Who knows best about nutrition?

Question

So I keep reading questions and answers on here about dog nutrition. One recurring theme that I see here is that apparently your vet doesn't know anything about nutrition, and that its all just a big scam from the pet food companies. (Apparently vets get kick backs from pet food companies to recommend their products). I've even heard people say that apparently vets sell these foods to intentionally make your dog sick, so that they'll come in more often and they can make more money off of you. 

Anyways, so here's my question --- who should you get your nutrition advice from? Any why them (what qualifies them to advise you on your dog's health.)

Other dog owners? 
Your dog's breeder? 
The pet store employee? 
Random stranger on the internet who has a pretty looking webpage? 

I've also seen people say "Do your own 'research'" on it. Frequently pointing to "dogfoodanalysis.com" (apparently that's gospel to a lot of people). 

So, your thoughts?

Labman · Accepted Answer

Good info is hard to come by.  Nearly everything comes from somebody selling something and many have a complete lack of ethics, no lie is too outrageous to post to the internet.  I would love to know where the money comes from to support dogfoodanalysis and other such lie filled sites.  We know who funds the True Blue rating system.  I just realized today none of those sites telll where foods actually made.  Is it coming from Menu Foods or Diamond, both of whose carelessness have killed many dogs in the past?  

If I had a question on nutrition, I would try to find a solid site on the net such as the Journal of Nutrition, FDA, AVMA, or such that I know who are.  Very little of the good stiff is available for free on the net.  I have found a few crumbs:

http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/AnimalHealthLiteracy/ucm204796.htm 

http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/ucm047120.htm

grains http://www.ddgs.umn.edu/articles-companion/2004-Hill-%20Alternative%20proteins%20in--.pdf

http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/134/8/2141S#top

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16426217?ordinalpos=17&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jan05/050115ww.asp

http://www.avma.org/avmacollections/obesity_dogs/javma_219_5_601.pdf

There is also www.searchedu.com far more likely to turn up solid academic work than some site put up by an unknown kook with who knows what agenda.  

if all else fails, I would talk to my vet.  They know a lot more than it is in the interests of many to have you believe.  Destroying the vets' credibility makes it easier to feed you lies in their interest.  I know who my vet is, and what he sells.  He knows I have too many other resources to feed me misinformation.  

Frankly I have little need of nutritional advice.  I have a team of highly qualified professionals telling me to feed Pro Plan.  Under their guidence, my dogs and thousands of others I see have doen quite well.

bostonterriersamericangentleman · Answer

If you are looking for true advice you would speak with a dog nutritionist. Some Vets hire them in their office for their clients. Vets obviously know some but they are NOT experts on nutrition. Vets are experts in medicine. It is true they do get paid from the companies that they promote. It is no different than Dr's that get paid to promote certain brands of medication. I have never heard that Vets intentionally make your dog sick and I think that is an absurd statement. I have read many answers on here about what people think they should feed their dog and that is their choice to pick whatever they want. I do my own research for my dogs. Dog food in general can be very misleading. It has been proven in studies that just because you pick the most expensive dog food it does not always mean it is the best food. The first step in picking a dog food is to make sure it is AAFCO approved. After that than you break down the actual ingredients of that food. An example of how misleading food can be is protein in dog food is derived from meat and poultry, meat byproducts, poultry by products, fish byproducts soybean meal and cereal grain. All of these proteins are NOT all of the same quality and digestibility. Now if you take the word beef, chicken, and so on 95% of the dry weight of the product must be derived from that protein source. Dog food companies have side stepped this by saying Beefy chunks or something like that and than you know that it no longer is 95% although most people still think it is beef. For any dog the food should have a proper balance of 10 essential amino acids. Those 10 cannot be manufactured by the dog which are arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. These should be created in your dog food from a combination of plant and animal sources. There so many dog foods on the market I do believe everyone should research on their own. I personally feed mine Peformatrin Ultra. The chicken in the main ingredient and it is hormone free. Hormone free is very important to me and that is just one of the reasons why I picked that brand. Of course all of the ingredients are excellent. Dog Food is very complicated and it does not help that dog food manufactures play word games and know that most people do not understand what the list of ingredients are.

Kelly · Answer

It is true that vets will recommend certain foods because they are paid to do so. Not ALL vets are clueless when it comes to the nutritional needs of your dog or cat. It depends on who YOU trust to help give your dog what he needs. I know many breeders that are rather knowledgeable regarding diet and nutrition...I also know a few that have no idea what they are talking about.

As for research, talk to your vet about the nutritional requirements of your pet, and then check out foods that you are interested in and are cost effective for you. You cannot give a general response because every dog is different as far as what foods are best for them such as high protein vs low, calcium requirements, allergies, taste etc. Wellness, for example, is a great food...but it wont do anything for your dog if he wont eat it.

This is one article by a feline vet and nutrition expert that I think all pet owners should read. It dispels many myths associated with the "almighty label" on pet foods:

http://www.catcare.com/blog/2010/08/03/the-truth-behind-pet-food-labels/

Again, the choice is ultimately yours and it is a personal choice. YOU decide who to trust for advice on the health of your fur kids.

? · Answer

It's true vets are sponsored by pet food companies to endorse their products. My vet admitted in all the years they spend training, just a matter of hours will be spent on nutrition - not just specifically for dogs but for just about every domestic animal they may treat - and usually this consists of a basic lecture from the various food companies.
Having fed commercial food for over 20 years I had two dogs with problems attributed to the food and decided to do my own research. At the same time I met my lovely friend and mentor who guided me through the switch to a natural diet and I haven't looked back since.  
As I said in another thread recently my vet told me my dogs are amongst the healthiest he's ever seen. Thats good enough for me. My 9yr old has never had any teeth problems.  His teeth today are practically the same as when he first cut them, strong, white and perfect.
The condition, general well being and health of my dogs for me, personally, speaks volumes.
I'm now much happier as I know exactly what's going into them.  You need to satisfy yourself that what you're feeding your dogs is the right choice for you and them.
No one can tell you this.

Anonymous · Answer

Yep I agree with the whole vet thing.  The only training they have had on nutrition (if any) would have been provided by a big wig company (Hills/Science Diet) and so of course junk full of corn and by products and fillers are what they are taught is 'good'.  It really is up to them to continue learning beyond what they are taught in school, and not all of them do, obviously.  I take any advice my vet gives me on nutrition with a grain of salt.
Best bet is research research research and come to your own conclusions.  Your average pet store employees can be helpful too, depending - most stores that I'm aware of are pretty good about having staff with at least basic knowledge about the subject.  You can normally get an idea on the person just by talking to them a bit and asking questions.

Belgian Nut · Answer

I think anyone who thinks vets intentionally recommend foods to make dogs sick, those people are totally out to lunch.  But it is true that nutrition is a miniscule portion of a vet school curriculum and unless a vet goes on for more training, they aren't the people to ask about nutrition.

Dog owners educate themselves - they read tons of articles, books, talk to experienced dog owners and breeders, and failing all that - they hire a dog nutritionist.  I did it for one of my dogs that I had specific questions about.  The consult was well worth the money - $25 and I got a 15 page report that included specific info, including info on where to get the item, I could ask follow-up questions.

Janet R · Answer

Hello Dale

Another "gospel" website would be dog-food-aid.com.

Dog food analysis is very good but only looks at kibble and canned whereas dog-food-aid tells us dog owners about a whole heap of feeding options that we have plus what ingredients to avoid and other "tricks" that manufacturers use such as splitting, bulking and terms of no relevance such as natural! 

I'll put a link below for you to the ingredients section (then you'll see why vets are not a good source for your dog food!) and from there you will obviously be able to visit all other pages.

I find dog-food-aid.com a great resource and I hope you will as well - Good luck

Anonymous · Answer

read the label make sure there is no corn or byproducts in the food. natural variety natural balance and solid gold are the best in nutrients for dogs. most of the time the best store will be able to tell you whats best. dont go into small stores (they try to sell u food that they make more profit on regardless if its good) petco is a big store and the employees dont care about profits and will be honest to there extent of knowledge (my fiance used to manage a petco). i feed my dog natural variety and they all get the nutrition they deserve. my vet and breeder tried to get me on eukanuba which messed up my dogs digestive system. they also lost alot of wieght and i had to keep coming to see if my puppies were ok. after i got the other brand they got better and gained wieght. dont trust websites either they can be biased. talk to other dog owners to see what they feed their dogs compare. hope i helped

Land-shark · Answer

Anybody that knows something about dog nutrition from practical experience will give you the most valuable input. Problems surface when that practical esperience is devalued because it is not sufficiently modern. Those with a vested interest in selling dog food cannot be trusted not to spin their recommendations, not even vets. They can be even more facaetious than your 'random stranger on the internet', but I wouldn't expect vets to recommend directly harmful food, and I wouldn't expect large corporations to be stupid enough to risk lawsuits by deliberately selling harmful foods.

Many of us change our dog's food from time to time if our dog goes off it; sometimes it is a change to the recipe that triggers the change.

Gayle H · Answer

Any dog food is fine. It is when your dog gets a medical condition that you should put him on a prescription pet food from the vet. Your dog can live well into old age without getting sick.  If you see that your dog doesn't like a brand of food or doesn't do well try another kind. The only thing that is bad for him is to change his food often without doing it slowly. Put half and half for about a week then gradually reduce the old food.

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Who knows best about nutrition?

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