dog and cat nutrition. To believe vets or not

[TanithT]

Quote:
I don't know what they do in Alaska. I'm just reporting on what's been done in the zoos I've worked in, feeding the whole-prey analogue rather than whole prey, to avoid the mess that tends to get left in cages after a whole prey feeding. Some species are neater than others about eating it all, but it's generally easier all around to go with the prepared zoo diet which is basically ground-up animal minus the gut contents.

Wild canids do chew some grasses for fiber, and I'm thinking that plant material is lacking enough in very cold climates that a concentrated source of them (eg, in a moose stomach) might be where they preferentially get their fairly minimal needs satisfied. In milder climates, wild as well as captive canids in outdoor enclosures can readily obtain abundant grasses and green plant material.

The contents of a moose's stomach are very unlikely to be corn or grain, so the Alaska wolves are basically grass eating if they consume any of the moose ingesta. This behavior would make sense if this is essentially their best opportunity to eat grass in pre-harvested form.

 

[bock]

I wasn't suggesting feeding food with corn in it, I just was wondering if there is such thing as food with high quality grains in it, if they need it. But since it seems that they don't I will stick with a grain free food.

So do you think TOTW, Blue Buffalo, or Wellness is the best for dogs and cats? And is there such thing as TOTW wet food? I went to Petco today, and bought the dogs and cats a can of Wellness wet food each. They really like it, but it is much more expensive. And finally, should they eat a 100% wet food diet, or a 50/50 of wet and dry? Is it more expensive to buy both? Sorry for all the questions.

And, I am taking care of neighbors cats,dogs, and watering her lawn and plants for a week. They are going to pay me $70!

I think I am off to a good start, but I have to find something more permanent. Thanks guys, for all your help!

 

[TiaView]

Wellness has a lot of grain in their dry food. I personally don't care for Blue Buffalo. Prairie Raw Instinct and Innova Evo are both a little pricey, but SUPER foods. Anytime that you can use rotation feeding (mixing dry, wet, bones, organs, veggies and fruits, etc.) it ROCKS!

 

[bock]

One more question, Can dogs eat grapes? Everyone says they are poisonous, but my chi-wiener loves to pick bunches of grapes off of the vine in our backyard and eat them. She never gets sick

. So I was just wondering, what's the deal with that?

Thanks!

 

[chickerdoodle]

Do not feed grapes (or raisins of course) as they are very toxic and can be fatal! The degree of toxicity varies dog to dog--some dogs die from eating one (yes one) grape and others are able to handle a few and act fine but do not take the chance!

 

[chickerdoodle]

I was as a certified veterinary technician for many years at a Feline Only Veterinary Hospital and they know cats will do best on a high protein wet food diet. Dry food just doesn't have enough fluids as cats evolved to get their fluids from their food. Many cats do not like to drink much and do only when they have to.

Your cat also needs much more protein in their diet than your dog so grain is just a worthless filler that can be too high in fat (depending on the grain). They have found that the reason they are so prone to kidney disease may be related to the so called modern diet of packaged dry foods. I have always been feeding both (well, at least I feed EVO dry

) due to convenience (bad mommy) but am switching to primarily can food as my cats are almost 14 years old and I want to keep them healthy.

I feed only premium can cat food diets such as EVO, Evangers, Innova, Wellness, Organix and Merricks. My cats LOVE it of course

but it certainly is more expensive. I figure I chose to bring the darlings home and we can afford it. I realize with feeding the dog EVO, the cats mostly non grain can food diets and the chickens an organic, soy and corn free diet (not against some organic corn for chickens but its from local farms and they don't grow corn), and all the preventive veterinary care--we spend a ton of money on the buggers

. I think DH would cringe if he knew HOW much....

I don't begrudge someone making due with a little less because they have to pay the rent first or put food on their own table. Research for yourself and do the best you can with the funds you have.

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

The bottom line is this: there is NO "perfect" food that will work well for every pet. I am yet another licensed vet tech posting here, and I've seen problems stem from just about any and every pet food / diet choice known to man or beast. One of my dogs is on Science Diet adult maintenance, yes it's less than optimal, but she does fine with it. My other dog even looks at SD and starts itching and chewing on his feet. He's on a venison and potato diet and does fantastic with it. No, we never did allergy testing, because the allergist we go to only does that as a last resort, he says the thousands of dollars worth of testing is too unreliable, and a huge waste of money.

I work in an emergency clinic, and we've had many dogs come in with bone impactions or salmonella poisoning from raw diets. I've also heard owners say they've gotten sick with salmonella from mishandling their pets raw diet. So, a raw diet is not a choice I would make for my pets. But I understand that some people swear by it, I just wish those same people (not people HERE, but people I've dealt with in "real life") would stop trying to convince everyone else their pet should be on the same diet.

Also, I have NEVER heard of ANY vet ever getting "kickbacks" from pet food companies. Of course they make a "profit" from selling the food, anyone who sells anything retail does. It's not the same thing as a kickback though. And yes, I wish vets would update their food sale choices, but it seems to be one of those things in the day to day stream of business that never gets updated.

I don't remember who made the comment about a vet thinking that they learn all they're ever going to learn in vet school and that's it - but man, you need to spend some time as a licensed veterinary professional!

We have to do many hours of continuing education to keep our licenses up to date, techs and vets alike (though the vets have to do twice as many hours as we do). The unfortunate part is that, yes, we get to choose what subjects we continue our education in...there aren't "required" hours for certain subjects. And, vets don't know squat when they get out of school. 99% of learning is hands on after they graduate. They can only learn so much in a classroom in 4 years.

 

[cubalaya]

i agree with clover about different dogs doing well with different foods. thats why there are so many brands out there. science diet has prescription foods so that is why the vets recomend it. is eukanuba wild being recalled?

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Quote:
Not that I know of yet. The last pet food recall I got an email about from my state vet was Iams feline renal care diet.

 

[halo]

Quote:
I dont think Wellness has a lot of grain; and what they do use isnt corn. Wellness Core has none. I was feeding it for a while, and they puppies did great on it, but its very pricey. Wellness is a 5 star food on the Dog Analysis page. Wellness Core is 6 star.