New Year’s Resolutions for a Healthy Dog

Have you ever wondered “does my dog want their own New Year's resolutions”? Well, you pro...


Have you ever wondered “does my dog want their own New Year's resolutions”? Well, you probably haven’t, but it’s a great idea! While you're writing your list on how to be your best self in the upcoming year, maybe jot some ideas down for a happy, healthy dog in 2022 too. Need some inspiration? We’ve got you covered with these tips that are bound to get their tails wagging…

Healthy, Inexpensive Dog Food

If every year, you put “eat healthy” on your resolution list and it lasts until the second week of January, your pup doesn’t need to suffer the same fate. Giving your dog healthy, inexpensive dog food couldn’t be easier with OMNI. 
With our subscription package, you can get tasty, healthy plant-based dog food delivered straight to your door. Simply choose from our Puppy, Adult or Senior range and make sure every meal is nutritionally balanced for your pup (even if you have a cheeky takeaway every now and again). 

Our OMNI Golden Years recipe is also the perfect healthy dog food for overweight dogs with just 7.5% fat and is great for keeping your best friend feeling and looking their best self!

Exercise For Dogs

With the healthy dog food for overweight dogs sorted, we need to make sure we’re keeping our pups fit and healthy through their lifestyle. In January, many of us are dragging ourselves out of bed in the morning to go to the gym, but what are you doing for your doggo?

Now’s the time to make sure you're smashing dog exercise out of the park. Not only will these keep you both fit and healthy, exercise for dogs helps to provide mental stimulation, reduce anxiety and can even help with behavioural issues and increase doggy confidence (1)!  

Eat Veggie

Many of us hoomans choose a veggie alternative a few times a week (this is called a flexitarian diet), and we can do the same for our dogs. Plant-based dog food is not only better for the environment, but it’s also great for your pup. Every little helps to bring some of the health and environmental benefits of plant-power to mealtimes, and dogs just love the variety too.

Now, many of you may be thinking, “Is it natural for my dog to eat plant-based dog food?” and we have the answer! Simply put - yes it is. Pet food only has to contain 4% of a meat-like ‘chicken’ or ‘beef’ to be labelled as such (2). 
It gets even more shocking because the rules allow for this 4% to be made up of animal derivatives like bone meal, lard and feathers and then the rest is often bulked up with cheap fillers like corn (3). This means millions of dogs are already eating mainly plant-based diets but with low-quality ingredients. 

Make the switch to OMNI and give your dog high-quality protein-rich diets that contain delicious plant-based ingredients for a healthy dog. You don’t even need to do this for every meal, to begin with, you could try one meal a week and see how much your pup enjoys a flexitarian diet! Stay healthy and reduce your carbon pawprints together.

Have More Me-Time

We certainly want to do more of what we love this year and we bet your pup does as well! Me-time for you may be a long pamper evening, but why not help make your doggo feel their best self too? While you're doing your facemask, feed your pup OMNI. Thanks to the healthy OMEGA 3 and 6 we pack into our recipes, we are the best dog food for a healthy coat so they’ll be getting lost of positive attention in no time.
 
Remember dogs are social animals, they love to play with you and other pups. For a happy, healthy dog, make time to pay attention to your pup or take them somewhere to socialise with their doggy friends (psst… this is a great way to tire them out too)!

Learn Something New

While you might be learning a language or reading a book, it’s time to give your dog some brain exercise too! For a happy, healthy dog that’s mentally stimulated, enrichment activities are perfect. 

We love hiding their meals to make dinner more stimulating, using KONGS or even snuffles mats. You can even scatter their food on the grass for an interesting meal. OMNI is great for a challenging meal because it is absolutely delicious. Their little noses will be sniffing out our plant-based dog food in no time! 


Now you and your pup are feeling that New Year’s motivation, we can’t wait for you to get started on these resolutions! A happy, healthy dog is waiting for you in 2022. We’d love to see how you’re getting on - tag us in your OMNI resolution pis on Instagram @omnipetfood and connect with our wonderful community of happy dog parents!
 

Buy now.



References 

1. https://www.releasethehounds.ca/the-importance-of-exercising-your-dog/

2. https://www.fediaf.org/39-prepared-pet-foods/80-understanding-labels.html

Perry T. What’s Really for Dinner? [Accessed on 7 July 2016] Available online: http://www.webcitation.org/6ipEL5YVR.

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FAQs

But aren’t dog’s carnivores?

Dogs are in fact nutritional omnivores as demonstrated by a robust scientific study published in the reputable journal Nature (1,2) in which it was shown that they have 30 copies of the AMY2B gene responsible for digesting plant-based foods.

They have also evolved relatively long intestines (21) (almost as long as humans) and relatively flat surfaces on their molars (31, 22) which they use for digesting and chewing a whole range of foods.

The common misconception that dogs are carnivores probably arises from the fact that they are classified in the order Carnivora but so are plenty of other species like bears, skunks, racoons who are omnivores and even the giant panda who thrives on a plant-based diet (20).

Is plant protein digestible to dogs?

Absolutely yes, studies which have looked at how much protein dogs can absorb from plant-based and fungi-based foods like soya and yeast demonstrated over 75% digestibility which is on par with meat-based foods (23, 24, 34, 35 & 25).

Both these protein sources also contain all 10 essential amino acids (36, 37) that dogs need to thrive.

Isn't there too much fibre in plant-based food?

The average amount of fibre in a commercial dog food diet is between 2-4%. omni’s plant-powered recipe has a fibre content of 3% which is on par with meat- based diets.

In our survey with over 200 dog owners, 100% reported that their dog’s stool consistency was either ‘normal’ or ‘perfect’ and there were no reports of any digestive upsets (data on file).

Can I mix omni with other meat-based diets?

We are proud that our recipes are nutritionally complete and so include everything your dog needs to thrive. This means omni can be fed as a sole ration. We also fully support a 'flexitarian approach' like meat free lunches or using omni as a mixer.

Every little helps to bring some of the health and environmental benefits of plant-power to meal times. Mixing omni with meat/fish will help to add variety into your dog’s diet whilst adding in healthy ingredients with a relatively low carbon footprint.

Can plant-based food provide the essential fatty acids dogs need?

All the essential fats and oils that dogs need, including omegas 3 and 6 are found in a variety of both meat and plant-based foods (31, 28).

omni’s recipe is rich in plant-based sources of these nutrients so your dog will get all the essentials they need.

I hear a lot about feeding raw meat, isn’t that better?

Feeding raw meat to dogs has become a very popular trend in recent years, but most vets will warn against this practise. This is because the cooking process is vital to help kill off dangerous bacteria like E coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter (9) that have necessitated several food recalls from the market and caused serious illness and even death in both dogs and their owners (40, 41, & 42).

There are also several worms and parasites that are only killed off when raw meat is cooked. Dogs are dogs, not wolves and thanks to their domestication over thousands of years, thankfully don’t need to hunt to get their grub nor do they need to eat raw meat, it's just not worth the risk.

References

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