dog and cat nutrition. To believe vets or not

[bock]

Quote:
I looked at that site and it seems to have really good suggestions. I looked on the page about the Rabies Vaccine, and now I am SCARED for Bella, my other cat. She is one year old and my mom just scheduled the appointment with the same vet to get her 3 year Rabies vaccine. She is a house cat, she rarely goes outside, except when we take her in back yard, but she is always supervised. She already had her one year Rabies shot, and I have heard the Feline Leukemia shot and the Rabies shot are known to cause cancer. I really want to be a vet one day, and I think I should be a holistic vet. They seem to truly care about your pets.

 

[chickerdoodle]

Fortunately, there are many good veterinarians now who do not advoacte vaccinating as often or poor diets such as Science Diet. My vet takes into consideration the pet's lifestyle and can even do vaccine titers to see if vaccinations are needed. I feel lucky that they are open minded and offer both Eastern and Western medicine.

I recommend you to check all the local vets and find out their routine vaccine schedule and philosophies.

 

[Smoky73]

here is another good link www.dogfoodproject.com


I feed my dogs the lamb and rice only because my older and biggest dog has some allergies and they seem to do very well on it. I felt too pressured with the science diet from the vets and one of the main ingredients is corn. Iams also, a main ingredient is corn. Whenever my dogs get a hold of chicken feed (the big dog) she gets diahrrea and she sleeps with us so I wake up to a ungodlike stink and a mess in the bed. NEVER AGAIN does she get corn anyting.

My old cat was on the Special Kitty food for his urinary problems, it was better than trying to get a pill down his throat every day, but after the Flint River, he did do very well.

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

While I think most Veterinarians try and do the right thing, I also think they are too quick to stop learning about some areas of pet care/medicine. "I have my degree, what more do I need to know?" -- that type of attitude. Nutrition isn't part of their regular study (though it should be!!) nor is behavioral stuff. It boggles my mind to think that pet food and pet behavior aren't taken more seriously.


I think the grain free/carb alternative foods are the best. I like foods that contain sweet potatoes, potatoes, peas and other carb high veggies. I now feed Taste of the Wild, High Prarie formula with venison and buffalo. My GSD, Foenix has never looked better. He's finally able to keep an extra 4-6 pounds on him that he needed. I used to feed Pinnacle, which his breeder feeds. It is another very high quality and expensive food. But my dog does the VERY BEST with TOTW. My dog now looks like an adult shepherd instead of a skinny teenager. LOL

To the OP: I would go with your gut and pocket book. Get the best quality food you can comfortabley afford, do your research and then leave the Vet out of it.

 

[Riocotesei]

I have really enjoyed everyone's input on this subject. I am engrossed in dog nutrition and everywhere I go I look at dog food labels and get opinions of the people that sell it. While I don't claim to know all, I'm trying and do the best I can.
I am feeding Taste of the Wild to my dogs along with other non grain dog foods and am very happy with it.
I feel that the vet you spoke to was very closed-minded and like many vets I've met, don't like to be told they're wrong or be corrected.
My Ag teacher took animal nutrition in college and it was her main study. She knows that vets don't get enough nutrition taught as she is also a vet tech.
I think if you choose to be a vet of cats and dogs there should be some nutrition courses set just for that type of thing. It's crazy to have 8 years of college and not be taught all the things you would need to know to help care for peoples pets. Nutrition is a BIG deal. Most of the time people can't even get it right for themselves, let alone take the time to learn about their dogs'.
I got a pamphlet from a feed store guy that there is a new "line" from Purina, a non corn/soy/wheat food. Holistic, if you will. It looks pretty good, but I wonder what the prices will be?
It's funny to me that employees at a pet store and at various feedstores know more about dog food nutrition and products than a vet does.
Anyways I feel like I'm babbling but I'm glad you created this subject Bock.
I myself wanted to, but did not know if the subject was exhausted from potentially many other similar ideas.

Is there a website that shows what a dog needs as in how many carbs are best or how much protein is best ect? I'd love to read up about that.

 

[dntd]

Our vet advicates for sience diet too. I got the same response as th OP, this guy is cheaper though so we stick with him. My cat`s eat just normal cat kibnble, one is 8 years never ,ever any vet issues, the other is a stray so IDK if there was any prior to adopting us. We really pay attention to the ogs iets though as ogs are more prone to have medical issues, they get merrick`s new cheaper line( basically a mix of meats like bision) an have done good on it so far an it`s a `cheaper`holistic.

 

[halo]

Vets are not nutritionists, just like nutritionist are not vets. You can learn as much as your vet knows about dog nutrition, and much more, just be reading information here on the internet. The trick is to be sure you are reading unbiased websites, simply those which state facts.

I know everyone says that corn based diets are fine, and the dogs on it look and act fine. They probably do. I do know of more problems in dogs that are fed these diets, however. I feed raw and TOTW, and am very happy with how everyone is doing on it.

I don't think Ive ever been in a vets office that doesnt have Science Diet signs up. They must get a really deep cut on it, is all I can say.

 

[teach1rusl]

If the only choices of dogfood out there were some of these topshelf brands, many animals would go hungry, many more would be euthanized, and/or many more would be placed in pounds, because most folks can't afford to spend $50 on a 30lb bag of dog food that may last a week or two. I use to feed Purina One, and my vet told me that was fine, based on the condition of my dogs. I don't like being "guilted" into buying super expensive dog foods.
To help cut down on grocery expenses, we've cut way back on meat in our family, AND I frequently buy generic/store brand. Heck, WE'RE (the human part of our family) not getting top shelf brands ourselves...lol. It's nice that some people can easily afford those "better" brands, just as it's nice that some people eat steak at home fairly often and go out to nice restaurants once a week or more (we don't).
Now, having researched, I do pay more attention to the first few ingredients of my dog's food now, and look for fillers that I'd rather avoid. So I have moved away from what I use to feed my dogs, but I would go back to Purina One in a heartbeat if our income dropped much.
Also, my dogs LOVE corn on the cob, as well as several other vegetable "fillers."

 

[TiaView]

Grocery store foods are filled with chemicals and fillers. They spend money on advertising, not quality ingredients. Dog foods that are sold in pet supply stores that don't spend money on advertising are usually much higher in quality. TOTW, Innova, Evo, Prairie, raw feeding and HEALTHY table food, (meats, veggies, cheeses) are better than anything you can buy from a vet that gets a kickback from selling corn based food. AFSCO allows a certain amount of filler to be put into dog food. That filler can be brick dust and feathers! So, get an education before you buy something a vet recommends, or you take a bag off the grocery store shelf. (Sidebar) a dogs digestive system is nine times faster than a humans, so if you give veggies and fruit it is better to grind them. They absorb more nutrients this way. Also, vets tell people not to feed table food because they get tired of all the fat dogs that live on pepperoni and potato chips. Use common sense. If it isn't good for you don't let your dog live on it. But vets throw the baby out with the bathwater.

We show some of the top dogs in the Country and we mostly feed raw. But we also give lots of healthy foods and super high premium dry food and UNCOOKED bones, too. We raise very healthy dogs. Almost never need a vet and certainly not for dietary reasons. If you look up ethoxyquin (the poison they use to preserve Science Diet) you'd have to wonder how these vets sleep at night. It's a rubber stabilizer used in tires with a toxicity level of 3 on a scale of 1-6!

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Science diet is crud. The only reason vets will sell it is because they get kickbacks from the company.

I'll stick with Taste of the wild and Diamond Naturals, thank you.