What should I feed my dog?

Whichever diet you are considering, you should always:

• Feed a complete diet – one that is designed to meet all of your dog’s dietary needs. Look for “complete” rather than “complementary” on the label.
• Read the label and check the food is designed for your dog – including species and life stage.
• Feed the right amount of food for your dog. Weighing portions accurately reduces waste and helps keep your dog at a healthy weight.
• Do your research before switching. Some new diets may appear to offer benefits but need more long-term evidence to prove this.
• Make sure you buy from a reputable company to make sure they have safety checks and the correct standards in place. Around 90% of brands in the UK follow the FEDIAF guidelines and are members of UK Pet Food, a UK-based association responsible for improving the pet food industry. You can quickly check if a brand is a member online.
• Keep an eye on your dog’s health and talk to your veterinary team if you have any concerns. Let your veterinary team know which diet you have chosen so they can help to monitor this too.

We encourage you to speak to your veterinary team for advice before changing your dog’s diet, to make sure their dietary needs are being met. This is especially important if your dog has allergies or specific requirements. You should also make any significant changes to your dog’s diet gradually, to avoid issues with digestion.

In theory, it is possible for dogs to have a vegan or vegetarian diet, but it can be challenging to get the balance of essential nutrients right. Veterinary professionals are cautious about these diets, and would like to see more long-term, controlled trials which prove they can meet a dog’s nutritional needs throughout their life.

Key points if you are considering a vegetarian or vegan diet for your dog:

• Make sure you choose a diet labelled as ‘complete’ rather than ‘complementary’, as these are designed to meet all of your dog’s nutritional needs.
• Do your research before switching. Some new diets may appear to offer benefits but need more long-term evidence to prove this.
• Keep an eye on your dog’s health and talk to your veterinary team if you have any concerns. Let your veterinary team know which diet you have chosen so they can help to monitor this too.
• Check out our FAQ on sustainable diets to learn about how plant-based ingredients could help to reduce your dog’s carbon footprint.

The food your dog eats can make a big difference to their carbon pawprint, but we must be careful to balance sustainability with their nutritional needs.

Our top tips for feeding dogs sustainably are to double check you are giving them the right amount of food, and to always feed a balanced diet which meets their nutritional needs. Ensuring you are not overfeeding reduces food waste and keeps them healthier. Look for food labelled “complete” and regularly weigh the food you give them to make sure it’s still the right amount. Don’t forget to count the treats and scraps they eat too!

Key points if you are looking for a more sustainable diet:

• Dry foods tend to have lower carbon footprints due to the ingredients they use and because they’re easier to store and transport.
• Organ meat and other animal by-products may be less appealing to humans, but are safe and very nutritious for dogs. Using these helps to reduce waste in the food industry, so diets which avoid them, such as those using ‘human-grade’ ingredients and some raw diets, have higher carbon footprints.
• Plant-based ingredients usually have a lower environmental footprint than animal-based products, but vegetarian and vegan diets might not be right for your dog. Consider reducing instead of cutting out the meat in their diet, and check out our FAQ on vegetarian or vegan diets.
• New protein sources are becoming available, eg from insects or lab-grown meat. These could be promising, but veterinary professionals would like to see more research to check they are safe, nutritious and genuinely more sustainable.
• Whatever ingredients you choose, make sure the food is labelled as ‘complete’ to meet all of your dog’s dietary needs. Always keep an eye on your dog’s health, and talk to your veterinary team if you have any concerns. Let your veterinary team know which diet you have chosen so they can help to monitor this too. 
• If you are looking for eco-friendly packaging (eg biodegradable), make sure it doesn’t leak to avoid spreading harmful bacteria and help keep you and your dog healthy.
• For more information, you can contact the manufacturer of your regular dog foods to request information about their sustainability policies.

We know there has been a growing interest in raw food diets (ie those with uncooked animal tissue, including muscle, bone, cartilage, skin, fat, and offal). Veterinary professionals are concerned about potential disease risks this poses for both dogs and humans.

Key points if you are considering a raw diet for your dog:

• Uncooked food brings a much higher risk of spreading bacteria, eg salmonella, which could cause serious issues for your dog, you and your family. Make sure you are aware of the health risks and how to prevent them. See the links below for helpful tips.
• Although raw appears to be a more ‘natural’ diet, remember that dogs have evolved to have different needs from their wolf ancestors, and it is safe to feed them cooked food.
• Make sure you choose a diet labelled as ‘complete’ rather than ‘complementary’, as these are designed to meet all of your dog’s nutritional needs. If you are considering a homemade raw diet, see our FAQ on homemade diets for more tips.
• Raw bones may make your dog’s teeth look cleaner, but they don’t remove the plaque which leads to gum disease. Talk to your veterinary team for advice on keeping their teeth clean.
• Be wary that raw diets are likely to have a higher carbon footprint than traditional diets due to the ingredients they use - see our FAQ on sustainable diets for more information.
• Keep an eye on your dog’s health and talk to your veterinary team if you have any concerns. Let your veterinary team know which diet you have chosen so they can help to monitor this too.

Some dog foods are marketed as ‘premium’, usually because they contain more meat than others. However, this doesn’t automatically mean that these foods are better for your dog than cheaper alternatives, provided they are both complete products. While price can correlate with quality of ingredients, this is not a guarantee of better nutrition or health for your dog.

Key points to consider when choosing a brand of dog food:

• Read the label and check the food is designed for your dog – including species and lifestage. Make sure it is labelled as “complete”, as this means it has all the nutrients your dog needs.
• Don’t feel guilty about choosing cheaper options – the most important thing is that your dog gets all the nutrients they need.
• Dry food is usually the cheapest, as it’s easier to transport and lasts for a long time. It’s perfectly safe for dogs to eat a dry kibble diet, so long as they get the water they need too.
• Be wary that premium foods containing ‘human grade’ or fresh ingredients often have higher carbon footprints - see our FAQ on sustainable diets for more information.

Speak to your veterinary team for advice before changing your dog’s diet, to make sure their dietary needs are being met.

Also remember to always weigh your dog’s food accurately, to make sure you are feeding the right amount, and check your dog is eating it. This keeps them healthy, reduces waste food, and could save you money.

On occasion, many people feed their dogs ‘human food’ and may consider ditching dog food altogether to make their own meals. It is difficult to get the right balance of ingredients in a homemade diet, which could result in your dog not getting the nutrients they need.

We know some owners consider homemade food options because they distrust shop-bought food. It’s important to know that there are regulations and checks in place to make sure marketed foods are safe and meet the needs of the animal they are designed for. We recommend looking for manufacturers who follow FEDIAF guidelines and/or are members of UK Pet Food for extra peace of mind.

We also know owners consider homemade food as they need to tailor it to their dog’s special dietary needs. If so, it’s important to talk to your veterinary team first, who can test your dog for intolerances and suggest options for specially adapted foods which provide a complete diet without a specific ingredient.

Key points if you are considering a homemade diet:

• Make sure you know which foods are toxic for your dog, so you can avoid them.
• Make sure you get the right balance of nutrients for your dog. This can be really challenging to do, and recipes available online or in books don’t always get this right, so look for recipes that have been developed by a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist (certified by the European College of Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition or American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine)
• Track everything you are feeding your dog to avoid overfeeding or getting the wrong balance of nutrients.
• Keep an eye on your dog’s health and talk to your veterinary team if you have any concerns. Let your veterinary team know which diet you have chosen so they can help to monitor this too.
• A benefit of using food produced for human consumption is that you can trace animal welfare standards of the production animals used in the food. We recommend you #ChooseAssured.
• Be wary that food produced for human consumption could have a higher carbon footprint - see our FAQ on sustainable diets for more information.

We know that grain-free diets have become popular among owners worried about possible intolerances, and those aiming to feed dogs a ‘natural wolf’ diet.

It’s useful to know that dogs have evolved to require a different diet from their wolf ancestors, and they can digest cooked grains. It is rare for dogs to be gluten intolerant, so for most dogs, grains are safe to eat.

Key points if you are considering a grain-free diet:

• Your dog may need an alternative source of carbohydrates. Make sure the dog food you choose is labelled as ‘complete’ to provide all the nutrients they need.
• If you think your dog may be intolerant to grains, talk to your veterinary team about testing and advice on trialling alternative foods.
• If you switch diet, keep an eye on your dog’s health and talk to your veterinary team if you have any concerns. Some studies have linked certain grain-free diets to illnesses, but more research is needed on this. Let your veterinary team know which diet you have chosen so they can help to monitor this too.

Be wary that reducing use of grains could impact on the carbon footprint of the dog food - see our FAQ on sustainable diets.