Nutritional suitability of a plant-based diet for maintenance of healthy adult dogs

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Plant-based diets are rapidly growing in popularity within the North American pet food market. The largest driver of this trend is the increasing prevalence of the vegan life philosophy, particularly so amongst pet owners. Avoidance of eating animal products has been associated with greater affinity for pets, and veganism is reportedly greater amongst pet owners than in the general public. For many of these meat-avoiding pet owners, there is a moral dilemma regarding the husbandry of carnivorous pets - they avoid animal products in their own diets yet live with animals who rely on them for their nutritional sustenance, traditionally derived from animal products, resulting in feelings of guilt and internal conflict. Commercial plant-based pet foods are becoming increasingly available to pet owners, yet there is very little data to support this practice. Few studies have examined the nutritional sufficiency of these diets, with only a handful of studies either examining the nutrient content of plant-based diets or selected health parameters of dogs fed plant-based diets. Serious concerns exist regarding the ability of plant-based diets to meet the nutritional requirements of dogs, particularly concerning the essential nutrients which are traditionally found in animal products, such as sulfur amino acids, vitamins B12 and D, and the availability of these nutrients in relation to digestibility. Furthermore, it has been shown that humans eating strictly plant-based diets exhibit changes in the microbial populations in their gut. Particular microbiological profiles have been associated with certain health and disease outcomes, yet there is no data regarding the effects of plant-based diets on the gut microbes in dogs. No comprehensive studies have been performed which have examined the health, nutrient status, microbiome and body composition of dogs fed a plant-based diet. While it is recognized that domestic dogs are opportunistic carnivorous omnivores and they may in theory thrive on appropriate formulated complete and balanced plant-based foods, research has yet to demonstrate this.