How To Switch Your Dog To A Plant-Based Diet – Omni pet ltd

Have you been curious about switching to Omni’s delicious, nutritionally complete and cruelty free food but not sure where to start? Let us guide you through how to make a safe and easy transition, and join the thousands of happy and healthy dogs loving their mealtimes again!

Thousands of dogs across the UK have made the switch to our nutritionally complete, plant-based dog food, and here are some reasons why:

• To avoid meat related food allergies and sensitivities that cause itchy, inflamed skin, waxy ears and/or loose stools and tummy upsets.

• To ensure their dogs are getting a good quality, nutritionally complete diet, that meets their dog’s needs at every stage of their life.

• To cut down on the enormous environmental impact and carbon foot (1) print that comes with feeding dogs a meat-only diet.

• The ethical choice; no animals slaughtered to make any Omni products so they truly are cruelty free.

• To have a dedicated and efficient vet team and customer excellence team on hand to help you with any food, health or logistical related queries you might have.

• Most importantly, because their dogs love it!

How do I make the transition?

Gradually!

We recommend that you introduce Omni slowly over the course of one to two weeks, to allow your dog’s stomach to adjust to the change, as well as their palate! Dogs can be a creature of habit, so give them time.

Start by mixing in a small amount of Omni into their meal for the first 2 days. All being well, substitute 25% of their old food for Omni, after 4 days increase to 50%, after 4 more days 75% until around day 12 when you can make a complete switch.

Most people start to see benefits of the diet change in their dog after 3-12 months, perseverance and patience are key - it will be worth the wait!

Will my dog show any negative signs after switching?

Even with a gradual transition to any new diet (be it raw, fresh, insect, plant based etc), it is perfectly normal to observe some changes in your dogs stool habits in the first months of introducing the new diet, and most commonly in the first 48 hours.

The new food will alter your dogs gut microbiome (the normal intestinal flora of good bacteria) and this result in loose stools whilst the body settles and adjusts.

If you are concerned at all, reach out to our dedicated vet team, who are at hand to give you personalised advice.

It is worth noting that ideally all dogs should be in good health before introducing new foods. Any pre-existing illnesses (e.g. inappetence and vomiting from scavenging in the park the day before) will make assessing their response to a change in diet difficult.

What are the benefits of switching to Omni?

Shiny coats. Better stools. More energy. Delicious biscuits. Maybe even longer life, one study found that plant based dogs live up 18 months longer than their meat eating counterparts. All round happier dogs.

Have a look at our TrustPilot reviews, we have so many happy dogs and guardians who’ve already made the switch.

People often underestimate the benefits of a good diet made from quality ingredients. In fact in people, it’s known that your gut microbiome can impact mood and emotion(2) , as well as overall health (3)!

Last but not least, cutting down on your dog’s meat consumption will help reduce their carbon footprint and saving countless other animal’s lives. Guilt free, glorious food.

How much should I feed?

Have a look at the back of your specific bag of food- we generally recommend splitting feedings to 2-3 times daily to give your dog something to look forward to throughout the day, though it is possible to feed once daily or more frequently if your prefer.

Our feeding guide below provides a rough guideline of how many grams your dog should be consuming in a 24-hour period, based on their ideal bodyweight.

Of course, each dog is different and if you’d like tailored advice, our Vet team are on hand to guide you each step of the way.

Remember, Omni not only have nutritionally complete, stand alone diets, but also offer delicious daily supplements, treats, wet food and toppers too. Have a browse at our extensive range online.

1. Okin, G.S. (no date) Environmental impacts of food consumption by dogs and cats, PLOS ONE. Available at: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0181301

2. Valdes, A.M. et al. (2018) ‘Role of the gut microbiota in nutrition and health’, BMJ [Preprint]. doi:10.1136/bmj.k2179.

3. Martin, S.E. et al. (2023) The role of Diet on the gut microbiome, mood and happiness [Preprint]. doi:10.1101/2023.03.18.23287442.

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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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