Influence on vet students by pet food companies

So this week while doing some browsing, I came across a post on facebook warning about potential health issues associated with feeding Beneful including organ failure and seizures, posted by a vet in Arkansas. It seems to have caused a great divide and people commenting left and right, some agreeing with the post, others claiming it to be a "scare tactic" and still swear by Purina products.

I saw an interesting pattern of the people who swore by Beneful, most of them have not done any research besides what the vet has told them or what they saw in the commercial. Most claim their dogs to be healthy, but I know from experience, most people cannot tell a difference between a healthy dog and one that has obvious issues from eating crappy food.
I've been pet-sitting on/off the last 12+ years and I've seen dogs and cats with problems that people tend to overlook because they consider it a normal part of being a dog/cat. For example obesity, dental problems, frequent ear infections, dull/greasy coats, lethargy just to name a few. Cats most often struggle with kidney issues as well as urinary crystals due to being fed high carb, dry food their entire lives.

I recently watched a 10 year old cat with progressive kidney disease, she was put on prescription dry food which is mostly made up of corn and peanut hulls, along with daily subcutaneous fluids to re-hydrate her to maintain somewhat stable kidney function. I found it mind-boggling to see an obviously intelligent owner who meant well, blindly follow a very poor advice from a vet by feeding dry food to a cat with compromised kidneys, dehydrating her further in the process. All I could do was suggest an alternative course and leave a can of EVO canned cat food. She seemed very hesitant about my advice and said that the canned food was probably not a good idea because it was "high protein". It's incredibly sad to see animals that are suffering in the hands of misinformed owners.

So anyways, back to the topic. The above mentioned vet posted a response to all the Beneful comments by stating the following which I found very interesting. Particularly since I've come across a lot of naysayers that claim pet companies do not influence vet students while they are in school.

Here's an honest response and I really appreciate, it's a rarity to come across a vet that is willing to think outside the bubble and actually care about something as vital as nutrition when it comes to animals long term health. :


-I am a licensed and practicing veterinarian.
-I started this very thread on the dangers of Beneful.
-I graduated 10 years ago from the number 2 vet school in the nation.
-We as veterinary students received virtually no internal nutritional training.
-Nutritional education we received was from Hill’s Science Diet, Iams and Purina.
-Hill’s, Iams and Purina not only provided us as poor vet students with free food for our pets for the 4 years of veterinary school, but they sponsored major events, scholarships, educational meetings and provided us with endless freebees. Their support during our hardest times made veterinarian’s feel obligated to recommend these companies.
-Hill’s, Iams and Purina sponsor extremely expensive booths at veterinarians’ continuing education meetings, continuing to demonstrate their “strength” in the pet food market.
-I learned from my own trial and error, first on my own pets, then on the numerous dogs I rescue, how high quality diet plays a critical role in the health of our pets.
-Now in this practice I purchased 18 months ago, I have personally seen the significant effects that good nutrition can make. I started my campaign against Beneful, because about 80-90% of my dog owners in this practice were feeding it and thinking they were doing right by their dogs. 
-Since we have started promoting good nutrition in this practice, I have seen about a 75% decline in my ear, skin and allergy cases. A decrease in medical cases is not good for our bottom line, but as I have learned on my own pets, nutrition is key for their overall well being. Overall, my patients are healthier, my clients are happier, and I sleep better at night knowing this. 
-Please, if you learn nothing more from reading this, be an informed consumer for your pets. If you need to research pet foods, consult http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/


You can read more responses and show your support on their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Southwest-Pet-Hospital/171020129603271

Trying out couple new brands in rotation

So few weeks ago I bought a food called First Mate on amazon because it was on sale for $30 for 33 lbs with free shipping. I mainly bought it because it's made in Canada in their own factory, and they have not been involved in any recalls. I originally planned on giving it to Indy, but he still has another 2 months of Nature's logic left and Uno is running low on Horizon Legacy.
It's a pretty basic formula, nothing flashy really, it's not even grain free but I figured I'd give it a shot regardless. Another reason I wanted to try it was because with summer heat, the dogs haven't been able to exercise as much, so Uno especially put on 2-3 lbs over the summer, so I thin lower calorie food would be beneficial to him.

Anyways, here's the ingredient list for First Mate:

Chicken meal, pearled barley, oat meal, brown rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), herring meal, fish oil, potato flour, tomato pomace, dicalcium phosphate, cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, calcium propionate, calcium propionate, sage extract, rosemary extract, garlic oil, minerals (zinc, iron, manganese, copper, iodine, cobalt, selenium), vitamins (vitamin E, vitamin C, riboflavin, niacin, d-pantothenic acid, thiamine, vitamin A, pyridoxine, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12, vitamin D3), glucosamine

It's 26% protein, 15% fat and 540 cal per cup (which is surprisingly high for this type of food)

http://www.firstmate.com/dog_food.aspx?guid=61D-0ADDA4075CE7


So we will start this food in about a week, gradually mixing with horizon and go from there.

Second food I'm trying out is Back to Basics, it's a relatively new brand of grain free food that is gluten/potato and grain free, making it a good choice for those seeking a low glycemic food. My main reservation about the food is the cost, it's pretty expensive ranging from $57 - $75 depending on protein source. Since I had a $10 off coupon to a new Pet Supplies Plus store, I used that to get a large bag of turkey formula which ended up being $55.
Overall I'm impressed with the ingredient list and the inclusion of organs. It could do without the chicken flavor and I prefer to see ground flaxseed instead of whole, but otherwise it looks good on paper. I'll be a while before we get to this food, so I'll keep you updated.

http://www.backtobasicspetfood.com/instinctively-better

• Turkey Giblets (Turkey Livers and Turkey Hearts)
• Turkey Meal
• Turkey
• Chicken Meal
• Tapioca
• Pea Protein
• Poultry Fat (Turkey & Chicken, Naturally Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols)
• Dried Whole Egg
• Whole Flaxseed
• Menhaden Fish Oil
• Natural Chicken Flavor
• Peas
• Sunflower Oil
• Salt
• L-Carnitine
• Potassium Chloride
• Zinc Proteinate
• Iron Proteinate
• Vitamin E Supplement
• L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C)
• Choline Chloride
• Biotin
• Copper Proteinate
• Manganese Proteinate
• Niacin
• Calcium Pantothenate
• Sodium Selenite
• Vitamin A Supplement
• Riboflavin Supplement
• Vitamin D3 Supplement
• Thiamine Mononitrate
• Vitamin B12 Supplement
• Calcium Iodate
• Pyridoxine Hydrochloride
• Folic Acid.

Dr Jean Dodds Nutrition Webinar

If anyone is interested, it sounds very promising and I'm a big fan of Dr. Dodds. Registration ends 8/11 or when the capacity is reached (100 participants)

What you will learn...

Wholesome nutrition is the key to maintaining a healthy immune system and resistance to disease. Commercial foods ingested by animals on a regular basis may not be balanced in terms of major nutrients, minerals and vitamins, and some continue to add chemicals to the final product to enhance its stability and shelf-life. Nutritional deficiencies or imbalances as well as exposures to various chemicals, drugs and toxins present a continual immunological challenge which can suppress immune function, especially in those animals genetically susceptible to immune dysfunction (immune deficiency, autoimmunity, allergies).

Nutrition and the Immune System
Nutrition and Thyroid Metabolism
Nutritional Management (Commercial, Home-Made and Raw Food Diets)
Raw Food Diet Study
New Diagnostics for Food Sensitivity or Intolerance


http://www.farmdogsusa.com/w-jean-dodds-dvm-81212.html

Update on nature's logic

I dont know if anyone remembers a post I made a while back, I was trying to find a food for my parents dachshund Indy that would work with his digestive system. I really wanted him to be on grain free because he gets dry, dull coat on most grain inclusive foods, but after trying 4-5 grain free foods, they all give him the runs, even after reducing the amount, which resulted in anal gland issues (at one point they became impacted while on totw). 

Anyways, I decided to try him on natures logic because even though its not grain free, it has a decent meat content and is low glycemic. My main concern was the yeast in it, though he hasnt had any ear issues, he does scratch sometimes, and I was worried that it could make things worse. 

We'll he's been on it for over a month now and I'm happy to say that he seems to be doing really well! His coat is fantastic, good energy levels, small firm poops, itching seems to have reduced and he loves the taste. Right now he's on a beef formula which is 31.5% protein which is pretty good for grain inclusive food.

Oh diamond, where did you go wrong?

I'm sure by now everyone is familiar with Diamond fiasco and multiple recalls which include diamond naturals, premium edge, taste of the wild, canidae, solid gold, natural balance just to  name a few.
I wanted to give them a second chance since their previous shady history, and I was hoping since the introduction of TOTW, they would see the positive turnout and avid following of their consumers and clean up their act. Well, it doesn't appear that way. Since FDA took over and did an inspection of their plant, the results were less then ideal.
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/OfficeofGlobalRegulatoryOperationsandPolicy/ORA/ORAElectronicReadingRoom/UCM304252.pdf

Ok, its understandable that such a large scale company would have few quality control issues, but me thinks that they have far more than I would be willing to accept as acceptable. It appears that they have some major sanitary violations and even possible cross contamination with uknown fats and digests.. yuk.
I dont even want to know what goes behind closed doors when inspection team isn't around.

So with a heavy heart, I can no longer in good conscience recommend any diamond products. It makes me sad because price wise, they made a good option for people on tighter budget that didn't want to settle for grocery store foods. Now, I fear that a lot will go back to feeding worse quality foods because of cost and more faith in the company, even if its a large conglomerate like Purina or P&G.

I don't know if diamond will be able to recover from this hit, based on facebook alone, taste of the wild has gone down from 40,000 to only 13,000 fans in matter of few weeks.

So are there any affordable brands that I would recommend? I'm still in process of trying to figure this one out. For example Healthwise is an inexpensive food thats made by Natura (aka P&G), while I'm not a fan of the company take over, since there hasn't been any issues or ingredient change, I feel better recommending that then any diamond foods. Another option is Nutri-Source, it appears to be manufactured by an independent company that also makes pure vita and natural planet organics.

Have you fed any diamond foods, what do you think of the whole fiasco, do you plan on switching? if so, to what?

Considering new rotation addition

So I've been looking into incorporating more dry food choices into Uno's rotation and I've been mainly using dogfoodadvisor.com as a reference. I've already tried several 5 star kibbles, including acana, totw, wellness core, orijen, BB wilderness, dogswell, earthborn, NV instinct and pinnacle.

I'm pretty happy with Acana, but I wont be able to get a good discount since leaving work and anything besides the chicken formula, is out of my budget.
So I've come across horizon legacy fish formula on sale at petflow.com http://www.petflow.com/product/horizon/horizon-adult-grain-free-salmon-dry-dog-food

its on sale $50, plus I found an $8 off coupon which came out to $47 for 25 lbs, shipped.

I've tried their chicken formula before and Uno has done pretty well on it, but there's not a lot of retailers that sell it, so I moved onto other brands.
I'm pretty impressed with the ingredient list, its comparable to Acana Pacifica, except that Horizon used pea starch as a binder instead of potatoes. Peas are a low glycemic carb source, so it's a better choice for dogs with ear infections and yeast issues. Uno doesn't have either one, but regardless, if I had to chose, I would pick peas over potatoes.

Ingredients:

Salmon, salmon meal, peas, pea starch, menhadon meal, salmon oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), pea fibre, alfalfa, flaxseed, liquid egg product, carrots, apples, broccoli, bok choy, cabbage, blueberries, salt, fructooligosaccharides, yucca schidigera extract, glucosamine hydrochloride, chondroitin sulphate, dried saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation extract, dried aspergillus niger fermentation extract, dried aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, pineapple, dried trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, dried rhizopus oryzae fermentation extract, dried enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried bifidobacterium bifidum fermentation product, dried lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, d-calcium pantothenate, biotin, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), ferrous sulphate, iron proteinate, zinc sulphate, zinc proteinate, manganous oxide, manganese proteinate, copper sulphate, copper proteinate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite, magnesium oxide.

This particular formula is 34% protein, 15% fat and 8.6% ash. 

The company is located in Saskatchewan, Canada and similar to Champion (maker of Oriejen/Acana), they only use locally sourced ingredients. They have their own plant and produce several varieties of dry foods which include grain free and grain inclusive varieties. 

http://www.horizonpetfood.com/index.php?page=about-us

I'll update on this food once Uno is done with this bag of Acana, but I'm hoping that I can keep this in our rotation because it looks like a good choice for us. 

Back from the real world..

So I've had some personal issues these last few weeks and haven't had a chance to post much unfortunately. For good news, I decided to go ahead and officially advertise my pet-sitting business. So I ordered a bunch of business cards and created a facebook page https://www.facebook.com/EmbarkPetCare

My goal is to have one of a kind business where I can educate the owners about nutritional aspect of pet care as well as possible alternative means to managing health issues that I often come across such as allergies, hot spots, ear infections, etc. At some point I would like to expand it into in home boarding facility and have a small retail space that specializes in natural foods, supplements, and few other pet care items.

As far as other things I've had on my mind lately is the issues of dental health. I noticed that a lot of people are far more concerned with the outward appearance of their pets (dogs especially) and spend a significant chunk of money on grooming and making their dog look and smell pretty on the outside, with no regard to their internal health. The other day we had a cocker spaniel come for a monthly groom. He was probably around 14 and pretty old, but still alive and kicking. Out of curiosity, I decided to check his teeth and was completely horrified. They were brown and rotting, the gums were so inflamed, they glowed red and the breath was pretty terrible as well.
I don't know if you've ever had a toothache, you know that it hurts, enough to ruin your whole day. Can you imagine walking around with a mouthful of rotten and sore teeth? I cant.
Yet, the owners would rather spend $60 a month on a groom to make their dog look good, then save up for few months and get him a dental that would not only better his quality of life, but extend it as well.

Considering how many options there are out there as far as keeping our pets healthy, there is no excuse. If the dog hates having its teeth brushed, there are dental gels and sprays such as petzlife or leba that work really well for finicky dogs. In addition raw meaty bones are excellent for keeping those chompers nice and clean, plus other hard chew like bully sticks and antlers.
Dentals are not cheap and often, it poses an anesthesia risk to older pets, but thats why its absolutely essential to stay on top when it comes to dental health of your pet. Its easy to put it off , but it will come at a cost later on which can compromise the quality of life for your pet.

I'm pretty hyper vigilant when it comes to Uno's teeth. He gets RMB's every other day and I brush his teeth usually once a week. He also likes his antlers. I am proud to say that he has pretty good teeth for a 6 year old, no plaque build up and gums are pink and healthy. He has a bit of yellow staining which is normal and comes with age, so I'm not worried about it. I know that those few minutes a week can and will greatly improve his life, especially as he ages.