Vet World   Vol.18   October-2025  Article - 19 

Feeding practices, purchasing behaviors, and their association with non-communicable diseases in dogs: Insights from Thai pet owners

Background and Aim: The rapid expansion of Thailand’s pet industry has influenced dog owners’ purchasing behaviors and feeding practices, with potential implications for canine health. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as obesity, renal disease, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes mellitus are increasingly recognized in companion animals, yet the links between diet and these conditions remain underexplored in emerging pet markets. This study aimed to assess the purchas­ing and feeding behaviors of Thai dog owners, their knowledge of canine nutrition, and the association between diet type and NCD occurrence.

Materials and Methods: Data were collected between October 2023 and September 2024 using two survey approaches: An online questionnaire completed by 411 dog owners across Thailand and face-to-face interviews with 201 owners at Chulalongkorn University’s Small Animal Teaching Hospital. A total of 612 valid responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, and multiple logistic regression to identify risk factors for NCDs.

Results: Owners prioritized palatability, price, and brand when purchasing food, relying primarily on personal research over veterinary advice. Of respondents, 211 fed commercial diets (valued for convenience and nutritional balance), whereas 190 preferred homemade diets, often lacking supplementation. Mixed feeding was common and carried the highest NCD risk (adjusted odds ratio = 1.783; 95% confidence interval: 1.173–2.710; p = 0.007). Among 169 diagnosed cases, obesity was most prevalent (70.4%), followed by cardiovascular disease (40.2%), renal disease (23.1%), and diabetes mellitus (8.9%). Age was significantly associated with renal and cardiovascular disease, while breed predisposed small dogs to heart disease. Only 35.2% of homemade diets were nutritionally balanced.

Conclusion: Diet type is strongly linked to NCD occurrence, with mixed commercial–homemade feeding posing the greatest risk. Obesity emerged as the most common NCD, with age and breed further influencing disease susceptibility. Knowledge gaps in nutrition and limited veterinary involvement highlight the urgent need for structured educational programs and national guidelines. Within a One Health framework, improving canine feeding practices not only enhances pet welfare but also supports broader household and public health.

Keywords: commercial diets, dog nutrition, homemade diets, mixed feeding, non-communicable diseases, pet owner behavior, Thailand.

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How to cite this article: Kittitunyapong P, Kwakkwai K, Prasertsri C, Sributta I, Taecholarn T, and Angkanaporn K (2025) Feeding practices, purchasing behaviors, and their association with non-communicable diseases in dogs: Insights from Thai pet owners, Veterinary World, 18(10): 3174-3186.

Received: 08-07-2025   Accepted: 29-09-2025   Published online: 26-10-2025

Corresponding author: Kris Angkanaporn    E-mail: kris.a@chula.ac.th

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2025.3174-3186

Copyright: Kittitunyapong, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.