Dog nutrition has significant welfare implications, with obesity, nutrient deficiencies and inappropriate feeding practices among the most common and preventable causes of chronic suffering in companion dogs.
Dog nutrition is a welfare issue that attracts strong owner opinions but is often guided by marketing rather than evidence. Obesity is by far the most common nutritional welfare problem — a preventable condition causing chronic pain, reduced mobility and shortened lifespan that owners frequently normalize by perceiving healthy weight as too thin. At the other extreme, fashionable dietary trends including raw feeding and grain-free diets have introduced genuine health risks without demonstrated benefits over balanced commercial diets. Veterinary nutritional guidance is underutilized — most owners determine their dog diet based on pet shop staff recommendations or online sources rather than veterinary consultation. Improving dog nutritional welfare requires clearer evidence-based guidance, veterinary engagement and regulatory oversight of nutritional claims on pet food packaging.