A recent study from the University of Illinois confirmed that two human-grade, lightly cooked vegan diets provide complete and balanced nutrition for dogs, as per standards set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials .
Swanson’s group carried out tests on two human-grade vegan formulas, one with a grain ingredient and the other without, from Bramble. They compared these with a top-selling brand’s chicken-based kibble diet. The diets were fed to beagles for a span of three weeks, and the researchers subsequently analyzed the dogs’ blood chemistry, fecal quality, and microbiome – the assortment of microbes present in their feces.
“It’s not a surprise, really. With these ingredients, there’s more fiber and oligosaccharides, which could be good for dogs that need to stay regular,” Swanson notes. “There were some interesting and beneficial changes in the microbial community that I think reflect the blend of fibers that were present in the vegan diets. The fecal metabolites phenol and indole, both of which contribute to fecal odor, were dramatically decreased in those diets too. It’s still going to smell, but probably less,” Swanson says. “Overall, it looked like there were some beneficial shifts from a gut health perspective in dogs fed the vegan diets.