Does a dog enjoy plant-based food as much as meat?
"Does my dog actually like this?" This is perhaps the most practical doubt when switching to plant-based food. A large study of 2,308 dogs provides a clear answer: dogs on plant-based food showed just as much enthusiasm for their food as dogs on traditional meat-based diets (Knight & Satchell, 2021).
What is 'palatability' and how did the researchers measure it?
Palatability simply refers to how appealing or tasty a dog finds a food. Because you cannot ask a dog what it likes, the researchers looked at ten behaviors reported by owners around mealtimes: how quickly the dog ate, how quickly it approached the bowl, tail wagging, jumping, vocalizing, sniffing the food, staying near the bowl, food guarding, lip licking, and drooling (Knight & Satchell, 2021). These behaviors were found to cluster into four patterns: enthusiasm, energetic behavior, food-defensive behavior, and anticipation.
What kind of research was this exactly?
Researchers surveyed a total of 4,060 dog and cat owners about their pets' eating behavior. For dogs, this yielded usable data from 2,308 animals, divided among dogs on traditional meat food, raw meat, and plant-based food (Knight & Satchell, 2021).
What did the researchers find?
Dogs on raw meat showed significantly more appetite-related behavior than dogs on traditional meat food. However, no consistent difference was found between plant-based food and the other two diets (Knight & Satchell, 2021). In other words, dogs on plant-based food were not less enthusiastic about their food than dogs on traditional meat-based food.
Why is this a robust finding?
The researchers consciously applied a strict significance level because they were comparing so many different behaviors at the same time. Only very strong differences were counted as significant (Knight & Satchell, 2021). This makes the absence of a difference between plant-based and traditional food not a fluke, but a result that has withstood a rigorous test.
Is there a caveat?
Certainly. These are observations by the owners themselves, not an objective video analysis of behavior. That does not make the results invalid—the study was published as peer-reviewed—but it is relevant to know when weighing the findings.
What does this mean for VerdaDog nutrition?
Exactly for this reason, we at VerdaDog consider taste just as important as nutritional value; food that your dog doesn't like doesn't help anyone in the end. Curious whether your dog will enjoy our kibble? Take a look here and order a sample bag! Do you have a specific question about switching to plant-based food? Then check our FAQ page or contact us.
Frequently asked questions
Does this mean every dog enjoys plant-based food as much as meat?
Not necessarily for every individual dog; taste preference simply varies per dog, regardless of the type of food. This study does show that at a group level, there is no demonstrable difference.
Was there actually a difference between raw meat and traditional food?
Yes, dogs on raw meat showed more appetite-related behavior than dogs on traditional meat food. Only between plant-based food and the other two diets was there no consistent difference (Knight & Satchell, 2021).
How did the researchers conduct this study exactly?
Via a survey among owners, who reported which of ten specific behaviors their dog displayed around mealtimes. This provided usable data from 2,308 dogs (Knight & Satchell, 2021).
About the author
David is the founder of VerdaDog. He grew up with a dog that struggled with allergies, and that got him thinking about how he could prevent that in his own dog. He has been eating a plant-based diet for over ten years himself, and that interest in nutrition, for both himself and his dog, forms the foundation of VerdaDog. This article is written based on peer-reviewed research. David does not claim veterinary or scientific expertise and always refers to a veterinarian for medical advice.
Literature
Knight, A., & Satchell, L. (2021). Vegan versus meat-based pet foods: Owner-reported palatability behaviours and implications for canine and feline welfare. PLoS ONE, 16(6), e0253292. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253292
