Why the Queen may need to rethink what she feeds her Corgis

The Queen may wish to reconsider what she feeds her beloved Corgis, in light of new research that finds vegan diets are healthier and safer for dogs. 

• The Queen might want to revamp her Corgis' meal plan in light of new research suggesting vegan diets are safer and healthier for dogs.
• Her Majesty's four dogs currently enjoy a diet of high-end meats, specially prepared for them every day by a royal chef. 
• In other royal news, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle underwent 'hostile environment training' ahead of Invictus Games trip.
  

It's no secret that the Queen loves to spoil her Corgis—so much so, that she even has five-star dishes prepared for their pleasure by her dedicated kitchen staff. 

Her Majesty's four dogs are served a daily feast of high-end meats, including rabbit, chicken, lamb, and beef, according to former royal chef, Darren McGrady. The animal flesh is cut into very small pieces, checked for bones, and then poached, to ensure the Corgis can enjoy their meals with minimal risk of choking. The cuts are also alternated by the day, so there's no chance of the adorable pups getting bored. 

But while this luxury menu served to the Queen's Corgis may taste great, it could be doing them more harm than good.

A new study has shown vegan diets for dogs to be healthier and safer than omnivorous ones, so long as they are nutritionally complete. The research, which was conducted on more than 2,500 dogs over the course of a year, found that nearly half of the dogs eating standard meat-based diets required non-routine medication. This use of medication was significantly lower for vegan dogs, with just one-third of the group receiving drug treatment for health issues. 

“Our study is by far the largest study published to date,” said Prof Andrew Knight, at the University of Winchester, UK, and who led the study. “It revealed that the healthiest and least hazardous dietary choices for dogs are nutritionally sound vegan diets.”

The exact reason why a vegan diet might be superior to meat-based alternatives remains unclear, but Prof Knight believes it's likely to do with its correlation with lower obesity rates.

"One of the most common health problems for dogs is being overweight or obese and it is unfortunately common that when we do tests on the commercial meat-based diets, there are more calories," he explained. 

The study did, however, have one "key limation" to consider. 

"We didn’t have a population of animals locked up in a research facility and fed one specific diet without any alteration,” Knight explained. “We studied what real dogs in normal homes ate and their health outcomes. It gives us a good indication as to what the outcomes are for dogs in the real world.”