The importance of complete vegan food for dogs

Dog nutrition is increasingly becoming the focus of dog owners. They are faced with an unmanageably large selection of ready-made foods. The decision is often difficult. The question arises as to which can best supplies the beloved fur nose with all the important nutrients. After a short research it quickly becomes clear: it has to be a "complete food"! According to feed legislation, this must provide the dog with an adequate supply of energy and all nutrients without causing a deficiency or excess. Straight feeding stuffs, on the other hand, consist of only one ingredient. Complete feeds, on the other hand, are quasi compound feeds, which can, for example, consist of several single feeds and supplements. If no additional information can be found, this even applies to dogs of all ages, including puppies and seniors. It sounds simple and straightforward - but it's not

Unfortunately, more and more dog food is being produced that misleads consumers about its balanced composition. The feed authorities, which are responsible for monitoring the products on the market, do not manage to carry out checks to the extent that they should. Black sheep are often only exposed if they are reported immediately. And there are more of these black sheep than one would like to fear. Feed cans are often labeled "complete feed", although the compositions are more than poor and incorrect supplies are inevitable. So how can you recognize a "complete feed" that lives up to its name?

The fact that a complete food lives up to its name depends entirely on whether the composition can provide a needs-based supply of all nutrients, as is the case with dog food from VEGDOG . However, there are a few hurdles that need to be taken into account, especially in the vegan sector.

To assess this, look at the declaration on the can. Here you will find the wording "Content of ingredients", which is a list of the nutrients determined in the laboratory using Weender analysis. These are crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber and crude ash and the dry matter content. The content of nitrogen-free extractives (carbohydrates and vegetable skeletal substances, "Nfe") is also calculated. It should be noted that no information is provided on the quality and origin of the nutrients. In addition, the values of the individual components always refer to the dry matter content. If you want to compare different types of food or obtain information about the actual content of nutrients, you should calculate the content in 100 %.

The can also declares which ingredients were used (in descending order), but also which artificial substances were added to cover the requirements of all nutrients.

Food declared as "complete food" must of course cover the required amount of protein. However, dogs do not need protein per se, but certain essential amino acids. They cannot produce these themselves through metabolic processes in the body. They must be supplied through food. Different protein suppliers (z.B. Soy and lupin) contain an individual amino acid profile, which means that a sufficient supply is not always to be expected, especially in the vegan sector. Based on the experience we have gained from extensive laboratory analyses during the development of VEGDOG , we can assume that a supply of some artificial amino acids is essential. These must be indicated on the feed label. There are 10 essential amino acids: arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine.

When feeding a "complete feed", care should always be taken to ensure that the ratio of calcium and phosphorus is in the optimum range in addition to the actual requirement coverage of both quantity elements. This should be between 1.3 and 2.1 in adult dogs. Among other things, both minerals have a considerable influence on the functions of the skeleton.

Copper is an important trace element that usually has to be artificially added, and not just to vegan "complete foods". Typical of a deficiency here is the graying of pigmented hair ("copper goggles" around the eyes).

Furthermore, the vitamin D content must be taken into account, which puts many manufacturers of vegan "complete feeds" to the test. The usual plant-based ingredients contain heat-labile vitamin D2, which is destroyed during the manufacturing process. If D2 is listed among the additives, an optimal supply is therefore rather questionable due to the heating during production. The stable vitamin D3 (which is also available in plant-based form and is therefore vegan) must be supplemented and listed on the declaration under additives. If this is not the case, the dog is likely to be undersupplied with this important vitamin. The manufacturer should be willing to provide information on request as to whether the D3 is of animal or plant origin.

The same applies to vitamin B12 and the breakdown products of amino acid metabolism taurine and carnitine. These are only present in very small amounts or not at all in plant-based foods. A lack of these important substances in a vegan dog food declared as "complete food" should make every pet owner sit up and take notice and reconsider its use.

It should also contain a suitable source of vital polyunsaturated fatty acids (especially EPA and DHA). The fact that these are essential for the dog's organism is only slowly coming to the attention of research groups. However, they should definitely be present in "complete feed". Fish oil is a popular supplier in non-vegan feed. VEGDOG supplements a very special form of algae that provides these important fatty acids on a plant basis. Manufacturers should be willing to answer questions about the fatty acid composition of their feed in this regard.

If you look at the label of a vegan dog food and find the words "complete feed" but no additions of the above-mentioned substances, you should refrain from feeding it on its own and supplement the necessary elements yourself. Unfortunately, practice shows that dog owners cannot always rely on the information provided by feed manufacturers and have to ensure that their dog's diet is 100% needs-based.

The following should be present on the packaging of the feed:

1. Details of all ingredients used in descending order - based on quantity
2. Ingredient content with details of crude protein, fat, fiber, ash and dry matter or moisture
3. A source of essential fatty acids (especially EPA and DHA) must be identifiable; if necessary, the manufacturer must provide information on this and have a laboratory analysis carried out.
4. Additives per kg feed

If these are completely missing, it can be assumed that it is not a "complete feed"

The following contents must always be included in a complete vegan feed:

• Copper
• Vitamin D3 from plants (D2 is heat-labile!)
• Vitamin B12
• Taurine and L-carnitine
• With high probability various amino acids (due to the lack of studies, one can only assume basic requirements here, which are not completely covered by the protein suppliers used z.B. Soy or lupine). VEGDOG supplements, for example, in ADULT LINSEN & HIRSE:
• DL-methionine,
• L-threonine
• L-tryptophan
• L-valine
• other bulk and trace elements, as well as vitamins depending on the raw materials used and their natural content, as well as the cooking losses to be taken into account. These can only be identified and compensated for in advance using laboratory analyses. Accordingly, these cannot be generalized.