by Michelle Thomas

Your veterinarian recommends it, even sells it at their office, so it must be what is best for your pet. Right?

 

Millions of pet owners blindly assume that this is true. Aren’t our veterinarians the ones we are supposed to rely on to keep our pets healthy and answer all of our pet care questions?

 

Hills, the manufacturer of Science Diet, sends out complimentary puppy and kitten kits to veterinary offices. Each time a new puppy or kitten visits that office they are given a complimentary bag of food, coupons for their next visit and informational packets emphasizing the importance of good nutrition, achieved through their products.

 

If trusting pet owners took the time to read the label on that puppy food, they would find the top ingredients listed as follows, ground whole grain corn, chicken by-product meal, soybean meal and animal fat. Yikes!

 

Having working in the pet industry and as a pet owner for for some time, I struggle to count on one hand veterinarians I have encountered who recommend and emphasize the importance of true, high quality nutrition. How can this be?

 

Veterinary schools are infiltrated by the major pet food companies looking to peddle their products to the next generation of veterinarians. I attended Michigan State University, and earned a Bachelors Degree in Veterinary Technology. A veterinarian with a PhD in nutrition taught my nutrition course. This vet also worked as a food developer at Purina for many years.

 

During an exam I was required to write “The ingredients in the food do not matter the only thing to consider when analyzing a diet for your patients is the nutritional analysis such as the % protein and fat.”

 

If I was to answer differently, I would be marked wrong. It was painful for me to placate this irrational line of thought. Our teacher explained that when formulating a pet diet, ingredients are entered into a computer system which analyzes the content to reach a specific ratio and meet the requirements set by AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials).

 

This translates into the use of the least expensive and, more often then not, biologically inappropriate food sources being utilized. Ingredients such as corn gluten are used as a protein source.

 

During my time as a student, Hills gave special nutritional seminars and even had a special program that provided all students with up to 100 pounds of free food monthly. I must say I preferred to pay top dollar for my dog’s food, even as a poor student than receive their free ‘food’.

 

It baffles me that highly educated and intelligent veterinarians and veterinary students are not using common sense to question the legitimacy of the information being pumped into them by large corporations.

 

I urge you, as pet owners to do your research. Don’t be afraid to question and communicate your concerns with your veterinarian. If your vet is offended or unwilling to discuss or research options with you, then find one who will!

 

Shouldn’t your veterinarian be passionate about your animal’s health?

 

 

Michelle Thomas holds a degree in Veterinary Technology from Michigan State University. Michelle lives with her French Bulldog rescue Mojito and her kitten Tyson. She is currently studying acupuncture and Oriental medicine at the Acupuncture and Massage College in Miami, Florida and is incorporating these modalities into her pet’s care.

image of Science Diet Puppy Formula via www.hillspet.com

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