Veganes Hundefutter ist für manche ein kontroverses Thema, weil sie Vorurteile darüber haben, was sie gewohnt sind oder was sie von der Fütterung ihrer Hunde erwarten. Es gab einige Schlagzeilen in Boulevardzeitungen, in denen Gerüchte verbreitet wurden, dass veganes Hundefutter illegal sei. Diese Behauptungen sind falsch. Es gibt immer mehr Forschungsergebnisse, die nicht nur die Sicherheit dieser Lebensmittel belegen, sondern auch die potenziellen gesundheitlichen Vorteile, die Hunde haben können, wenn sie auf eine pflanzliche Ernährung umsteigen.

Eine häufiges Besorgnis ist der Glaube, dass Hunde Nährstoffe benötigen, die nur in Fleisch enthalten sind. Das ist falsch. Alle Nährstoffe, die Hunde für ihre Gesundheit benötigen, sind in pflanzlichen Produkten erhältlich. Sie brauchen kein Fleisch in ihrer Ernährung. Der europäische Dachverband, der Standards für Hundefutter festlegt, genehmigt pflanzliches Hundefutter, das seinen Richtlinien entspricht. Natürlich haben wir bei Omni hart daran gearbeitet, sicherzustellen, dass wir diesen Standard erfüllen. Wir gehen außerdem noch den zusätzlichen Schritt, jede hergestellte Omni-Packung einer Packungsprüfung zu unterziehen, um sicherzustellen, dass wir diese Anforderungen weiterhin erfüllen.

Ein weiteres häufiges Missverständnis ist, dass Hunde ihr Futter nicht so gerne mögen. Tatsächlich lieben viele Hunde ihr pflanzliches Futter, und obwohl es immer eine gewisse Präferenz geben wird, haben Studien ergeben, dass Hunde ihr pflanzliches Futter genauso gut mögen wie Fleischfutter.

Der häufigste Auslöser einer Nahrungsmittelallergie bei Hunden sind tierische Proteine. Das bedeutet, dass ein pflanzliches Futter eine viel sicherere Wahl für Hunde sein kann, die sonst an Haut- oder Magen-Darm-Erkrankungen leiden würden.

FEDIAF (European Pet Food Industry Federation) ist die Regulierungsbehörde für Heimtierfutter und legt die Branchenstandards fest – mit klaren Angaben zu den Grundnährstoffen. Alle unsere Rezepte erfüllen oder übertreffen diese Anforderungen. Wir testen jede hergestellte Omni Packung, um sicherzustellen, dass unsere Lebensmittel konsistent sind und alle Anforderungen erfüllen.

Unser köstliches Omni wird seit mehreren Jahren in Großbritannien verkauft und hat aufgrund der vielen Vorteile Auszeichnungen gewonnen. Hier sind Links zu einigen wenigen:

In Großbritannien gibt es Gesetze, die eine angemessene Ernährung von Hunden vorschreiben. Daran glauben wir fest und da Omni alle Ernährungsbedürfnisse von Hunden erfüllt, können wir sicher sein, dass es eine sichere und legale Wahl ist und von vielen Hunden in ganz Großbritannien und Europa genossen wird. Bei weiteren Fragen helfen wir gern weiter – Einfach eine E-Mail an woof@omni.pet senden.

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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