Archive for July, 2010

Never does my blood boil more than when I see what people are allowed to have published in newsprint under the auspices of providing information to the general public.  When I read today’s  Asbury Park Press’  Healthy Living Section  regarding pet food, I was angered by the ignorance.  I wonder if  the author was paid for advertising this dog food.  Did she even look to see if a Veterinary Nutritionist is on the staff of this company that has won her heart?  Did the  pet food company conduct a feeding trial,OR–perhaps their paying clients constitute the feeding trial.  A feeding trial consists of a company feeding  pets a particular food for a required period of time; methodical tracking is performed to see how those pets do on the food. If you check a can/bag label, there has to be an AFCO statement.  If it does not say feeding trial,  then there was none done.

I have learned from studying the diet/nutrition aspects of pet care that many of these new pet food companies have no real scientific research behind their food.  Most of the time there are way too many probiotics or complex carbohydrates for a dog’s digestive tract.  Dogs are similar to humans but with shorter GI tracts.

The reason the meat in pet food cannot be labeled “for human consumption” is that once the product leaves a facility where the USDA can no longer inspect it, it can no longer be called fit for human consumption. If a pet company labels their meat as human grade, they are lying.  As for the term “byproduct” that refers to organ meat (ie. liver, heart, kidneys, etc). There are no beaks and feathers in commercial pet food. Remember where all the nutrition is… all that organ meat is rich in essential fatty acids and nutrients.

Another point worth arguing is the introduction of the new novel proteins these companies are pushing on people..the rabbits, venison, bison etc.  All they are doing is making it harder on you and your veterinarian to diagnose your pet’s possible allery and what it might be. If we as Veterinarians have no novel (meaning new) proteins to pursue for an elimination diet where do we invest our time and your money?  Just keep inventing new ones?

I do not like seeing people use scare tactics.  This is misinformation which, in turn,  makes people think they are poisoning their pets.  This leads to a great deal of money spent on foods that have no research or medical evidence behind them.  Companies that have been around for almost 70 years and are running successful companies must be doing something right. At least reputable companies such as Science Diet, Iams, Pedigree, and Royal Canine have a Veterinary Nutritionist who balances their diets. They are also responsible for all the cutting edge research that has been done in nutrition.  This has kept our pets with serious diseases around for many extra quality years.

Chew on that for a while…words from your vigilant (e) Vet