Vets and Dog Food

[ShadowCat]

Why do vets recommend dog foods that aren't very good? I'm trying to convince my mom to stop using the Royal Canin diet food because it's not any good, but she keeps telling me that all of my information is from unreliable sources and that the vet recommends it so it must be good. Does anyone have any obviously reliable sites that I could use to convince her?

[papillon806]

All I can tell you is from my experiences within the NCSU vet school is that they are not taught much about nutrition at all. Some vets take it upon themselves to further their knowledge by themselves, but most just don't particularly have interest in the field of nutrition.

If you want to convince them that it's not a good food, just show them an ingredient & definition list from the AAFCO to see what the ingredients really mean, and that should speak for itself.

[wolfsoul]

The majority of vets only get a lesson about nutrition that lasts a few hours to a few days. They are taught by dog food representatives (who get to spend their time endorsing their product). Science Diet and Medi-Cal also help pay a vet's way through school or give them free dog food while they are in school in exchange for selling and endorsing their product when they become a vet.

[ShadowCat]

Wolfsoul, do you have any reliable sites that back that up?

[Brattina88]

the best dog food website out there:
the Dog Food Project

[wolfsoul]

No I don't, that is just what my vet told me from her own personal experiences (she's holistic now), and my friend's vet said the same thing (except he still sells Science Diet -- he just discourages people from buying it).

[wolfsoul]

Here, I did some research. Science Diet says so itself that it teaches vet students and helps them pay their way through college.

Science Diet Website:
http://www.hillspet.com/zSkin_2/comp...=1133634065577
Wall State Journal Report:
http://www.simplyschnauzer.net/hills.html

[ShadowCat]

Thanks Wolfsoul! Those links are exactly what I was hoping to find.

[CLee]

every food is different for every dog. if your dog is thriving on it... why change it?

but if you see need/room for improvement, seek it.

some dogs thrive on "lower-quality" food and some don't. same concept for "higher-quality" food...

there really is a lot of biased information out there...

like i said, everything depends on the specific dog.

as for vets... same idea... the dog foods they suggest may have worked well for his/her clients... but all dogs are different.

it's just their recommendations...whether its based on company's "funding" or based on their own knowledge/experience.

Originally Posted by CLee

every food is different for every dog. if your dog is thriving on it... why change it?

but if you see need/room for improvement, seek it.

some dogs thrive on "lower-quality" food and some don't. same concept for "higher-quality" food...

there really is a lot of biased information out there...

like i said, everything depends on the specific dog.

as for vets... same idea... the dog foods they suggest may have worked well for his/her clients... but all dogs are different.

it's just their recommendations...whether its based on company's "funding" or based on their own knowledge/experience.

I feed Chico IAMS and I will NOT be changing it because it is the only food that he's taken too well. His coat is shiny, his stomach doesn't grumble anymore and he doesn't throwup constantly like he did when I tried Innova.

I doubt that they only spend a few days regarding nutrition, because that is a HUGE part in caring for an animal.