Vegan versus meat-based dog food: Guardian-reported health outcomes in 2,536 dogs, after controlling for canine demographic factors.

To compare health outcomes between dogs fed meat and vegan diets, we surveyed 2,536 dog guardians who provided data and opinions about dogs fed conventional meat (1,370 = 54 %), raw meat (830 = 33 %) or vegan (336 = 13 %) diets for at least one year. We examined seven general indicators of illness: increased numbers of veterinary visits, medication use, progression onto a therapeutic diet after initial maintenance on a vegan or meat-based diet, reported veterinary assessment of being unwell, reported veterinary assessment and guardian opinion of increased illness severity, and number of health disorders per unwell dog. We also considered the prevalence of 22 specific health disorders, based on reported veterinary assessments.