When we discuss nutrition for dogs, a key component is whether or not the diet is “complete and balanced”, meaning whether or not the diet provides all of the nutrients they require and in the amounts they require them.

What makes a diet "complete and balanced"?

One measure of whether or not a diet is “complete and balanced” is if it meets the recommended levels of nutrients known to be essential to dogs. In North America, these recommendations are made by an organisation called the Association of American Feed Control Officials – or AAFCO for short. In Europe, there is a similar organisation called FEDIAF, which is the European Pet Food Industry Federation. These organisations create profiles of nutrients known to be essential to dogs with recommendations on how much of each nutrient should be in a diet for either puppy growth and development or adult maintenance.
 
In order for a diet to be “complete and balanced”, it must therefore meet these nutrient profiles or else demonstrate, through feeding trials, that it is capable of maintaining measured health parameters for the species and lifestage to which it is intended to be fed. This means that the ingredients in a diet aren’t nearly as important as the nutrients, with respect to the diet being considered “complete and balanced”. Vivus Pets' Plant Based Dog Foods are carefully formulated to meet all biological requirements of dogs, helping them to thrive a happy and healthy life.
 
Although dogs are omnivores, capable of digesting and metabolising nutrients from both animal and non-animal sources, there is no recognition of a requirement of animal-derived nutrients in a dog’s diet. Provided the diet meets all of their essential nutrient requirements, it is considered as “complete and balanced” as any other diet that does so. As such, diets that are completely plant-based can be formulated to meet these known nutritional needs and provide “complete and balanced” nutrition for dogs.