Who would you trust more: veterinarians or nutritionists?

[JessLough]

Originally Posted by ravennr

I have met vets that recommend great foods, too, but who will turn their nose up when someone says they feed raw, and advise against it. It always throws me for a loop, especially when the animal being discussed is cats. I feel cat nutrition often gets thrown to the back burner in general, though

That annoys me to no end. Feeding cats a GOOD diet is arguably more important than dogs, since cats are obligate carnivores.
Same with ferrets, the amount of times I've seen ferrets come into rescue looking like hell cause the are feed Whiskas or Iams...

[AdrianneIsabel]

Myself. Lol but outside of that, my well read and experienced friends and a nutritionist if I knew any that focused beyond humans.

[Saeleofu]

If i had to choose one or the other, a nutritionist hands down. However I think I have a pretty good grasp on canine nutrition as it stands, so unless my dog needed to change to a special diet for some reason (for example recurrent bladder stones) then I don't see why I need te advice of either one.

[ravennr]

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

Myself. Lol but outside of that, my well read and experienced friends and a nutritionist if I knew any that focused beyond humans.

One CN I've read a bit about is Kymythy R. Schultze.

[destinoscelgo]

I won't even talk to my vet about what I feed my dogs lol

[Kat09Tails]

It would really depend on the situation. If I had a dog where I needed a long term idea of a specialized food plan because of a medical issue I would probably use input from both the vet and the nutritionist.

[elegy]

Originally Posted by Kat09Tails

It would really depend on the situation. If I had a dog where I needed a long term idea of a specialized food plan because of a medical issue I would probably use input from both the vet and the nutritionist.

I'd say I agreed, but my vet would just have me call Hill's and have them tell me which of their foods I should feed. Sigh.

I almost died on Friday when our Hill's rep was in touting their new Grain Free food. Our receptionist was like "weren't you just in here a few months ago telling us how grain free food is bad and just a marketing gimmick?" and he was like "heh, well, yeah, but grain free is what people want to buy, so we're making a 'good' and 'healthy' version for them".

DEAD. JUST DEAD.

[Southpaw]

Definitely not a vet.

I mean, it's not really their fault, they're just going off what they've been taught.

When Juno had her first puppy visit and we were asked what we fed her, at the time it was TOTW... and the vet went on and on about how grain-free diets are just a fad, there's too much meat in there so if she develops an allergy how will we ever know what she's allergic to, there's nothing wrong with a "good diet of Science Diet or Iams." *Gaaaaggggg*

It varies though, I'm sure there are plenty of vets out there that are better versed in nutrition.

So yeah. When it comes to food, I will trust even the internet before I trust the advice of my vet. Which is sad.

[Miakoda]

It depends. True canine nutritionists are few and far between. I've actually spoken with a nutritionist who recommends Diamond dog food, some Science Diet varieites, and Black Gold. Ummm....all 3 of those are utter crap.

And I know several veterinarians that wouldn't touch the crap breeds with a ten foot pole, much less suggest their clients feed it to their own dogs. Not all vets are ignorant when it comes to canine nutrition. Coming from that field, I find it a little insulting to paint all vets with the same brush.

[~Jessie~]

Right now, I'd trust my vet- the only foods they sell are holistic, and they have a big freezer in their lobby full of raw! If one of them had a medical issue and needed a certain type of food, I'd feel comfortable listening to their advice.

Typically, I'd choose the nutritionist if it's versus a normal vet clinic.

I've never asked either for nutrition advice- I've just done my own research. My dogs are all on raw.