Vegan Diet Helping Dogs with Gut Issues & Skin Problems, Guardian Repo – Omni pet ltd

A new study has documented reported health benefits in dogs switched from a meat-based diet to a vet formulated vegan offering. The findings have been published in a peer reviewed journal in their archives of clinical and biomedical research and represent the first to demonstrate tangible health benefits in such a cohort of dogs.

Notably up to 90% of dogs suffering with watery stools (9/10) were reported to have improved stool consistency after switching to the diet and almost half had notable improvement in haircoat glossiness (48/98). 77% of dogs suffering with dry skin and dandruff were also seen to have either partial or full resolution of signs (13/17) after the switch and there were reports of reductions in anxiety and aggressive behaviour..

Other noted benefits included improvements in:

redness of the skin & ears
itchiness
passing gas
activity levels

This is the first-time health benefits, including those affecting behaviour, have been documented in dogs being fed a UK vegan dog food - The company named Omni, was co-founded by veterinarian, Dr. Guy Sandelowsky, inspired to create a healthier diet after seeing rising rates of cancer and obesity in his patients, including his own black Labrador who suffered from mouth cancer at the young age of 4.

“It’s hugely rewarding to see our hard work translate into better health outcomes for pets, this is what it's all about for us at Omni.”

Feedback from the 100 participants who completed a likert-scale type survey , clearly demonstrated several positive statistically significant observations and trends towards improvements in health after feeding the diet for 3-12 months. These findings complement a plethora of recent publications that have documented the benefits of feeding dogs a vegan diet, which included observations of up to 18 months of increased life span, fewer vet visits and reduced requirement for lifetime medications compared to dogs on conventional processed-meat diets.

Even though domestic dogs are members of the order Carnivora, they are classified as nutritional omnivores after evolving genetically. “We’ve known for some time now that dogs, like us, are omnivorous and are able to derive the nutrients they need to thrive from a variety of food sources, including plants,” Sandelowsky says. Avoiding animal products, according to these findings, seems to not only have planetary benefits but could have health advantages too.

References

Davies, M., 2022. Reported Health Benefits of a Vegan Dog Food: A Likert Scale-type Survey of 100 Guardians. bioRxiv, pp.2022-05.

Dodd, S., Khosa, D., Dewey, C. and Verbrugghe, A., 2022. Owner perception of health of North American dogs fed meat-or plant-based diets. Research in Veterinary Science, 149, pp.36-46

Knight A, Huang E, Rai N, Brown H. Vegan versus meat-based dog food: Guardian-reported indicators of health. PLoS One 2022; 17, e0265662.

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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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