What made a GP vet with 25 years experience turn her and her family dog 100% plant-based?

I have a passion for clients and the bond they have with their animals as I have it too with our pets that we have had over the years and now with our little rescue family dog Ruff. I have only ever worked as a GP vet as I love to listen and help and having worked at various practices throughout the UK over the years, I recently grew overwhelmed by the number of overweight very loved pets and pets with severe allergies, itchy skins and intolerances.

Using meat-based diets and treats whether raw or expensive brand biscuits was not good enough for me. There was a welfare issue, an environmental issue with high-meat diets, and when you think about it, the byproducts of the farmed animals or chickens that go into pet foods are made of the organs that get rid of toxins in the body – liver, kidneys, intestines and all those unnatural drugs such as growth promoters, antibiotics and anti-parasitic medication that are given to the intensively farmed livestock end up concentrated in the very organs that we are feeding to our pets!

Another concern that owners have with the awareness of zoonoses from our current pandemic (diseases we catch from animals), is what infections they could get from the saliva of their pet while on a high meat diet, whether raw or treats. This affects the very close bond we have with our pets.

Being as concerned as you all are about the implications of feeding high meat-based products to our pets, I threw myself into the fascinating field of pet nutrition – I did every nutrition course going and contacted the top vet nutritionists in the UK for help as with all the research I did, a plant-based diet seemed to be the healthiest and safest for us and for our dogs. Realistically, they said that it could be done but only with the expertise of a trained nutritional vet…….so I became one!

I turned both myself and our family dog 100% plant-based at the age of 52 (much to the horror of my vet husband), to find the perfect balanced plant-based and UK based diet for dogs.

It has been a fascinating journey. Plant-based feeding of dogs has been very popular in Germany for the last 6 years and everything I have learnt about the perfect diet comes from there. I have teamed up with the 2 top vet nutritionists who make supplements and provide homemade recipes, as well as finding out which the best plant-based dry foods are as this new and exciting sustainable way of feeding our dogs becomes more and more popular!

I continue to learn something new everyday from the many dedicated pet owners that I have already helped; starting with the gorgeous boy Hank (as seen below) who gets itchy, infected ears from eating an animal-protein diet. His Mum Shirley was the first owner to make contact and I still love the fact that he is doing so well and loves his plant-based diet!

I’d be so happy so help you, as like me you are looking for a far kinder, more natural and more sustainable way of feeding your dog, which is why I will be running an online plant-based dog nutrition course to answer ALL those important questions that you have and help you transition your dog safely and easily with the help of top veterinary nutritionists…..and thousands of owners who have transitioned safely!

Dr Arielle Griffiths BVSc MRCVS