dogs fresh vegan dog food.

The study, published March 27, 2023 in the Journal of Animal Science, was conducted by Professor Kelly Swanson, PhD and his colleagues from the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The study compared three commercial foods:

• Two types of lightly cooked fresh vegan dog food from the company Bramble (one with a grain and one without). The recipes contained ingredients such as lentils, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, apples, blueberries and carrot
• A commercial chicken-based extruded diet
  

Twelve healthy adult dogs (female beagles) were fed each of the diets for three weeks (plus a seven-day transition period). The researchers collected the dogs’ feces over a five-day period, as well as conducting blood sampling.

The samples were tested for the following:

• Fecal scoring and dry matter
• Fecal pH, metabolite and microbiota measurements
• Blood serum chemistry and hematology

Swanson and and his colleagues also analyzed the digestibility of the three foods to see how the fresh vegan dog food stacked up to the chicken product.

Here’s what they found comparing the fresh vegan dog food to the chicken-based food:

• All three diets met the nutritional standards for “complete and balanced” nutrition for adult dogs according to guidelines set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).
• All three diets were highly digestible (above 80%).
• Dogs eating the vegan diets had lower circulating cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
• The vegan-fed dogs had lower fecal dry matter percentages, lower fecal phenol and indole concentrations and higher fecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations than the chicken-fed dogs.

This all sounds great and “science-y”, but what’s it mean in plain English?

Key benefits for dogs fed the fresh vegan dog food included:

• Improved gut health (reflected in the higher concentrations of fecal short-chain fatty acids, SCFAs)
• Beneficial changes to the gut microbiome
• Less stinky poop (due to reduced metabolites phenol and indole)
• Benefits for weight loss (due to less circulating fats in the blood)

I talk a lot about the benefits of fiber for gut health in my book, The Plant-Powered Dog, and this study supports these benefits. According to Swanson:

"There were some interesting and beneficial changes in the microbial community that I think reflect the blend of fibers that were present in the vegan diets."

While this is all great (and expected!) news, Professor Swanson makes an important point that applies to all home-prepared diets:

“Knowledge of ingredient composition and nutrient needs are critical, however. Anyone can slap together a vegan meal for their dog, but without careful formulation, you might have something that’s really imbalanced.”

This is why I focus my expertise and experience to custom-formulate fresh vegan dog food recipes that you can feel good about. My recipes are all formulated to meet the guidelines for “complete and balanced” nutrition according to the guidelines of the AAFCO and the National Research Council (NRC).

So, why not just purchase a commercial fresh vegan dog food? Depending upon your situation, such as how much time you have to cook, this might be a good option.

Unlike commercial products, however, I formulate each of my recipes specifically to meet your dog’s individual health and nutrition requirements.

Contact me to discuss how my custom-formulated recipes can help optimize your dog’s health.

Remember, fresh vegan dog food is best, but only if it’s nutritionally sound!

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