"That stuff is bad for your dog ya know" says the vet

[juliefurry]

So I had to take Hannah into the vets today, luckily ours has Saturday appointments. She hurt her hip...agian. So the vets looking her over, checking everything (teeth, eyes, ears, hip movement, etc.) and remarks "ya know I didn't think it was possible but I definetely notice Hannah is looking better since her last visit you are taking such good care of her." So he goes on to ask what I had changed her diet to and as soon as I mentioned raw he gave me this look like I was the STUPIDEST person on the planet (which I may be but that's one look I didn't expect to see from my vet) . He shuts the exam room door all the way and sits down all serious and goes "Julie, you do know that stuff is bad for your dog." Then he goes on to give me this thirty minute lecture on "proper" foods to feed Hannah (Science Diet, Eukanuba, etc). I just let it go in one ear and out the other smiled and said "thank you for the information but she enjoys her diet and you yourself noted her improvements from last visit so I think she'll stick to what she's on now."

I just don't get it and obviously will have to find another doctor who agrees with my way of feeding as well which sucks because I really like my vet besides his obvious disagreement of the foods that I feed to her. But hey atleast I did get a FREE bad of Science Diet today and a candle too (but I love the candles that they have there so I'm happy about that one ).

 

[~Jessie~]

I'm sorry about Hannah's hip

I always try to avoid the topic of foods with my vet. She tries to push Science Diet on me... and says that it is even what she feeds HER dogs (so it must be good, right?). When I told her what I feed my dogs (Timberwolf Organics/Nature's Variety raw), she said "Does the word Diamond mean anything to you?!?" I explained to her that it was a bacteria that grew in the corn... and I do not feed dog foods with corn. Anyway...

At least you got a cool candle from them

 

[Alexa's~Mom]

Ugh, I don't understand people like that. I mean, back in the day, we didn't have kibbles for dogs, so they were fed raw. That's all they ate. They were fine then on it, maybe even better, and they'll be fine now.

I'm sorry, but nothing is better to get nutrients from than the real thing.

 

[vanillasugar]

This is why I'm so happy to have a vet who completley supports my raw feeding. I can't wait to get a dog, and know my vet will be completley supportive of the decisions that I make regarding it's diet!

 

[tessa_s212]

My vet has no nutritional knowledge at all either. So far the topic of dog food has never come up. Though, he did tell us that we should put one of our dogs on Science Diet.. I made sure my mom didn't know.

 

[juliefurry]

Well I'm not saying that feeding kibble is wrong but I think that my vet should have discussed the raw feeding a little more...professionally.

 

[Maxy24]

I'm afraid when i go to the vet with my dog and tell her i switched to Natural Balance she will say it's not a very good food and what we feeding before is better(pedigree) and then say the best food is Science Diet(because science diet sponsors them). My parents don't know anything about nutrition either and think vet the vet must be right because they know more about animals than me. I just hope they don't make max switch back.

 

[Brattina88]

I'm sorry to hear that... that would be so irritating!

I'm so glad my vet supports my choice of Eagle Pack, Canidae, or Innova EVO

 

[BostonBanker]

I'm really curious to see how my vet reacts to feeding the raw diet. I know she just bought a puppy from a breeder who feeds raw, and when I was there last year, she nodded approvingly when I said I was feeding Innova.

You got a free candle for sitting through a 30 minute lecture? I'm not sure, but you may have gotten the short end of the stick .

 

[tessa_s212]

I'm afraid when i go to the vet with my dog and tell her i switched to Natural Balance she will say it's not a very good food and what we feeding before is better(pedigree) and then say the best food is Science Diet(because science diet sponsors them). My parents don't know anything about nutrition either and think vet the vet must be right because they know more about animals than me. I just hope they don't make max switch back.

Explain to your parents that vets get absolutely zero nutritional training in school. And the only "training" they do get is representatives from companies such as Science Diet bribing and convincing them that their food is a good food. Also show your parents www.dogfoodproject.com And show them all the BAD ingredients in the foods.

 

[DanL]

I know it's frustrating when your vet does that. We changed vets, not because of the food lecture, but because her staff was incompetent. She was the anti raw type too. Our new vet, while not a pro-raw vet, accepts that it's a good diet and understands why people use it, so at least we don't get the lectures.

 

[showpug]

My vet always asks what I feed, but knows better than to tell me to switch, lol.

 

[juliefurry]

You got a free candle for sitting through a 30 minute lecture? I'm not sure, but you may have gotten the short end of the stick .

These candles are awesome! The one that I get everytime I'm in smells SO good. It makes it smell great down here.

I do like my vet and don't want to switch I have a feeling he won't give me the additude anymore though since I did stick up for myself. I told him I would like to switch Holly as well, or atleast supplement with raw, and told him Holly didn't do well on it and he said "well I wouldn't really want to eat that stuff either."

 

[Debi]

I wouldn't bother discussing diet with my vet. it's none of his biz what I feed. it's only his biz to handle medical care. at least I have a vet that doesn't push or sell any food...I love that much about him.

(I'd mention it if it pertained to a particular medical problem, which would be unlikely. but then again, it's none of my doc's biz what I eat either. LOL )

 

[StealthDog]

Explain to your parents that vets get absolutely zero nutritional training in school. And the only "training" they do get is representatives from companies such as Science Diet bribing and convincing them that their food is a good food.

THIS IS NOT TRUE. I will try to repeat this every time I see it. YES, in the past vets received little nutritional training. As a new student, I will have two required semesters of nutrition, plus I can opt to take an elective course. NO, Hills does NOT teach our course. We are taught by a professor, just like all our other classes. Our text is Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, 4th ed.

I agree that there are lots of vets who believe you get what you pay for with dog food, and lots of vets who don't know nutrition. Lots of those vets were also trained that dogs and cats don't need pain management after spays and neuters. Things change. Please stop lying about how vets are trained today.

 

[whatszmatter]

Its not really lying. I'm sure if vet school is anything like other professional schools the influence on what is taught to you now about nutrition is under a much much greater influence of companies like "Hill's" than you'd care to admit or probably even believe.

In the Rockefeller's heyday, what they wanted taught in med schools was taught, and what research wasn't showing what they wanted, they pulled funding, its no different today, and I doubt its different for vet schools.

 

[StealthDog]

okay fine. obviously you guys know more about this than i do. i give up. bye bye chaz, this is my last post.

 

[juliefurry]

THIS IS NOT TRUE. I will try to repeat this every time I see it. YES, in the past vets received little nutritional training. As a new student, I will have two required semesters of nutrition, plus I can opt to take an elective course. NO, Hills does NOT teach our course. We are taught by a professor, just like all our other classes. Our text is Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, 4th ed.

I agree that there are lots of vets who believe you get what you pay for with dog food, and lots of vets who don't know nutrition. Lots of those vets were also trained that dogs and cats don't need pain management after spays and neuters. Things change. Please stop lying about how vets are trained today.

Well, just out of curiousity, what kind of nutritional teaching do they do in these classes? Do they teach about alternative foods other than kibble? Do they talk about feeding raw or cooked diets to your pets, instead of a completely kibble or canned, or moist food diet?

 

[Herschel]

Well, just out of curiousity, what kind of nutritional teaching do they do in these classes? Do they teach about alternative foods other than kibble? Do they talk about feeding raw or cooked diets to your pets, instead of a completely kibble or canned, or moist food diet?

Julie,

I don't think their classes revolve around types of diets. Rather, I believe they learn about nutritional adequacy and deficiency.

http://www.amazon.com/Small-Animal-...0945837054/ref=pd_sim_b_2/102-1919498-3780139

One of the reviews says, "There is an entire chapter dedicated to homemade pet food and all the considerations that are required if you are going to undertake such an endeavor. There is far more to it than I realized to make certain that your animal is getting all the nutrients that they require for good health."

The publisher: http://www.markmorris.org

 

[StealthDog]

julie- responding because I really appreciate your question. Thanks!!

The course I've taken (priniciples of nutrition) was an introductory course, and it covered small and large animal nutrition, so it was pretty basic. We covered how to formulate a ration for large animals and how to analyze a cat or dog diet as far as appropriateness of food, amount, body condition, etc. The majority of our lectures were, as Herschel said, focused on nutrient deficiencies and toxicities. We did have a lecture each about protein, fat, and fiber/carbs. We had a lecture about AAFCO regulations and labelling. We had lectures about horse, swine, and small ruminant nutrition, and several about cattle/dairy cow nutrition. And yes, we did talk about various feeding methods and the pros/cons of each. Our professor admitted that she does not believe raw feeding is safe, as she has seen dogs become very ill from salmonella and e.coli infections, and she sees no additional benefit from feeding raw versus feeding homecooked. She said quality of homecooked diets is indeed higher than kibble, and homecooked can be altered to address specific health issues in ways that kibble diets cannot. However, she does not recommend homecooked for the majority of owners, because the majority will not bother to ensure that their diets are well-balanced. She has seen many diets and recipes provided in books that, if used long-term, will lead to nutrient deficiencies. She has seen some awful cases of homemade diets gone bad. If an owner is willing to do the work and research, she says homecooked is the best quality diet you can get. We also talked about the controversies surrounding veterinary advice about nutrition- obviously it can be a very large component of animal health, but is it appropriate to sell non-prescription pet food in the vet clinic? Is it appropriate for vets to recommend brands? We also talked about the myths surrounding dog and cat food as well, including "Dogs are carnivores" and "Vets get paid by pet food companies to sell their food".

We also get a lot of nutrition incorporated into our other courses- biochem, physiology, etc.