DS: Veterinarians Against Holistic/Home-Prepared/Raw Diets?

Question

DS: Veterinarians Against Holistic/Home-Prepared/Raw Diets?

Answer 1

Wow...to say they "laugh all of the way to the bank" at the expense of other people's dogs health...disgraceful for a person who is supposed to care about the health of animals.



While I will admit that I chuckle a bit everytime I see an answer swearing that Pedigree is the best food out there for your dog...I'm not laughing because a dog is sick from eating it. That's just sad. I've been in the position of not knowing better when it has come to animal nutrition. My cat used to eat Friskies and my dogs, Iams or Science Diet. I didn't know better. I try not to chastise when people who honestly don't know the difference between dog foods because we all have to learn from somewhere.



Exactly what problems is she fixing from holistic or raw diets? I don't feed raw, simply because I don't have the time or effort to put into measuring, weighing, and balancing a raw diet myself. I do, however, feed a high quality kibble as an alternative. I feed Orijen, and I researched the company before I decided to use it. I was sold on the fact that the meat sources are not imported. Everything is locally farmed or grown. ~shrug~



Sadly, most vets are not actually trained in animal nutrition. It is not a required course in veterinary school. My vet supports raw feeding and also feeds her dogs a grain-free diet. She has done separate research into feeding her own dogs and has come to the conclusion that grain-free is the way to go for her personally.

Answer 2

Disgusting. First off to laugh about a dog being sick? That says a lot about this so called vet. obviously she only cares about the money she gets and not the well being of the pets she's entrusted to treat.



What's laughable to me? Some vet thinking they know **** about nutrition.





y'know what ticks me off? My vet (besides the old guy) likes to argue with me over a raw prey model diet. Bloodwork is ALWAYS spot on, soft coats, great teeth, the ONLY thing they could find wrong with my dog is her weight. Got her last yr at 3x the weight she should be, found out recently why she hasnt lost anymore weight is because she has hypothyroidism.

My cats? They can't find anything wrong with them. I always get lectured and then a "Hmmmmmm....everything seems to be okay.... *poke poke* hmmm" and then SD is pushed on me. Malnutrition? I'd like to see how many that do a proper raw/barf/homemade diet have that issue. I see raw feeders arguing over if rabbit/chicken/deer/ etc off the right nutrients and if we can feed x more than y and still get good results. Testing? No, we research BEFORE we feed. I for one have never said I'm going to feed mostly x & y and hope they get what they need.

Answer 3

" Purina published information that they had taken dogs conforming to their definition of perfect weight, and cut their food consumption by 25%. The dogs on 25% less food lived on average two years longer..."



In other words, feed them less garbage and they live longer.



"the larger the pet food manufacturer, the better and more frequent quality control and more research they will run, eventually benefiting you and your dog."



I take this as biased research if they are performing it. They have to run more "research" as part of advertising to make them so large of a manufacturer. In their research, what are they comparing it to?



Then this whole paragraph: "Our society is driven so much - and more all the time, it seems - by marketing that we are well into damaging our dogs by becoming the disciples of idiots with a good pitch. I am not naming names here, but rational readers will immediately know what I mean; of course, the gullible brain-washed culties will never get it. I saw one newly advertised dog food produced by a Mom-and-Pop (as they proudly proclaimed) business. Well, unless Mom or Pop was Chairman of the Animal Nutrition Department at the local land-grant university, and unless their annual sales are in the billions of dollars, I personally wouldn't even bother to read the label."



Oh, there is just too many comments I could say about this. I will spare you. I'm sure you have just as many to say about that.



"the grocery store food comes from huge companies with superb quality control and research programs. It flies off the shelves..."



Because it's cheap and, I'll quote that other paragraph, "Our society is driven so much - and more all the time, it seems - by marketing that we are well into damaging our dogs by becoming the disciples of idiots with a good pitch."



"These home-made diets may follow a recipe in a book. And of course, if it's printed in a book it's automatically true"



And if it's printed online then it must be true? (like this ranting article)



"And nearly all of us (Veterinarians) are laughing all the way to the bank after we fix - if possible - the problems caused by some of the alternative diets to the tune of $5,000.00, more or less, per dog."



She didn't even mention the costs of other dogs with expensive health problems. Biased comment.





There is more I can quote and comment but this will get too long. If I was still feeding my dog the cheap stuff, like Purina, then this ignorant rant would change my mind just because you can tell that she is a moronic spokesman. This would make me think twice and look into more intelligent reading materials. People like that can actually cause people to do the opposite of their original intention. She sounds like an uneducated child.



I learned a long time ago that even dumb people can get degrees. It's just a matter of completing the courses with dedication, not all intelligence. Plus cheating in colleges is a huge problem.



ADD: I should also mention that there are people that improperly feed raw, barf and home cooked diets because they didn't get fully educated on the matter before they start. Nobody should go by one book or article they read. You have to read many to be fully knowledgeable about anything.

Answer 4

Just wanted to mention this to TJ who made the claim that Purina was not in that recall. Alpo is a Purina product. Purina makes lots of different pet foods but they don't all have "Purina" in the name.

Answer 5

I think others summed it up quite nicely, but @Jesus is the Reason- If lucky, Vets only have ONE class on nutrition and it's about the sh*ttiest foods out there. PLUS!!! They get PAID each time they sell Hills, etc.



Just wanted to point that out.



"I would seriously think before mocking a trained professional. She is a veterinarian and a professional dog shower. Don't you think she would know what she's talking about when it comes to nutrition?"



So, if you have a BYB who just breeds dogs because they also earn money for it. That means they know EVERYTHING about breeding, and not getting scammed? Because, they ARE a breeder, after all, they must know EVERYTHING!!



Uh huh.



Nope, NOT how it works. *I* show dogs, *I* worked at a Vet Clinic, *I* know what most Vets are thinking. They do NOT sell HEALTHY stuff that WON'T put money in their pockets. They're good for medical advise for pets, and that is ALL. END OF!



I also feed Prey Model, and have found internet searches more helpful then bullsh*tting Vets on nutrition. Now, I don't bash anyone who doesn't feed raw. There are MANY high quality dog foods that should be fed, Raw Feeding takes lots of research time & money.

Answer 6

many vets are on the pay roll of huge feed companies like Eukanuba.

Personally I would never feed Eukanuba because of the dodgy ethics of the company and the experiments they do on dogs to test dog food (such as making test dogs obese or giving puppies allergies so they can test the effectiveness of food before killing and doing an autopsy on them).



Vets are offered huge commissions for pushing a company's dog food, because everyone TRUSTS their vet to do things for the good of their pet but vets are human too and many make a nice retirement on these pet food handouts.



I feed my dogs a mix of white fish and rice dry food and home prepared food.

It works for my dogs.



Before I chose my dry food I asked around a lot to see if people where happy with it. I found many sites that where unhappy with brands like Eukanuba and Hills Science Diet...they very ones we always see in vets offices.



If my vet tried to push me into buying their food I would find another vet. THAT one wouldn;t have the best interests of my dogs at heart.



EDIT @Jesus is the Reason they are vets NOT nutritionists. If you have a nutrition problem you don't see your GP do you! Feed comapnies play up to the fact that lots fo people , like you, are happy to blindly follow "professionals".

Answer 7

I think most vets are like that.. sadly.. I work for a vet and I love him. Don't get me wrong.. But they don't know much about nutrition. and everything they are taught is by the companies who benefit from their knowledge, sad but true..



Everyone at my work cringes at the thought of Raw diets.. The are very closed minded. We do have a wonderful vet that comes in when our vet is on his hikes and camping trips and she is AWESOME! She knows all about holistic medicine and raw diets. She also does acupuncture for our clients.. We all love her.



Nutrition is just one of those things people have to learn for themselves and make their own judgments.. And find a vet who view things similarly, because they are out there..



***I would also like to ad that in the 2.5 years I have worked for my vet I have not seen 1 dog come in due to a Raw diet illness.

And I think the only reason a dog would be unhealthy with a raw diet is because it is not being done right...I personally feed kibble because i can't afford, nor do i have the time to feed raw (I'm lucky if I make our family a well balanced meal everyday.)

Answer 8

Yes, because clearly the diet that dogs evolved on and lived on for many centuries is not good for them. Chemicals, waste, and who knows what else they put into commercial dog pellets that haven't been around for more than two centuries at most is much better.



Thus the reason I have yet to take my dogs to a vet who actually pushes for me to use a certain brand more than once.

Answer 9

She has her own agenda there and its a lot to do with a sponsored pay packet from pet food companies - they probably provide all her own dogs feeds too, saving her money.......



Most vets have no education or wish to study canine nutrition or feline nutrition. Apart from the literature the pet food companies provide them with.



Clearly she has never tried feeding a dog that way or studied the subject objectively. I don't credit her advice at all.



ADD, 'Come on, where's our natural common sense? I'll tell you; it's been advertised out of us.' I think she meant to write my not our and me instead of us!



That article is a load of utter crap, she does not know what she is talking about and I would not have her as my pets vet. She even seems manic in her descriptions.....full of self importance and a belief that we should all do, say, think, buy what the massive corporations of the world tell us, because they have done biased research and published parts of it the want us to see.





@ Jesus is the reason; The books on the right hand side pane of this link were written by a vet (TRAINED PROFESSIONAL) http://rawmeatybones.com/ Clearly better educated in canine nutrition than that idiot. If people want to feed kibble, fine. If they want to feed raw, fine. But they can make up thier own minds. She is full of sh*t



The reason she is laughing all the way to the bank is because they have (apparently) made money from the dog being raw fed (kibble fed dogs only need to go in once a year for vaccinations according to her article - if thats not a blatant lie....) just as she would be laughing all the way to the bank if you were buying your dog food from her.



ADDED;' TJ, thats not exactly an old dog is it! Actually my dog compares pretty damn well and I think you took that a bit far, really, the link would have been enough. As I mentioned, you can feed kibble or raw but people can make their own informed choices. Purina is actually better than a few brands but still utter crap IMO. If you want to feed it, feed it, but it wont go in my dogs mouth.



ADDED; its also important for owners feeding raw/prey model to remember that other than the 'guidelines' dogs vary, for example, I know a dog that went very thin on prey model but with a little carbs added thrived. Yet that dog did not thrive on any so called 'complete' dog food. Some genuinley don't need carbs daily, others will.





@ TJ, conformation and health can be mainly down to GENETICS then overall condition through care. Feed Purina all you want but I won't change how I'm feeding my dog just because your dog is fed on it and entered into conformation shows. Since I feed raw I do not buy dental treats or treatments from the vet, my dogs dont need anal glands emptied at the vet EVER and they have fresh breath everyday, coat condition second to none, don't have that 'doggy smell' from wet coats either and yes they also are placed in conformation shows.....the point there is?

Not that they need to be I have people comment in the street at the great 'shiny coat' condition, 'very fit looking' muscle tone and 'white teeth' so why would I switch to Purina.

If you think I'm stupid enough to feed my dog based on what the board of Agriculture recommends (yes an authoring organisation in that book) then you are VERY WRONG (not that agriculture, corn field, cheap filller, pet food would happen to be connected in any way!..sarcasm btw) yep, unless they now farm dogs to ultimate health and can give the recipe? Thought not.



This really is the last time I will comment on your post. For people that want to feed kibble, go ahead but don't expect me to switch to feeding that to my pets regardless of what hobbies you partake in with your dog.



ADDED; Even if a vet buys food in at wholesale and sells usual retail price, they are still making a profit from it. Hence why they would sell it to you and not tell you to go online and order the food. (yes you can get a prescription from them and even buy the meds online cheaper now too - but they won't tell you that and there are plenty reputable companies selling online that way)

Answer 10

i'm a student geared toward health (RN) and even as a student I get mail from pharm companies with info on their drug and seminar dates for me to attend all expenses paid, and learn about why their pill is so great. The same goes for vets and drugs AND food (there is prescription dog food Hills, Purina and Royal Canin, that I know of, but not limited to what vets push and profit from)



You got some good answers, and as usual some terrible answers from the same people who refuse to admit at their dogs expense that they feed poorly.



Look into how the Delta society (one of the 2 major national therapy dog organizations) has BANNED raw fed dogs from being therapy dogs ever since Purina became on the board. It's the same reason why some vets won't see raw fed dogs. They use bullying to get their way, to gain. These vets are ignorant. They may laugh to the bank, ignorance is bliss, but they think they are right, because they get paid by Hill's to believe it.



So all I'll add besides that, is this site:

http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/vindication.html

Answer 11

i read till she supported purina and eukanuba and i knew this was not a reputable vet ... more like a vet on the purina/eukanuba payroll ... i can see some vets being against the diet because they do see the reality of some results of the diet ... my own vet supports barf and home cooked diets, but he does not support the prey model because he sees regularly the health problems associated with it ... such as malnutrition from lack of varied nutrients, it happened to my dog after only 8 months on the prey model diet ... and the fact that the vet laughed as you said "at the expense of the pets" just shows she is a business person first and a vet second ... sadly many vets start the profession as animal lovers and very quickly must become business people to survive ... and in reality, the vet may be making money, but it is the owner who put their dog in that situation with the food they have chosen for the dog ... but i think is is callous and rude for that "vet" to laugh ... and i am not sure where you are finding overwhelming evidence that supports the raw diet ... when i google and look around, it is more controversy now than ever with more studies being done ... it is not the end all/be all of pet nutrition ... and has actually been likened to a fad diet that is slowly loosing momentum with claims of malnutrition and damage and blockages from ingesting bone fragments .... don't get me wrong, i have a friend with two dogs on the prepared raw food diet with fruits and veggies and supplements added and her dogs are healthy ... their teeth are as white as puppies ... so i think there are good things about the diet if done correctly, but like people who turn vegetarian, the majority do not eat a balanced diet, and i think it is the same for raw diets, if you do not get the ones with other ingredients and supplements it is highly likely the dog is not eating a balanced diet ... and the prepared raw food packages, my friend pays more in a month for her dogs to eat than she does for herself ... so to be done correctly needs time, money and research ... most of the time dog owners would prefer to spend time on anything else than raw meat ...

Answer 12

She doesn't sound like any vet I know or would want to know. I would like a REAL vet's opinion on the raw food diet. I've never used it because I'm concerned about 1) worms, and 2) the fact that we're raising domestic dogs ("pets" for over 100,000 years) and not wild canids. Can they really digest raw meat the way a wolf could?



I feed my dogs pet store brands or Pedigree, which seems to agree with them. Science Diet and Iams both used to be good dog foods, until they started marketing to supermarkets. Now they are just as bad (or worse) than the regular crap on the supermarket shelves. When you sell in supermarkets, the product has to have a seven-year shelf life, I've heard. I can't even guess how many preservatives they put in there, or how much nutritional compromise it entails. I don't buy those brands any more.



I keep my dogs thin, and add fish oil and greenbeans to their diet, along with pet probiotics on occasion. I feed them two (maybe three) very small meals every day so they won't get bloated.



I think Science Diet still makes vet-quality products for specialized diets (kidney, intestine, etc.). I used to feed my old dog I/D for easy digestion, but when I ran out I used rice and eggs, which seemed to work just as well.

Answer 13

Nestle' bought out Purina so it is a pet food division of Nestle now and not the same as when it was solely Purina.



On the raw foods . Well it is a health concern for the public.Vets often are on the lookout for potentially zoonotic issues that would affect the human public. This is a possible potential risk so they will discourage people from doing things that would potentially become a public health risk from pets.

Well there are some issues. If a pet is always at home and does not have contact with the public, zoonotitic issues would not be as big a health risk for the humans elsewhere. Owners can take precautions in how they handle their personal dog's raw food to avoid Salmonella and E. coli cross contamination along with various other bacterial issues one can get from handling tripe and other raw meat products. And they can take due care to properly dispose of the dog's feces and decontaminate the ground .



But for animals used for pet therapy with persons who have compromised immune systems there would be a risk .

article on this-

BARF and other raw meat diets banned for therapy pets



Why is the Delta Society banning BARF and other raw meat diets?



Among the concerns relative to feeding BARF and other raw meat diets is a tendency for pets consuming the diets to pass enteric pathogens (bacteria in the intestinal tract that can cause disease), such as Salmonella and E. coli. Pets which are shedding these pathogens may appear perfectly healthy themselves. However, there is concern that certain individuals, particularly the very young, elderly or immunocompromised individuals, may be more susceptible to developing disease when introduced to these pathogens. Unfortunately, these at-risk groups make up a large portion of the people who are visited by these therapy animals. For this reason, the Delta Society believes it to be in the best interest of the patients to ban pets consuming these BARF and other raw meat diets from their program.

Answer 14

While there are vets that are against feeding raw/home cooked there are also many that don't have a problem with it as long as it is done correctly..there in lies the problem...many people do not feed raw or home cooked correctly.Because of the lack of balance many dogs do suffer nutritional deficiency. I know the vets i work for aren't against raw/home cooked but do tell people if they are going to go this direction make sure they learn all they can and make sure it is nutritionally balanced.



As far as vets getting bonuses, etc for selling certain foods...not true. Vets must buy the foods they sell at wholesale just like any other pet businesses that sell food and they sell at retail. They do not sign any kind of contract with any food company nor are they encouraged to do so while in school. They also have to take no less then 1 semester on nutrition, however this class is general in nature and takes in everything from cats to rats, dogs to hogs.(Vets ARE required to take nutrition classes in school!! and they must pass the nutrition portion on the national and state boards in order to become licensed and no these questions have nothing ot do with any food company)They aren't trained in school to push any particular product..It should be realized that Hill's was one of the very first companies to offer prescription foods for pets with special needs hence the reason that vets have sold their product for years.Now there is Royal Canin, Purina, Eukanuba and a couple of others that also produce & sell prescription foods. Vets are free to sell any or none. There are many vets that sell foods such as Solid Gold, Wysong, Wellness among other quality foods.

As for the AAFCO they don't mean quality in food and there endorsement/label means little other then the fact that the dog will sustain life on a particular food, nothing more.



******Purina doesn't make their own products. They are owned and operated by Nestle foods. All of the foods such as Hill's, Pedigree, IAMS/Eukanuba, etc are owned & run by companies such as Mars, Proctor & Gamble, Colgate/Palmolive, etc.*********

****I've been a vet tech for almost 38 years and I've yet to see any vet or vet staff get any kind of commission, bonus, perk, etc for selling certain foods. What I have seen is the thousands of dollars that a vet practice must spend to get these foods wholesale so they can be sold retail..oh and did I mention the companies dictate how much the food can be sold for retail so they regualate the amount made..whoopie such a profit, lol...lucky if a couple of $$ are made per bag..really doesn't make it worth selling and most likely wouldn't if it wasn't for the prescription foods...if people think perks are those $10 off the largest bag the company sells that are offered to staff a couple of times a year then whoohoo lets do a happy dance over that perk!!!*****

******I don't feed any of the grocery brands of food and of the 10 techs I work with only one does and none of the vets do. We also sell Wellness and have recipies for homecooked diets*******

Answer 15

AAFCO standards really are a joke. It is unbelievable to me that these companies are allowed to sell all this poison to our pets. I just recently learned about how awful all these dog food ingredients really can be. For those of you who are still defending these huge companies and are willing to trust the life of your pet to them, I urge you to watch this video made by a group of holistic vets. Not all Vets know nothing about nutrition but it is hard to find a good one.

http://www.k9criticalcare.com/news/30/Holistic-Vet-Video.html

Answer 16

I totally grasp the point of this question...but just to let you know Science Diet was NOT involved in the recall a few years back...I know because I used to feed Science Diet....NEVER had any problems with it, but about a year ago I switched to Chicken Soup because it has better ingredients & is cheaper.



Purina, again I have no problems with Purina either, other than one of my dogs has issues with the Pro Plan line.



Yes, there are several Vet's simply out for your money...it's a profession just like anything else. Specialists sit around & make thousands of dollars an hour for surgeries your dog may or may NOT need. The buck doesn't stop with nutrition.



I think people just need to quit worrying about what other people choose to feed their dogs & just worry about what's best for their own dogs.



ETA-What the hell did I say to deserve the hate...honestly for you who often MISunderstand...I'm not siding with anyone just stating my opinion...on how VETS & other dog owners included need to stop worrying what others feed their dogs.



No wonder all the users with a BRAIN leave this site eventually...I'm almost to that point myself.

Answer 17

Vets are usually on the SD payroll. lol

Answer 18

To start with, ". Is that why the foods that were involved in the 2007 recall were all produced by the largest pet food manufacturers?" IS NO TRUE. The foods involved in that recall (melamine) were all produced by a processing plant in Canada and sold under many different labels. Purina produces their own products, and was NOT involved in that recall !



And yes, I know several vets (including mine) that will no longer see dogs that are being fed RAW diets (pray drive to be specific). They say that it simply is not worth the argument that is inevitable when they tell the owner that their dog is malnourished.



"I understand many veterinarians have an agenda. They get bonuses for peddling certain brands of dogs foods" THIS ALSO IS NOT TRUE. Vets make the same profit on a bag of dog food as any other dog food outlet, and they are free to stock any product that they choose. The reason that many stock the same brand is because of the PRESCRIPTION formulas made by that company. Otherwise most wouldn't stock ANY dog foods period!



NOW:

There is nothing wrong with feeding RAW, provided that you do your homework FIRST !!

What I personally object to is people using their dog for a damn test tube! That simply is unethical and animal abuse in my opinion.



Look at the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profile, that is the absolute minimum that any dogs diet, RAW or otherwise, should contain. You simply can not leave things out!



Here is a list of products recalled in 2007

ALPO

Americas Choice, Preferred Pet

Authority

Award

Berkley & Jenson (Salmonella)

Best Choice

Big Bet

Big Red

Bloom

Blue Buffalo (RICE GLUTEN)

Bruiser

Cadillac

Canine Caviar Pet Foods (RICE GLUTEN)

Champion Breed Lg Biscuit

Champion Breed Peanut Butter Biscuits

Co-Op Gold

Companion

Companion's Best Multi-Flavor Biscuit

Compliments

Costco/Kirkland Signature (RICE GLUTEN)

Demoulas Market Basket

Diamond Pet Food

Diamond Pet Food (RICE GLUTEN)

Doctors Foster & Smith

Doctors Foster & Smith (RICE GLUTEN)

Dollar General

Eight In One Inc (Salmonella)

Eukanuba Can Dog Chunks in Gravy

Eukanuba Pouch Dog Bites in Gravy

Food Lion

Giant Companion

Gravy Train

Grreat Choice

Hannaford

Happy Tails

Harmony Farms (RICE GLUTEN)

Harmony Farms Treats (RICE GLUTEN)

Health Diet Gourmet Cuisine

Hill Country Fare

Hy Vee

Hy-Vee

Iams Can Chunky Formula

Iams Can Small Bites Formula

Iams Dog Select Bites

Jerky Treats Beef Flavored Dog Snacks

La Griffe

Laura Lynn

Loving Meals

Mars Petcare US Inc (Salmonella)

Master Choice

Meijer's Main Choice

Mighty Dog

Mixables

Mulligan Stew Pet Food (RICE GLUTEN)

Natural Balance (RICE GLUTEN)

Natural Life

Natural Way

Nu Pet

Nutriplan

Nutro

Nutro - Ultra

Nutro Max

Nutro Natural Choice

Nuture

Ol' Roy

Ol' Roy 4-Flavor Lg Biscuits

Ol' Roy Canada

Ol' Roy Peanut Butter Biscuits

Ol' Roy Puppy

Ol'Roy (Salmonella)

Ol'Roy US

Ol'Roy US (Salmonella)

Paws

Perfect Pals Large Biscuits

Performatrin Ultra

Pet Essentials

Pet Life

Pet Pride / Good n Meaty

Petrapport Inc. (Salmonella)

Presidents Choice

Price Chopper

Priority Canada

Priority US

Publix

Roche Brothers

Royal Canin (RICE GLUTEN)

Royal Canin Veterinary Diet (RICE GLUTEN)

Save-A-Lot Choice Morsels

Schnuck's

Schnucks

Shep

Shep Dog

Shop Rite

SmartPak (RICE GLUTEN)

Springfield Prize

Sprout

Stater Brothers

Stater Brothers Large Biscuits

Stop & Shop Companion

T.W. Enterpriese (Salmonella)

Tops Companion

Triumph

Truly

Weis Total Pet

Western Family Canada

Western Family US

White Rose

Winn Dixie

Your Pet

(notice that Purina and Hills Science Diet are NOT listed)



Oh , and this is a Purina fed dog

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp43/blunderpic/dogs/unoincup.jpg

How does your dog compare?



edit:

"" Purina published information that they had taken dogs conforming to their definition of perfect weight, and cut their food consumption by 25%. The dogs on 25% less food lived on average two years longer..."



In other words, feed them less garbage and they live longer."



No, it means this;

" because of concern that overnutrition, rather than undernutrition, is a bigger problem with many pet foods today."

http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/ucm047120.htm



edit:

"Vets shouldn't be in the nutrition business unless they're also licensed nutritionists.



"Look at the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient"



AAFCO standards are a joke."



First question ; and your PhD in animal neutrition is from?????



Next; it's AAFCO "Nutrient Profile" as listed by the FDA.

(ain't no joke)



Next; the day that you think that your dogs are in better condition than my 'poor ole Purina fed dogs', there is a show ring near you where you can prove it!

10 years old and still winning (2008 National Specialty)

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp43/blunderpic/dogs/freestack.jpg



edit:

I should add that I don't push any particular dog food product, because there are many ways to properly feed a dog. (even tho' I do have my personal preference)

Instead what I suggest is that people see if their local library or local Aggy College has this book. http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10668 and find out what a dog actually needs for proper nutrition. The book does not endorse any product or method of feeding. It simply states exactly what a dog needs in it's diet (and why), with discriptions of all of the ways that those needs can be met.

(it was the text book that was used when I took a class on pet nutrition at USU)



edit:

"Just wanted to mention this to TJ who made the claim that Purina was not in that recall. Alpo is a Purina product. Purina makes lots of different pet foods but they don't all have "Purina" in the name."



Nestlies owns Alpo, but the Purina division of Nestlies does not produce their products. Again; the Alpo product that was recalled was produced by the same company in Canada, and sold under the Alpo name. That entire recall was caused by a plant in China that added melamine to wheat gluten to up it's protein content.

Answer 19

A Veterinarian goes to college for at least 7 years studying this. She would clearly have the knowledge, don't you think?



I read a little bit of this and she has a point. Although laughing about it is pretty harsh, she is a TRAINED PROFESSIONAL.



I would seriously think before mocking a trained professional. She is a veterinarian and a professional dog shower. Don't you think she would know what she's talking about when it comes to nutrition?