If the paddywhacking old man of nursery rhyme fame wanted to truly treat his dog, he would not have given it a bone, but a vegan alternative instead, according to a study.

Scientists have found proof that feeding Fido falafel, or other nutritious plant-based meals, keeps dogs healthier for longer compared to a raw meat diet or conventional meals consisting of commercial off-the-shelf tins of meat.

Vegan-friendly dog food diets are increasingly popular and favoured by celebrities such as Sir Lewis Hamilton and Joaquin Phoenix, and now evidence appears to support their claims that the meat-free diet is best for pet dogs.

A team of scientists sent out a questionnaire to more than 2,500 dog owners to understand how various canine diets affected health over time.

The team asked for information on vet visits, medication, any diet alterations, guardian and vet opinion on dog health, percentage of unwell dogs, and the number of dogs with health conditions.

More than half of all dogs were on a conventional diet, one third ate only raw meat, and one in eight were vegan dogs.

Analysis of the responses showed that the conventional diet was associated with the worst health, with both vegan and raw meat performing better.

“Dogs fed raw meat appeared to fare marginally better than those fed vegan diets,” the researchers add in their paper, published in the journal PLOS One.