This phrase came to mind as I was thinking about what I had eaten so far today. I won’t say anything more than YIKES! And that led to hoping that the food I ordered for my dog will arrive on time since he’s almost out. Although I’m sure he would be delighted only to dine on treats for a couple of days I know that wouldn’t be good for him. I have been really lucky with my Pets. All four currently in my family were someone else’s rejects before they became mine and all are healthy. When it comes to feeding my Pets, my philosophy (if you want to call it that) is simple, partly because I don’t have to make a lot of decisions. If you are like me, some days are better than others in that department.
My thoughts on feeding:
1) I believe the most important thing you can do proactively to keep you Pet(s) healthy is to consistently feed a high quality, balanced diet.
2) I believe in life-stage feeding-/puppy/kitten, adult, senior etc.
3) I don’t believe in catering to pickiness-if you live in my house you eat the same brand of food (at the appropriate life-stage) your whole life
4) Pets will eat when they are hungry-I’ve never heard of a Pet starving to death in front of a full dish of food.
5) Food shapes and colors are made for the person purchasing the food, not for the Pet eating it-pets don’t see colors like we do and frankly don’t care whether the kibble is shaped like a bone or a fish
6) I do give the dog 1 or 2 treats a day-Webster must have his Scooby Snacks!
7) I feed people food only rarely and if I do, I don’t give him anything I wouldn’t eat myself. The cats stick to cat food.
8) I am as affected as anyone by the pathetic “please, oh pretty please can I have just a tiny little bite of that” look-I will be strong (most of the time anyway) because I know it’s for the best.
My own experience:
1) I don’t waste time walking up and down isles in the store trying to second guess what my Pets might like-I don’t have the time, patience or desire for such decision making and I don’t like to waste food (or money) should I make a bad choice.
2) My Pets have no GI issues-loose stools, gas, vomiting or diarrhea
3) My Pets are all at healthy weights and have beautiful soft coats (Webster gets bathed twice a month and all get flea control monthly)
4) My senior cat, recently diagnosed with early kidney disease (very common in old cats), transitioned quickly and easily to the prescription diet form of the food she has eaten her entire life.
5) My other cats 7 and 8 yrs old have never been sick (not to say they haven’t yakked up a hairball on occasion). Webster who goes everywhere and does everything has never been sick.
My experiences over the last 30 years have been pretty consistent so there is something going on besides luck. And I want to do everything I can to help my Pets live as long and be as healthy as they possibly can.
I am glad my pets don’t live in your house.
You are downright scary [ Boo!] not only in your lack of knowledge but your rigidity.
Yes, I understand you feed a ‘life stage’ or prescription formula. I saw that.
However……
Many people think they are feeding a high quality pet food – until they take the time to do some research and read.
However, you say…
1) I don’t waste time walking up and down isles in the store trying to second guess what my Pets might like-I don’t have the time, patience or desire for such decision making and I don’t like to waste food (or money) should I make a bad choice.
You FORCE your pet to eat YOUR BAD CHOICE. Your pet may try to tell you something is wrong with the pet food. After all, their noses are waaaay better than ours. I’ve had a couple of dogs refuse to eat a particular food and turns out it was some of the recalled dog food; I know he could smell the toxins. Should I have just left it there for days until the dog was forced to eat it or dirt or grass?
You said:
3) I don’t believe in catering to pickiness-if you live in my house you eat the same brand of food (at the appropriate life-stage) your whole life
What is the matter with YOU?
A pet can live 12 to 17 years.
1.) Research is done and pet food is improved.
2.) New dog foods are introduced.
3.) Some pet foods change their formula – - for the worse. Sometimes it affects the pet.
4.) Pets develop health problems that may require several changes of diet including switching brands, prescription diets, home-cooked, and raw.
You said:
4) Pets will eat when they are hungry-I’ve never heard of a Pet starving to death in front of a full dish of food.
I have. I have watched it. I have forced fed a chronically ill pet. I have forced fed a weak rescue pet because it took too much energy to eat. I have watched a pet lie for days without eating because ignorant pet owners like you didn’t recognize a health problem such as cancer. Or the dog absolutely would not eat and would not eat so the owner needed to do something to get food in the gut to get the gut going again. Oh, and introduce bacteria again to help normalize the intestinal flora.
You said:
7) I feed people food only rarely and if I do, I don’t give him anything I wouldn’t eat myself. The cats stick to cat food
Well, that’s you. You don’t take the tiem to walk up and down the aisle to compare pet food. There are many people who educate themselves, get on forums, talk to veterinarians, and their pets are on ‘people food’ or raw diets.
Would you eat your pets’ food? If not, why not? I mean besides maybe not liking the taste. Is is human grade quality? If it is, then you are feeding ‘people food.’ If it is not human grade quality, why are you feeding it?
You said:
2) My Pets have no GI issues-loose stools, gas, vomiting or diarrhea
Even the cheapest food can be formulated to prevent those symptoms. After all, who would buy their food if the pets had those problems?
You said:
My experiences over the last 30 years have been pretty consistent so there is something going on besides luck.
I would say if you have not changed pet foods in 30 years you have been lucky.
It does not seem you are keeping up with industry, the FDA, and more educated pet owners.
There are VERY few pet foods that have not changed formulas in the past 30 years.
Some pet foods no longer exist. New pet foods have popped up with more and more frequency since about 1995. Pet foods and treats are recalled every year. Toxic foods have made pets acutely sick, chronically sick and killed them. Right now, China has a chemical found in baby formula killing and making chronically ill infants in their country. This is the same or similar chemical that killed pets for years until it was caught back in 2006 and 2007. It artificially raises the QA of protein in the pet and human products. Scary, huh?
Like I said, I would hate to be a pet and live in your house.
In fact, I would worry about your own health since you don’t have the time to walk up and down the aisle and would force a pet to eat a mistake you make.
I bet you think eggs are bad for you and soybean is good for you!
Experience does not replace knowledge….up to date knowledge.
Here’s but a *few* sites, but I would also go directly to the brand site, say Solid Gold, Innova, Canidae, Artemis, Blue Buffalo, Wellness, etc. even go to the ’stables’ of Purina.
http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html
http://www.doberdogs.com/
http://www.flintriverranch.org/comparison.html
http://www.feedmypet.com/dog-food-comparison.html
http://www.fourlegspets.com/Docs/Dog Food Comparison.doc
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/index.php
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:33 pmDear Gina,
Thank you for your comments and the opportunity to respond. As a veterinarian of over 20 years I have seen first hand how food choices and styles of feeding affect Pets both positively and negatively. This was not an attempt to tell your or anyone else how to feed Pets, only my thoughts and what has worked well for me. There is no single food that works well for all Pets and I did not suggest this to be the case. I agree that food labels and information can be very confusing and sometimes misleading. I am comfortable with the research and quality control standards of the food that I feed my Pets and if that ever changes I will do my homework and make the best decision for my Pets. Due diligence is each individual’s responsibility and veterinarians are great resources for Pet owners who want or need help with this. Healthy Pets will eat when they are hungry. Sick and injured Pets or those with chronic disease must be managed differently and as stated, I do that with my oldest cat who has early kidney disease-extensive research shows that although there are many things you can do for cats with kidney disease, feeding the appropriate food is the single most important factor in longevity and quality of life. I know this to be true from my experience both in and out of the hospital. I will continue to do what works to keep my pets happy and healthy and trust that you will use your own knowledge and experience to do the same.
Respectfully, Karen Johnson, DVM
October 29th, 2008 at 3:46 pmDr. Johnson,
You stated:
“As a veterinarian of over 20 years I have seen first hand how food choices and styles of feeding affect Pets both positively and negatively. This was not an attempt to tell your or anyone else how to feed Pets, only my thoughts and what has worked well for me.”
What concerns me is that you are identifying yourself as a veterinarian of 20 years.
Anytime you are giving “only my thoughts” as a licensed medical professional, you are practicing. People reading this or listening to you in person will take your information as a professional, practicing opinion. This is held in higher regard than say, a person who works in a pet store.
If you signed your name as “Karen” and stated this is my opinion without identifying yourself as a practicing veterinarian, this would be different.
You have already posted:
“When it comes to feeding my Pets, my philosophy (if you want to call it that) is simple, partly because I don’t have to make a lot of decisions.”
Okay, here’s a veterinarian who does not take the time to study, have the desire to study, nor keep up with the pet food industry to save making a lot of decisions.
“My thoughts on feeding: 1) I believe the most important thing you can do proactively to keep you Pet(s) healthy is to consistently feed a high quality, balanced diet.”
You do not give any education or websites helping pet people with the selection of “high quality, balanced diet.” Education is very much needed because every manufacturer wants to sell their pet food and will tell you it is a good food and meets the requirements of AAFCO, yet the food may be the MINIMAL requirements and without education, the pet owner does not realize the poor source which may not be metabolized by the pet.
“My own experience:
1) I don’t waste time walking up and down isles in the store trying to second guess what my Pets might like-I don’t have the time, patience or desire for such decision making and I don’t like to waste food (or money) should I make a bad choice.”
I REPEAT myself:
Okay, here’s a veterinarian who does not take the *time to study, does not have the *desire to study, nor has the *patience to keep up with the pet food industry to save making a lot of decisions.
Yet, you said:
“I agree that food labels and information can be very confusing and sometimes misleading.”
and….
“I am comfortable with the research and quality control standards of the food that I feed my Pets and if that ever changes I will do my homework and make the best decision for my Pets.”
You are not identifying the food you feed your pets so we have learned nothing.
Ingredients and the definitions on the food labels are discussed on several professional and government websites. You should be helping ease the confusion.
How will the average pet owner know when the research changes or a pet food changes its ingredients ?
How will the average pet owner when the quality control standards fail?
How will you? As stated, you don’t take the time, the desire, nor patience to keep up with this.
This is why I posted in case some pet owner believes that ‘in general’ this veterinarian just picks up what they *believe,* without definition, is a high quality pet food. In actuality, the food may start out with corn, wheat, animal by-products, fat, a a type of sugar or flavoring so the dog will eat it, animal digest, soybean, preservatives, food coloring, and add in lots of supplements to get the required *minimum* daily requirements.
On the outside of the bag will be a cute picture and a statement that your pet will ‘love’ this food. It may say “with” certain ingredients making it sound like this is one of the top ingredients when actually it is one of the lowest ingredients by definition of ‘with’ by the AAFCO.
“Due diligence is each individual’s responsibility and veterinarians are great resources for Pet owners who want or need help with this.”
Again, it sounds like you are leaving it up to the diligence of the unsuspected, under-educated pet owners.
Again you suggest veterinarians are great resources and you have identified yourself as such.
I REPEAT myself:
Okay, here’s a veterinarian who does not take the time to study, have the desire to study, nor keep up with the pet food industry to save making a lot of decisions.
Cat with beginning of renal failure.
When you bring up the discussion of your cat with early kidney disease, you open up a whole can of worms. Your cat is going to go into chronic renal failure and this is a big concern in the pet world because it is one of the leading causes of illness in both cats and dogs. Kidney disease is an in depth study and each animal varies on so many different levels.
I mean make some kind of educational statement such as….
“Prevention and treatment are not the same. Therefore diet and many other factors such as hormones play into kidney disease. For instance, Phosphorus may be just as important as protein. Transplants are being done. ”
or
“BUN relates directly to protein intake, so BUN can be normal (or only mildly increased) even when creatinine is high due to kidney failure.”
or at least take the opportunity to…
give educational resources and forums for all the cat owners who are reading your post. Give a link to where kidney disease is discussed further on the Banfield website.
Once you identify yourself as a practicing veterinarian, you are in a seat of responsibility.
You cannot simply make statement on a personal level and post it. This is what you did when you stated:
“I will continue to do what works to keep my pets happy and healthy and trust that you will use your own knowledge and experience to do the same.”
If you are getting on a personal level and you are ” Karen ” and not ” Doctor Johnson ” then post it so that no one will take your opinion as coming from a profession who should study and keep up with changes in nutrition and pet foods.
You can not rely on your experience. Research is being published every month that could form your opinion. This research may even be found to be of no use in another year or it could be reinforced by another study. This research gives options.
Banfield has a unique opportunity in that if it would ‘update’ its computers to allow its hospitals to enter specific information, changes in pets within a certain region or all over the country could be discovered. This could be the example of melamine type chemical destroying livers in pets, a outbreak of disease, a reaction to a new product, or a same-type cancer that seems to be cropping up.
I would look forward to this kind of information from Banfield Hospitals!
It could help alert a pet food manufacturer, a vaccine producer, veterinarians, and pet owners all over.
Thank you for your respectful reply. If you notice, I am not displaying my creditials nor identifying myself professionally.
By participating on the ‘Sit and Stay’ blog and identifying yourself as a professional, you have fantastic opportunity to educate and give out resource sites or literature to help pet owners. I would hope you take your information a little more objective, a little more informative, and less personal in the future.
I look forward to more of your blogs.
Thanks,
Gina
November 19th, 2008 at 1:57 pm