Why are so many vets against RAW? - Page 1

I dont understand why so many vets are against a raw diet. And all vets in my area recommend "Science Diet!"

Is it just around here???

Same here. I just don't tell them anymore. And BLAH to Science Diet.

 Because a lot of vets either want your money or don't seem to know a lot. Science diet is over priced crap. I was at my vet the other day getting something, and they were telling me I needed to get my dogs yearly shots.....I'm not 100% against vaccinating like some are, but I will never get my dogs their shots every single year.

 Because a lot of vets sell dog food or, are paid to "recommend" dog food such as Science Diet.

there as a good thread a while back (maybe over a year ago) that talked about this. Made some great points.

Stated that many Vets get paid to recommend certain foods.

Also stated that many vet school nutritional programs are sponsered by some pet food brands.

Many average to even excellent less popular dog food brands many vets know very little about..I have a slim Dutch Shepherd (which I believe is in good working shape and condition). This one vet recommended putting some weight on her. He asked what  food I gave her and I told him Chicken Soup (a diamond product)  I was surprised when he told me he was un familiar with the Diamond Brand or company  and in turn recommended "Iams." I laughed and just said ok.

Many vets #1 clientale is made up of what I call the "Petsmart" clientale. People willing to pay a lot of money for services and products but may not have or seek the most knowlege concernning the training and husbandry of their animals. So many vets education, recommendations, and tactics are geared toward them.

My favorite vet is a personal friend who has a large farm based clientale who knows many of his clients may be very educated in how to take care of their animals and or not affraid to use a needle.

lol, I know the topic was about raw diet, but I said all that to say that many Vets really just don't know or are not familiar with raw diets and kibble companies that dont pay them off, lol

Because they would probably be out of job….

My previous dog lived to be 21 without any health problems (reason why I’m on my second dog only…) and died peacefully from old age. Her parents, grandparents, grand- grands never ate anything but meat and food scraps and lived to be 15+ years old. My grandmother’s GSD died when he was 18 years old only because somebody put a rat poison in a piece of meat for him…

When I came to US – everybody says that the “dog food is the best thing that ever happened to dogs” and according to my vet – life expectancy of a GSD is 7 years!!!.

When I got my girl, she was on kibble and allergic to rice and chicken, she was skinny and a picky eater. I switched her gradually to raw/home cooked meals and results are astonishing. She loves ‘real’ raw chicken and ‘real’ rice with no side effects or allergies. She filled up beautifully (no more skinny & wobbly girl). At six years old she’s got puppy stamina and energy, youthful looks, shiny coat that doesn’t shed constantly or need a bath (unless she rolls in something). She doesn’t have a ‘wet dog smell’ even when wet, no health problems, her puppies are big, fat and strong… Should I continue…

Most of all feeding raw/home diets requires work but is way CHEAPER…

There are some dogs that thrive on processed foods – but most develop problems. You go to the vet – they tell you to feed your dog ‘such&such’ food – dog develops another problem – they sell you another food; you go back because your dog has some other problem – they sell you yet another food, etc. etc.

Should I mention what goes in those process foods?...
In February’s 2011 edition of the GSD Review there is an interesting article/commercial that touches the subject of genetically modified “Terminator Corn” that is wildly used to feed chickens, who then develop health issues/get salmonella poisoning. They kill those chickens and process them in the dog food. There is a link between “Terminator Corn” and animals that can’t reproduce (i.e. chickens, farmed salmon, etc.). They go as far to suggest that feeding your dog with products that contains ‘terminator corn’ or animals fed with it can reduce ability of your dog to reproduce as well. I wouldn’t been surprised at all if it’s true.

Every time there came a foreign training judge or FCI judge they asked me what the hell I did to omy GSD's.  
Every single one of them couldn't believe how I got my GSD's with the kind of coat, coat texture,  general health and startling white and clean teeth.

I told them all the truth and they all thought I was crazy when they heard.

 I used to have also Icelandic Horses and I had too many of them.   (many that where not part ofa breeding program and not for breeding).   I slaughtered old mares,  got aprox.  110 kg per horse of lean meat and about 20kg of nice bone (like ribs) for them.

Thats what I fed them and they popped the eyes out of the judges.  Raw works and it gives your dog a +5 years to their lifespan.    16-19 years becomes normal (like it was 50+ years ago) rather then the 10-13 that is normal today.

Can't feed a carnivore coco-puffs all its life and expect it to live healthy.    Dogs have been eating raw for the past 50.000 years and only in the past 50 have they been given kibble. 

Oli

Guess which brand of dog food supports the vet schools? The justification for kibble from the vets I've talked to usually revolves around the percentages of what constitutes a balanced diet. With kibble there is certified percentages of stuff that science has shown makes a balanced diet. If you feed raw, you really don't know what percentage of anything you are feeding.

This sort of makes sense. There's a balance of nutrients all living things need to be healthy. The dog food companies have oodles of studies to back up their formulas. Who can argue with that? Without your scientific backup, you really don't know if your home made raw diet is providing all the essential nutrients do you? How can any vet endorse a diet with no scientific backup?

Here's what the good kibble folks that advertise here on PDB have to say about their food; XXXXX Original dry dog food helps keep your dog happy and healthy with a perfect balance of healthful ingredients, quality nutrition and superb taste.

Who can argue with that statement? It's everything you want to hear when you're looking for a dog food.

But the Kibble companies really don't know where or what their nutrients come from do they. If they did, would they have recalls on their food? That Propylene Glycol that's the number 10 ingredient. Isn't that stuff hazardous to animals? If the kibble food is better how come it contains all sorts of stuff that you don't know where it comes from and they recall it from time to time?

My argument for raw is... I lost two dogs from my breeding program who were cherished family pets to recalled food. I was in the operating room when their dog died and was the one that walked out and broke the news to the 16 yeard old daughter. What do you say to a 16 year old girl when her friend of 5 years just died a slow death she was living with for a month?

I know where the food I feed comes from, says Frank Perdue on the package. It comes from Frank and other people with addresses and names. Does it have all the balanced nutrients? Don't know. But I have no skin problems and I've not lost a dog to what I feed from Frank yet. I'll take my chances.