(ANIMAL) TESTING AND DOG FOOD - WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?

Most dog owners only want the best for their dogs - but not at the expense of other animals. The quality and composition of the food therefore play a major role. But what actually happens before the ingredients even end up in the packaging? How is it checked whether the food tastes good and is well tolerated by the dog? In this blog post, we will shed light on various testing methods.

When it comes to pet food, a distinction is generally made between two overarching types of trials:

• Pure feeding trials or digestibility studies, and
• Animal experiments

First, the definitions:

Animal experiments:

• According to the Animal Welfare Act, these are "interventions or procedures carried out for scientific purposes that are associated with pain, suffering, or harm to the animals." Suffering includes anything that goes beyond, for example, a prick from an injection needle. However, the term "suffering" also covers psychological aspects such as fear.
• In the field of animal nutrition, animal experiments were conducted more intensively, especially at the beginning of nutritional research, for example, to determine requirements for various nutrients. These nutrients were fed in different amounts and compositions to research the optimal daily intake for each species. Depending on the research question, sampling may include urine, feces, and blood samples or, in some cases, may require interventions. The requirement figures determined in this way have since been used to calculate nutrient contents in feed or for individual ration calculations (e.g., NRC1 and FEDIAF2).

To be distinguished from animal experiments are so-called feeding trials or digestibility studies:

• The primary goals of feeding trials or digestibility studies are:
• Palatability (= taste of the food)
• Digestibility (how much of the individual nutrients is absorbed from the food?, e.g., protein)
• Tolerance (are the ingredients well tolerated by the dog?)
  -> For a classic feeding trial, urine and feces samples are necessary for this.
• Feeding trials are conducted, for example, by some pet food companies in in-house test centers. In these cases, the dogs are usually housed in groups in large kennels.
• At certain times during a feeding trial, the dogs are separated from the group in order to portion the food individually and to collect separate feces samples. This means that the dogs are generally kept individually in kennels for several days at a time. For urine samples, they are also walked individually; there is usually only visual and auditory contact with the group.
• Most dogs spend several years in these facilities. On average, they are then rehomed to private households at 5-6 years of age. Sick animals or animals that are not suitable for the feeding trials for other reasons are usually given away sooner. In some cases, however, dogs can remain in the so-called test centers until they reach an advanced age, as seniors are also needed for examinations.
• In general, there are guidelines for feed trials, which in the EU are established, for example, by FEDIAF: FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines_2018_deutsch.indd (ivh-online.de)
• Even with this type of trial, it cannot be ruled out that the dogs experience stress due to the housing conditions.

Basically, a distinction can be made between two types of tests: animal testing and feeding trials. Even if no blood samples or other invasive procedures are performed during a feeding trial, VEGDOG rejects them due to the keeping conditions, just as it does conventional animal testing. Naturally, we do not conduct any animal testing for our products.
However, to continue investigating the digestibility, palatability, and tolerability of feed in the future, feeding trials under controlled conditions are necessary. This is particularly important for the further development of purely plant-based feed.

Instead of from scientific institutions, dogs from private households can, for example, participate on a voluntary basis. This requires a little more effort, as the cooperation and reliability of the owners are required to obtain meaningful results. At the beginning of a feeding study, the owners can therefore be trained by specialist staff for sample collection and receive professional guidance throughout the further process. As in many areas, practice makes perfect here too - so it can make sense to work with a fixed customer base in the long term. 
At VEGDOG, our two-legged and four-legged team members are happy to take on the job of the first taste test. If this turns out to be positive, it goes into the next round: the trial run with voluntary participants from our customer base. Of course, the food samples are checked for safety before such tests.

Because VEGDOG opposes any animal suffering, we support alternative methods and donated to Doctors Against Animal Experiments on Black Friday 2022. Together with your help, we even exceeded our fundraising goal of 10,000 euros: together with you, we raised €18,485! We say THANK YOU, above all on behalf of the animals!

SOURCES:

1 National Research Council. 2006. Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/10668.
2 https://europeanpetfood.org/self-regulation/nutritional-guidelines/