Interest in plant-based diets for dogs has grown alongside human dietary change, raising welfare questions about nutritional adequacy. The evidence on vegan dog diets is evolving and suggests properly formulated diets can be nutritionally adequate.
The question of vegan diets for dogs sits at the intersection of canine welfare and the welfare of farm animals used in pet food production. The pet food industry consumes significant quantities of animal by-products and increasingly purpose-reared animal protein. If nutritionally complete plant-based dog diets can maintain equivalent dog health, this represents a meaningful reduction in farm animal suffering. The emerging evidence suggests that commercially prepared, nutritionally complete vegan dog diets can support normal health in dogs — though the evidence base is still limited and longer-term studies are needed. The welfare-centred position is neither dogmatic acceptance nor rejection of vegan dog feeding, but honest engagement with the evidence: properly formulated commercial vegan diets appear nutritionally adequate for dogs, while homemade vegan diets without veterinary dietitian input carry real nutritional risk.