Dog nutrition is a complex and rapidly evolving field. Evidence-based feeding approaches that meet dogs nutritional needs without causing harm are central to companion dog welfare.
Dog nutrition is a welfare issue because diet directly affects health, longevity, and quality of life. The marketing-driven pet food industry promotes numerous diet trends — grain-free, raw, ancestral — that may lack scientific evidence and in some cases have demonstrated risks. The grain-free DCM investigation identified an association between boutique grain-free diets with legume ingredients and heart disease in dogs, likely reflecting taurine or taurine-precursor deficiency in some formulations. Raw meat diets, while preferred by some owners on philosophical grounds, carry pathogen risks and nutritional imbalance if not carefully formulated. Evidence-based feeding starts with AAFCO-complete diets from manufacturers with nutritional research programs, life-stage appropriate formulation, and caloric provision matched to body condition maintenance. Supplementation should be veterinary-advised rather than owner-initiated based on online sources. Regular body condition assessment provides welfare feedback on nutritional adequacy.