I bought my first dog when I was a sophomore in high school. Yes, you read that correctly I BOUGHT my miniature dachshund from a Texas breeder that I did no research on...judge away, I would. More on breeders versus adopting later! BTW my views have shifted to adopting as I have grown, YAY shelter pets! I digress...nutrition, in my opinion is key to an animal having a long and healthy life. There are more factors to it than food, but food I think is so important. When I got my Maggie I began buying her Iam's from Wal-mart or any other grocery store that had that big green bag. She loved it, her coat was shiny and I am pretty sure I was satisfied with how solid her stools were. Again this is going back 8 years and my memory is not always the best. My next dog and the one after that were also on Iam's in the green bag and all was well!
I started my job as a veterinary assistant in Highland Village and took from one of the veterinarians there this little quote he always told clients when they asked what to feed their pets: "You cannot go wrong with any name brand dog food from the store; Purina, Iam's, Royal Canine, etc." I took this with me to veterinary school. When I got to vet school it was pretty much the same but more on the side of which food companies do their research and feeding trials and which companies do not? Here it comes: Hill's Science Diet. Yes, Hill's is a brand loved by veterinarians but before you say its because they make money off of it slow your roll! Kick backs from food are not why veterinarians sell them (cause I have heard vets do not get much profit if any in the grand scheme of things). You can choose to believe me or not, but ask anyone I am a pretty honest lady :) veterinarians are very logical, analytical and data driven individuals and I have seen the science and my conclusion to why veterinarians recommend Hill's first almost every time or Purina Vet Diets, or Royal Canine Vet diets is because (drum roll...number one they TRUST them. And if I ask my doctor for advice I hope he gives me a brand that he trusts in because ultimately if something happens to me due to that brand that was not supposed to who am I coming after...my doctor. Why then should we ask our veterinarians to do anything different than to give us the very best option they can! Here is a bit of the other side of this tale: natural, organic, holistic pet foods. My second year in veterinary school to receive my residency status I began working at an amazing all natural pet foods store and bakery. This was like stepping into a whole new world! There are literally thousands of food options that people can buy for their pets and so many flavors of each! It was like a wonderland to learn inside that colorful store. I worked there for over a year and learned all I could about the customers wants and how their pets needs could also be met with the same standards. I like eating organic foods when I can afford them so why not let my pet eat an organic diet? These are things we as pet parents think about and yes if you tell some veterinarians that they will look at you like you are silly, but not all of them. If you want to know the ends and outs of pet food visit the AAFCO website (www.aafco.org) they are the governmental entity that regulates pet food companies! All quality bags of pet food will have an AAFCO statement on it! IMPORTANT TO NOTE!
Words like Holistic and Natural are NOT defined by this governmental faction so any company can put that on their food regardless if it is true or not. Organic is defined by AAFCO and there is a specific badge that will be on a food that is actually organic!
While working at the store I tried lots of different foods from Holistic Select, Nature's Variety, California Natural and Fromm to a formulated raw diet. Woah and let me tell you how much judgement I received from colleagues on that one! Ultimately, my dogs and cats have done great on all of the foods I have tried! Poops were better on some diets rather than others, not all were up to par for my pets' taste but my pets health and weight were maintained at a happy level! Do feeding trials matter and big company research? Yes, in the end they do but are there other options out there if you so choose to find them, the answer again is yes! If your veterinarian is not on board with your decision on food, that is ok, be honest with them about what you are feeding, have that tough discussion if need be but remember it is always in the best interest of your furry friend to be honest with their doctor no matter what!
Hope this has been helpful!
Pawsitively yours,
Gabrielle P.
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