Plant-Based Nutrition for Dogs: Evidence-Based Guide to Vegan Diets, Safety, and Optimal Health

Summary

A plant-based diet for a dog is no longer a fringe idea, but it is still one of the most misunderstood. The popular version of the argument treats it as a contest between a “natural carnivore” and an “unnatural” diet, and it misreads the biology twice over. The dog is not an obligate carnivore in the way the cat is. It is a facultative carnivore, an opportunistic omnivore whose genome and digestive physiology adapted across domestication to a starch-inclusive, scavenged diet alongside humans, including a well-documented expansion of the gene for pancreatic amylase that lets dogs digest starch far better than wolves.¹,² The second misreading is more important still: the relevant nutritional unit is the nutrient, not the ingredient. Dogs require specific amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals in specific amounts. They do not require beef, chicken or lamb as such.

That single shift, from ingredients to nutrients, is what makes plant-based feeding possible, and it is also what makes it demanding. A plant-based diet is not automatically adequate, and neither is a meat-based one. The line that separates a diet that keeps a dog well from one that does not is formulation quality, not the presence or absence of meat. Get the formulation right and the evidence to date shows dogs maintaining health on plant-based food.³,⁴,⁵,⁶ Get it wrong, with either ingredient base, and you have a problem.

This guide is the practical side of that statement. It sets out what a complete plant-based diet has to deliver, the short list of nutrients that genuinely need attention, how requirements change across puppyhood, adulthood and old age, how to choose or build a diet, and how to transition and monitor your dog without guesswork. For the separate question of how plant-based food compares with meat head to head, on digestibility, long-term health and environmental footprint, our plant-based versus meat-based dog food comparison sets out that evidence criterion by criterion, and this guide points to it where the two meet rather than repeating it.

Key Takeaways

• Dogs need nutrients, not meat. Their physiology adapted during domestication to digest starch and plant proteins, so any diet that supplies the full nutrient profile in bioavailable form is, by definition, complete.
• Completeness is a property of formulation. The dividing line is whether a food is built and fortified to meet AAFCO or FEDIAF profiles, not whether it contains animal ingredients. Look for a nutritional adequacy statement for your dog’s life stage.
• Digestibility is not the obstacle it is assumed to be. Once nutrient profiles are matched and the food is properly processed, plant-based diets match meat-based ones for protein, fat and dry-matter digestibility.
• A short watch-list needs deliberate provision. Vitamin B12, the long-chain omega-3s EPA and DHA from algae, vitamin D, and bioavailable iron, zinc and calcium are the nutrients that reward attention in a plant-based formulation.
• Taurine and the heart-disease scare are formulation questions. Dogs make taurine from methionine and cysteine, and the feared grain-free link to dilated cardiomyopathy was investigated and never established as causal.
• Life stage raises the stakes. Growth, pregnancy and lactation have the least margin for error and warrant veterinary input; healthy adults are the most forgiving.
• Transition gradually and monitor. A change over seven to ten days, with attention to body condition, stool and periodic bloodwork, is the difference between a smooth switch and an upset gut.

---

In This Guide

• Can dogs really thrive without meat?
• What “complete and balanced” really means
• Protein and amino acids without meat
• The nutrients that need real attention
• Vitamins and minerals: a closer look
• Feeding through every life stage
• Choosing a complete food, or building one
• How to transition your dog safely
• Monitoring your dog’s health
• The ethical and welfare dimension
• The myths worth retiring
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Conclusion
• Related Reading
• References
• Editorial Information

Can dogs really thrive without meat?

The honest answer is yes, with the condition that the diet is complete, and the biology explains why the condition matters more than the ingredient list. Two strands of evidence sit underneath this.

The first is evolutionary. The domestic dog separated from a carnivorous ancestor and then spent thousands of years alongside humans, scavenging a varied, starch-inclusive diet. That history left a genetic signature. Compared with wolves, dogs carry multiple extra copies of the gene coding for pancreatic amylase, the enzyme that begins starch digestion, alongside changes in genes governing glucose uptake, and a second wave of amylase expansion tracks the spread of agriculture.¹,² Dogs are built, at the level of the genome, to extract nutrition from plants as well as from meat. Their longer relative intestinal length and adaptable nutrient-transport systems reinforce the same conclusion: this is an omnivore’s digestive tract, not an obligate carnivore’s.

The second strand is nutritional first principles. A dog’s requirement is for a defined set of amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. None of those nutrients is unique to animal tissue with one practical exception, vitamin B12, which is straightforward to supply. Everything else a dog needs can be provided, in bioavailable form, from plants plus the same routine fortification that conventional meat-based dog foods already use. That is why systematic reviews and feeding studies of dogs on well-formulated plant-based diets report health being maintained, with several measures equal to or more favourable than meat-fed comparators, though the most cautious reading of the long-term data is equivalence rather than superiority, and the size and length of the trials remain a genuine limitation.³,⁴,⁵,⁶,⁷ The detailed head-to-head sits in our comparison of plant-based and meat-based dog food; here the point is simpler. Thriving is possible, and it depends on doing the formulation properly.

What “complete and balanced” really means

“Complete and balanced” is the most important phrase on any dog food label, and the most widely misread. It does not mean the food contains a particular ingredient. It means the food has been formulated to meet an established nutrient profile for a given life stage, either the AAFCO profiles in North America or the FEDIAF profiles in Europe and the UK. Those profiles specify minimums, and in some cases maximums, for protein, fat, each essential amino acid, the vitamins and the minerals. A food that meets them is complete, whatever its ingredient list looks like, and a food that does not is incomplete, even if it is built around prime steak.

This is not a theoretical point. UK and Canadian laboratory analyses of commercial foods have found plant-based dry diets broadly similar in composition to meat-based ones, with the consistent shortfalls limited to iodine and a few B-vitamins, both of which are simple to supplement.⁸,⁹ A European survey of on-pack labels from 2020 to 2024 reached a similar picture, with complete plant-based dry foods generally meeting the headline nutritional requirements.¹¹ When researchers have tried to build complete plant-based recipes from first principles, the requirements are achievable, though they demand deliberate ingredient selection and fortification rather than a casual mix of vegetables.¹⁰ And when no food of any type was held to every single guideline in one UK survey, the worst performers were not the plant-based foods but certain meat-based veterinary diets.⁸ Completeness, in short, is something a manufacturer engineers, and it can be engineered with or without meat.

The practical consequence for you as an owner is liberating. You do not need to audit ingredients for some magic component. You need to confirm that the food carries a nutritional adequacy statement for your dog’s life stage, ideally backed by a feeding trial rather than formulation-to-target alone, and that it comes from a maker who can show the analysis. Bonza’s own Superfoods and Ancient Grains is formulated to a complete profile and made without the major monocrops, no soy, wheat, corn or rice, using a cold-extrusion process that works the ingredients gently. Those are formulation choices, and formulation is the whole game.

Protein and amino acids without meat

Protein is where most doubt about plant-based feeding concentrates, so it is worth being precise. A dog does not require protein in the abstract; it requires ten essential amino acids in the right amounts and ratios. Plant proteins can supply all of them, but no single plant protein supplies them in ideal proportion, which is why formulation relies on complementarity: combining proteins whose strengths and weaknesses offset one another.

The classic pairing is legumes with cereal or pseudo-cereal grains. Legumes such as peas, chickpeas, lentils and fava beans are rich in lysine but lower in the sulphur amino acid methionine; grains tend to be the reverse. Put them together, or top up methionine with a crystalline source as most complete formulations do, and the combined amino acid profile meets requirements. Quinoa is unusual in providing a near-complete profile on its own, and nutritional yeast contributes both protein and B-vitamins. Soy is, in nutritional terms, a high-quality plant protein that some foods rely on heavily; Bonza chooses to build completeness from other legumes instead, which is a brand and sourcing decision rather than a nutritional necessity.

Then there is the digestibility question, where the old assumption needs correcting. Raw or minimally processed plant proteins are indeed harder to digest, because protein is locked inside fibrous cell structures and accompanied by anti-nutritional factors such as protease inhibitors and lectins. But that is a statement about unprocessed ingredients, not about finished foods. Cooking, extrusion and fermentation break down those barriers and deactivate the inhibitors, and the controlled evidence is clear: when a plant-based and a meat-based diet are matched on nutrient profile, the apparent digestibility of protein, fat and dry matter does not differ between them, and in vivo amino acid digestibility of cooked plant-based foods exceeds 80 per cent.¹²,¹³,¹⁴ The idea that animal protein is inherently more digestible does not survive a like-for-like comparison. We treat that evidence in full in the comparator article; the implication for formulation is that processing method matters as much as ingredient choice.

One amino acid deserves its own note. Taurine is not on the canine list of dietary essentials, because dogs synthesise it from methionine and cysteine, which is why it is described as conditionally essential. A well-formulated plant-based diet supplies ample sulphur amino acids and, in practice, taurine itself, and studies of dogs on commercial plant-based diets have found taurine status and cardiac biomarkers maintained.¹⁵ The small group of dogs for whom this needs extra care, certain breeds with a genetic limitation in taurine synthesis, should be fed under veterinary guidance whatever their diet.

The nutrients that need real attention

Most of a plant-based diet looks after itself once the food is complete. A handful of nutrients, though, reward deliberate attention, and knowing which ones turns “is this safe?” into a short, manageable checklist. This is the part of plant-based feeding that genuinely requires expertise, and it is where a properly formulated commercial food earns its place.

Vitamin B12. This is the one nutrient with no usable plant source. B12 is produced by bacteria, reaches conventional foods through animal tissue, and is essentially absent from plants in active form, with the fermented foods and algae that appear to contain it often supplying inactive analogues that can even interfere with the real thing. Every plant-based diet therefore requires supplemental B12, almost always as cyanocobalamin in the fortification mix. This is non-negotiable and entirely routine; complete plant-based foods include it as a matter of course. Requirements are small, deficiency develops slowly, and periodic bloodwork confirms adequacy.

EPA and DHA, the long-chain omega-3s. Dogs can convert the plant omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid from flax, chia or hemp into EPA and DHA, but the conversion is inefficient, so relying on it alone is unwise, particularly for the brain and eye development of puppies. The clean solution is marine algae, the original source of EPA and DHA in the food chain and the reason fish contain them at all. Algal oils supply both directly, at concentrations comparable to fish oil and without the marine contaminants, and they are what a serious plant-based formulation uses. Keeping the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio sensible supports the conversion of what ALA is present.

Vitamin D. Dogs cannot make meaningful vitamin D in their skin from sunlight the way humans can, so they depend on the diet for it, and plants contain very little. Plant-based foods therefore fortify with vitamin D, historically D2 from yeast and increasingly D3 from lichen (the source of Vitamin D for dogs must be Vit D3 in the EU by law). The reassuring evidence here is direct: a three-month randomised trial found that vitamin D2 maintained serum vitamin D and bone mineralisation in adult dogs on a plant-based diet.¹⁷

Iron, zinc and calcium bioavailability. Plant minerals are present in abundance but can be held back by phytates and oxalates that bind them in the gut. This is a bioavailability problem, not a content problem, and formulation solves it: processing such as soaking, sprouting and fermentation lowers phytate, pairing iron sources with vitamin C improves absorption of non-haem iron, and chelated mineral forms such as zinc bound to an amino acid bypass much of the interference. Calcium is provided from bioavailable plant and mineral sources with attention to the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, which matters most during growth.

Set against that watch-list, it is worth saying what plant-based diets supply easily, because the worry is usually one-sided. Vitamin E from seeds and oils, vitamin K and folate from leafy greens, vitamin A as beta-carotene from orange and dark-green vegetables, and most of the B-complex are present in plant diets in generous amounts. The job of formulation is to top up the genuine gaps, not to rebuild the whole profile.

Vitamins and minerals: a closer look

The watch-list above covers the nutrients that most need deliberate provision. It is worth going one level deeper, because knowing where each vitamin and mineral comes from in a plant-based diet, and what can interfere with it, is what separates a formulation that looks complete on paper from one that performs in the bowl.

The fat-soluble vitamins

Vitamin A is a good illustration of why the nutrient matters more than the ingredient. Cats require preformed vitamin A from animal tissue, but dogs do not: they convert beta-carotene from plants into retinol efficiently, which is why orange and dark-green vegetables such as carrots and sweet potato are a working source, topped up with a measured retinyl form in complete foods to remove any doubt.

Vitamin D is the fat-soluble vitamin that genuinely needs fortifying, for the reason given earlier: dogs cannot make it in their skin and plants carry little, so it is added as D2 or, increasingly, D3 from lichen, and a randomised trial has shown D2 maintaining vitamin D status and bone mineralisation on a plant-based diet.¹⁷

Vitamin E, a family of tocopherols and the body’s principal fat-soluble antioxidant, is something plant diets tend to supply generously, since it is concentrated in seeds, nuts and vegetable oils. Its requirement rises with the polyunsaturated fat content of a diet, because more unsaturated fat means more to protect from oxidation, so a well-built plant-based formula scales vitamin E to its fat profile.

Vitamin K is rarely a concern. The K1 form is plentiful in leafy greens such as kale and spinach, and dogs also obtain the K2 form from their own gut bacteria, so plant diets cover it comfortably.

The B-complex, choline and vitamin C

Most of the B-vitamins are well supplied by a plant-based diet. Thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid, biotin and folate are present across legumes, whole grains, leafy greens and especially nutritional yeast, which is a concentrated natural source of the group. Composition analyses do flag riboflavin and one or two other B-vitamins as running lower in some plant-based foods, which is precisely why they belong in the fortification rather than being left to chance.⁸,⁹ The one exception that admits no plant source is vitamin B12, covered above, which must always be supplemented.

Choline, often counted with the B-complex, supports liver and brain function, is present in legumes, and is supplemented to target. Vitamin C is a non-issue in a different way: dogs synthesise their own in the liver, so it is not a dietary essential, though the vitamin C that fruits and vegetables provide is still useful, partly because it improves the absorption of plant iron.

Minerals and the bioavailability question

Minerals are where plant-based formulation earns its keep, and the recurring theme is bioavailability rather than content. The minerals are present in abundance in plants, but phytates in legumes, grains and seeds, and oxalates in some greens, can bind them and reduce absorption. The answer is not to avoid these foods but to process and formulate around the issue: soaking, sprouting, fermentation and extrusion all lower phytate, and chelated mineral forms sidestep it.

Calcium and phosphorus are supplied from plant and mineral sources and balanced to the correct ratio, which matters most during growth, when an imbalance can disturb skeletal development. Iron from plants is the non-haem form, less readily absorbed than the haem iron in meat, but adequate inclusion alongside vitamin C closes the gap. Zinc is bound especially tightly by phytate, which is why complete plant-based foods favour a chelated zinc bound to an amino acid, and why the zinc-to-copper balance is watched, since an excess of one impairs the other. Selenium content varies with the soil the plants grew in, so it is supplemented to a reliable target rather than assumed, and it matters as an antioxidant cofactor.

Iodine deserves a specific mention, because it is the mineral most consistently found lower in plant-based foods.⁸,⁹ It is straightforward to provide, from a measured seaweed source or potassium iodide, and a complete formulation does exactly that to support thyroid function. The remaining minerals, potassium, magnesium and the rest, are supplied readily by plant ingredients. The pattern across all of them is the same: the raw material is there, and the formulator’s job is to deliver it in a form the dog can absorb, which is once again why processing method and mineral form matter as much as the ingredient list.

Feeding through every life stage

Nutrient requirements are not fixed across a dog’s life, and the suitability of a plant-based diet tracks how much margin for error each stage allows.

Puppies and growth. This is the stage with the least room for mistakes, because the skeleton, organs and brain are all being built at once. AAFCO and FEDIAF set a higher protein minimum for growth, 22.5 per cent of dry matter against 18 per cent for adult maintenance, and requirements for calcium, phosphorus and DHA are correspondingly elevated. Large-breed puppies add a further constraint, since both over- and under-nutrition can disturb skeletal development. A plant-based diet can meet growth requirements, but the bar for formulation and monitoring is at its highest here, and a growth or all-life-stages adequacy statement is essential rather than optional. For puppies, pregnancy and lactation, veterinary input is the sensible default, not a fallback.

Adult maintenance. Healthy adult dogs are the most forgiving case and the most straightforward to feed plant-based. Requirements are stable, the typically higher fibre content can support weight management through better satiety, and the absence of the common animal-protein allergens can suit dogs with food sensitivities. This is the population in which most of the favourable owner-reported and clinical data were gathered.⁴,⁵,⁶

Senior dogs. Ageing brings less efficient digestion, a tendency to lose muscle, and sometimes changes in kidney function, so older dogs benefit from highly digestible, nutrient-dense food and adequate, good-quality protein rather than restricted protein. The algal DHA that supports a plant-based diet is also relevant to cognitive and joint support in later life. Where a senior dog has a diagnosed condition, diet should be set with the vet.

Breed considerations. Breed mostly modifies the same principles rather than overturning them. Breeds predisposed to taurine-responsive heart disease warrant extra attention to taurine and sulphur amino acids; breeds prone to diabetes or obesity may benefit from the lower energy density and higher fibre of many plant-based formulations; dogs with known sensitivities may do well on the removal of animal-protein allergens. None of these is a reason to avoid plant-based feeding, and several are reasons it can suit.

Choosing a complete food, or building one

The single most consequential decision is commercial versus home-prepared, and for most owners it is not close.

A reputable commercial complete food does the hard part for you. It is formulated to a published profile, fortified for the watch-list nutrients above, batch-controlled for consistency, and ideally validated by a feeding trial. When you assess one, look for a clear AAFCO or FEDIAF nutritional adequacy statement for your dog’s life stage, explicit inclusion of B12, algal EPA and DHA and vitamin D, transparency about analysis and sourcing, and a maker who answers formulation questions properly. One word of caution on a piece of advice you may have read elsewhere: the idea that you should avoid foods with peas, lentils or potatoes “because of DCM” has not held up. The investigation into grain-free, legume-rich diets and dilated cardiomyopathy did not establish a causal link, and legumes are a legitimate, useful part of a complete formulation.¹⁶ What matters is taurine adequacy and overall formulation, not avoiding a vegetable.

Home preparation is where most plant-based diets go wrong, not because plants are inadequate but because hitting every nutrient target with whole foods and a supplement kit is genuinely hard, and small errors compound over months. If you want to home-prepare, do it with a recipe from a veterinary nutritionist rather than from the internet, and commit to the supplementation and the monitoring. Analyses of home-prepared vegetarian and vegan diets have repeatedly found nutrient shortfalls when they are not built to a formulated recipe. A sensible middle path for many owners is a complete commercial base with fresh additions for variety, which keeps the nutritional foundation intact.

How to transition your dog safely

Switching foods abruptly is the commonest cause of avoidable digestive upset, and it is entirely preventable. The gut microbiota and the digestive enzymes both need a little time to adjust to a new substrate, especially when fibre rises, so transition gradually over seven to ten days:

• Days 1 to 2: roughly one quarter new food, three quarters current food.
• Days 3 to 4: about half and half.
• Days 5 to 6: roughly three quarters new food.
• Day 7 onward: the full new diet.

Dogs with sensitive digestion, a history of gut issues, or inflammatory bowel disease may need two to three weeks rather than one. Throughout, watch appetite, energy, demeanour and especially stool, which is the most honest indicator of how the adjustment is going. A modest rise in stool volume is normal on a higher-fibre diet and usually settles within a couple of weeks; persistently loose stools suggest slowing the pace. A probiotic through the changeover can help, and warming the food or adding a little low-sodium vegetable broth can ease acceptance for fussier dogs. If appetite drops away or upset persists, pause and speak to your vet rather than pushing on.

Monitoring your dog’s health

Plant-based feeding is not a set-and-forget proposition, but the monitoring is light once you know what to track. Establish a baseline before you switch, ideally a physical examination with a complete blood count and a biochemistry panel, so later results have something to be compared against.

In the first year, a check every three to four months is sensible, moving to annual reviews once your dog is established and well. The home signals are the everyday ones: body condition score, monthly weight, coat, energy and stool. The bloodwork signals that matter most are vitamin B12 status, a complete blood count to catch anaemia, and a biochemistry panel for protein adequacy and organ function. Puppies, seniors and dogs with existing conditions warrant closer attention. If something is genuinely off, the right response is investigation with your vet, not an automatic return to meat, because a problem on a plant-based diet is as likely to be unrelated to diet as caused by it, and the same monitoring you would apply to any food applies here.

The ethical and welfare dimension

Many owners arrive at plant-based feeding through their values rather than through nutrition science, and a guide that pretended that motivation away would be incomplete. Two ethical threads tend to drive the decision, and both deserve an honest hearing.

The first is animal welfare. Pet food consumes a substantial share of the animal products produced globally, and for owners who hold concerns about intensive animal agriculture, the welfare cost of producing meat-based food for a companion animal is a real consideration. A plant-based diet removes their dog from that supply chain, which for many is the entire point.

The second is environmental. The lower footprint of plant-based food, clearest on carbon, is as much a values question as a practical one. We set out that evidence, with its genuine caveats, in the plant-based versus meat-based comparison, so it is enough to note here that the environmental case is part of why many owners make the switch.

Above both of those, though, sits a principle a responsible guide has to state plainly: the dog’s own welfare and nutritional needs come first, and they are not up for negotiation against the owner’s ethics. An ethically motivated diet that left a dog short of a nutrient would be a poor bargain, trading a harm the owner can see for one they cannot. This is exactly why the formulation discipline that runs through this guide matters so much. It is what lets the ethical choice and the dog’s health point in the same direction instead of pulling against each other.

The encouraging part is that, for a healthy dog on a complete, well-formulated diet, they do point the same way. The evidence to date shows dogs maintaining health on sound plant-based food,³,⁴,⁶ which means an owner can align their dog’s diet with their values without asking the dog to carry a nutritional cost. That alignment, rather than any claim that plants are inherently superior, is the honest ethical case for plant-based feeding. And where an individual dog has a need a plant-based diet cannot meet, a medical condition or a documented intolerance, the dog comes first, and a good plant-based brand will be the first to say so.

The myths worth retiring

A few persistent claims do more to confuse owners than the underlying science warrants. They are worth answering briefly; the fuller evidence sits in our comparison article.

“Dogs are carnivores and need meat.” Dogs are facultative carnivores with a documented genetic adaptation to a starch-inclusive diet, and they require nutrients rather than ingredients.¹,²

“Plant protein is poorly digestible.” True of raw ingredients, not of properly processed finished foods, which match meat-based diets for digestibility once profiles are aligned.¹²,¹³

“Plant-based diets cause heart disease.” The grain-free DCM concern was investigated and never established as causal, and taurine adequacy is a formulation matter.¹⁵,¹⁶

“Plant-based diets inevitably cause deficiencies.” Deficiency is a property of poor formulation, not of plant ingredients, and the same is true of badly formulated meat-based food. A complete, fortified diet does not cause deficiency.³,⁸

There is also a genuine, non-mythical advantage worth stating plainly, since many owners come to plant-based feeding for it: the environmental footprint of plant-based dog food is substantially lower, most clearly on carbon, a finding consistent with the largest global analysis of food’s impact.¹⁸ We set out that evidence, including the honest caveats, in the comparator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Feeding a dog well on plants is not a leap of faith, and it is not as simple as leaving the meat out. It rests on one idea, that dogs need nutrients rather than ingredients, and on the discipline that idea demands: a diet formulated to a complete profile, deliberate provision of the handful of nutrients that need it, feeding matched to the dog’s life stage, a careful transition, and light ongoing monitoring. Do those things and the evidence to date supports dogs living healthy lives on plant-based food, with the formulation, not the absence of meat, doing the real work. Where you want the head-to-head against conventional food, on digestibility, long-term health and environmental impact, the comparison guide lays out the evidence in full.

Related Reading

• Plant-Based vs Meat-Based Dog Food: An Evidence-Based Comparison
• Best Plant-Based Proteins for Dogs
• Taurine for Dogs: Health Impacts
• DHA Gold: Omega-3 EPA, DHA and DPA for Dogs
• Understanding the Vitamin B Complex in Dog Health
• Vitamin D for Dogs: A Vital Nutrient
• Transitioning Your Dog to a New Food
• Food Allergies in Dogs: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

References

1. Axelsson E, Ratnakumar A, Arendt ML, Maqbool K, Webster MT, Perloski M, Liberg O, Arnemo JM, Hedhammar Å, Lindblad-Toh K. The genomic signature of dog domestication reveals adaptation to a starch-rich diet. Nature. 2013;495(7441):360-364. DOI: 10.1038/nature11837.
2. Arendt M, Cairns KM, Ballard JWO, Savolainen P, Axelsson E. Diet adaptation in dog reflects spread of prehistoric agriculture. Heredity. 2016;117(5):301-306. DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2016.48.
3. Domínguez-Oliva A, Mota-Rojas D, Semendric I, Whittaker AL. The impact of vegan diets on indicators of health in dogs and cats: a systematic review. Vet Sci. 2023;10(1):52. DOI: 10.3390/vetsci10010052.
4. Knight A, Huang E, Rai N, Brown H. Vegan versus meat-based dog food: guardian-reported indicators of health. PLoS One. 2022;17(4):e0265662. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265662.
5. Knight A, Bauer A, Brown HJ. Vegan versus meat-based dog food: guardian-reported health outcomes in 2,536 dogs, after controlling for canine demographic factors. Heliyon. 2024;10(17):e35578. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e35578.
6. Linde A, Lahiff M, Krantz A, Sharp N, Ng TT, Melgarejo T. Domestic dogs maintain clinical, nutritional, and hematological health outcomes when fed a commercial plant-based diet for a year. PLoS One. 2024;19(2):e0298942. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298942.
7. Barrett-Jolley R, German AJ. Variables associated with owner perceptions of the health of their dog: further analysis of data from a large international survey. PLoS One. 2024;19(5):e0280173. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280173.
8. Brociek RA, Li D, Broughton R, Gardner DS. Nutritional analysis of commercially available, complete plant- and meat-based dry dog foods in the UK. PLoS One. 2025;20(9):e0328506. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0328506.
9. Dodd SAS, Shoveller AK, Fascetti AJ, Yu ZZ, Ma DWL, Verbrugghe A. A comparison of key essential nutrients in commercial plant-based pet foods sold in Canada to American and European canine and feline dietary recommendations. Animals (Basel). 2021;11(8):2348. DOI: 10.3390/ani11082348.
10. Wehrmaker AM, Draijer N, Bosch G, van der Goot AJ. Evaluation of plant-based recipes meeting nutritional requirements for dog food: the effect of fractionation and ingredient constraints. Anim Feed Sci Technol. 2022;290:115345. DOI: 10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2022.115345.
11. Boukid F, Rosentrater KA. Nutritional profiling and labeling practices of plant-based, hybrid, and animal-based dog foods: a study of European pack labels (2020-2024). Animals (Basel). 2025;15(13):1883. DOI: 10.3390/ani15131883.
12. Liversidge BD, Dodd SAS, Adolphe JL, Gomez DE, Blois SL, Verbrugghe A. Extruded diet macronutrient digestibility: plant-based (vegan) vs. animal-based diets in client-owned healthy adult dogs and the impact of guardian compliance during in-home trials. Front Anim Sci. 2023;4:1288165. DOI: 10.3389/fanim.2023.1288165.
13. Roberts LJ, Oba PM, Utterback PL, Parsons CM, Swanson KS. Amino acid digestibility and nitrogen-corrected true metabolizable energy of mildly cooked human-grade vegan dog foods using the precision-fed cecectomized and conventional rooster assays. Transl Anim Sci. 2023;7(1):txad020. DOI: 10.1093/tas/txad020.
14. Roberts LJ, Oba PM, Swanson KS. Apparent total tract macronutrient digestibility of mildly cooked human-grade vegan dog foods and their effects on the blood metabolites and fecal characteristics, microbiota, and metabolites of adult dogs. J Anim Sci. 2023;101:skad093. DOI: 10.1093/jas/skad093.
15. Cavanaugh SM, Cavanaugh RP, Gilbert GE, Leavitt EL, Ketzis JK, Vieira AB. Short-term amino acid, clinicopathologic, and echocardiographic findings in healthy dogs fed a commercial plant-based diet. PLoS One. 2021;16(10):e0258044. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258044.
16. US Food and Drug Administration. FDA investigation into potential link between certain diets and canine dilated cardiomyopathy. Silver Spring (MD): FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine; update December 2022. Available from: https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-investigation-potential-link-between-certain-diets-and-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy
17. Dodd SAS, Adolphe JL, Dewey C, Khosa D, Abood SK, Verbrugghe A. Efficacy of vitamin D2 in maintaining serum total vitamin D concentrations and bone mineralisation in adult dogs fed a plant-based (vegan) diet in a 3-month randomised trial. Br J Nutr. 2024;131(3):391-405. DOI: 10.1017/S0007114523001952.
18. Poore J, Nemecek T. Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science. 2018;360(6392):987-992. DOI: 10.1126/science.aaq0216. (Erratum: Science. 2019, 22 February.)

Editorial Information

Field	Detail
Published	7 July 2025
Last updated	22 June 2026
Reviewed by	Veterinary Advisory Board
Next review due	22 June 2027
Author	Glendon Lloyd, Dip. Canine Nutrition (Distinction), Dip. Dog Nutrigenomics (Distinction)
Medical disclaimer	This article is intended for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute veterinary medical advice. Always consult a qualified veterinary professional before making changes to your dog’s diet or supplement regimen, particularly if your dog has existing health conditions or is on medication.