Vet's Food Advice
I just came home from our vet where he told me that I should throw away the food we've been feeding our two sheepies because it's so terrible. We currently feed Blue Buffalo Freedom and have had zero issues. I've been considering changing their food to a different grain free that has more protein options that I can rotate through- they've done much better on a grain free (firmer and smaller poos, etc). Due to the timing, I asked what he recommended. He recommended Hill's Healthy Advantage or Royal Canin- both of which he conveniently sells in his office. After researching, I'm struggling to see how these brands are any "better" than BB or Canidae (which I'm planning to switch the boys to). He seemed a little pushy about it and made me feel like a bad pet parent for feeding such "mediocre food" (his words). Has anyone had similar experiences?- or am I missing the magical nutritional boat with Healthy Advantage/Royal Canin? He kind of sent me into a food tail spin and I'm just not sure what is truly the best option. Any recommendations on Canidae, as well? Thank you all in advance for your help! |
|
|
| You aren't a bad pet parent. We fed Canidae to our collie but switched when it wasn't available locally. It's a good food and we had no problems at all with it. |
| Our previous vet did the same thing even though we had been feeding according to our breeder's recommendations (which frankly I trust more as she has never steered us wrong on anything). My new vets are less pushy with the up-sell of everything, they are much more laid back and give me more info. They also have experience with sheepdogs having owned one a few years ago (which makes me like them/trust more for some reason) and told me my food choice if fine. As long as it is a high quality food with the right amounts of fats and proteins and your sheepie's stomach tolerates it then there is no worry. A cautionary tale: Beware of advice from vets who are trying to sell you on things. My experience with our last vet's office was with my rescue mutt they were amazing but as soon as I brought in a pure bred dog they saw $$$$. I have since taken Leonard to a different office where 2 different vets have checked him out. Previous vet's constant money hunt was terrible, trying to sell me on their brand of food, telling me Leonard needed urgent expensive eyelid surgery (new vet says no way, his eyes are fine) that he needed to be put under for teeth cleaning (new vet says no, brush his teeth and give him things to chew), had ear problem (new vet says they are fine) and that he needed to be vaccinated for every possible thing under the sun including constant bordetella (new vet says not unless he is going to boarding kennel or doggy daycare) and lyme (new vet says lyme is actually risky and ups the dog's chance of developing kidney complications if they ever do get lyme). Old vet refuses to release any of my pet's records so we have to start from scratch with new vet. Not saying your vet is like this, just saying it took me a while to realize how some vets treat owners of pure bred dogs... The difference between how they treated me with each dog was crazy. |
| There's a sticky thread under "Medical & Nutrition" about grading your dog food. http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9674 I worked at a vet for several years, and frankly, unless your vet is a nutrition specialist, the information they get about various foods most often comes from manufacturer literature, manufacturer reps at conferences, and (lastly) journal articles. And by the time he studies up on the latest information on cancer treatments, vaccine studies, early kidney failure diagnosis, new x-ray technology, etc., etc., etc., nutrition information gets a brief read at best. Barring an allergy or medical condition that requires a specialized food, the best food for your boys is what they like and what sits well with them - whether it ranks at the top of the rating chart or not. (In the spirit of full disclosure, we sold Hill's at that vet practice. I had good success with their prescription foods, but I think you can do much better than their non-prescription cat and dog food. Just my opinion!) |
I really hesitate to recommend any food produced by Diamond manufacturers. This is a very large company that goes around buying out the good dog food companies. Their most recent purchase was Canidae  I found this out the hard way. I had been feeding Canidae for 4 years and all of a sudden the kibble changed. I contacted them and they denied any change. Well they flat out lied to me. I did some searching online and found several dogs becoming ill on Canidae. Yep good Ol' Diamond company. I confronted the sales rep and she finally admitted to a major change in the food. Gee thanks I almost lost my 9 year old Sheepie to bad pancreantitis! We all know of Diamonds past and how many animals they killed in 2005. Diamond makes several well known dog foods and if you pay attention they are the ones that are being recalled. Taste of the wild, chicken soup, Canidae, Kirkland, Premium edge, 4health and there are more. It's really sad to find a good dog food only for them to be bought out. This happened to Science diet, and Innova/EVO. They use to be top foods until bought out by companies like P&G and Diamond. OK off my soap box now because I know way too much about dog food. I recently discovered Fromm. It is made in WI and owned by a small company. They have excellent food including grain free products. It is also very reasonably priced. |
| Vets get a kickback from whatever food they sell. My vet sells Science Diet and I would NEVER feed them that! He's a family friend and has told me this myself, does not push the food on me either, and listens when I tell him why I feed what I feed. I did extensive research on food and so many are bought out by big name companies lately. I feed mine Fromm, they love it and I have had no problems with it. Small company, grain free available also! You aren't a bad parent!! |
| We feed James Wellbeloved and have no problems at all. Fred had it before Sprocket as was recommended by vet for his iffy tum so carried on and been great- easy to pick up in bag!!! |
I feed my two older dogs 2 and 4 Blue Buffalo Chicken and Brown rice and I feed Steel Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy Chicken and I think his is brown rice also.... my concern was all the ick content and as with the older dogs food the ick content was absent. I wish I had the bags so I could exactly quote them for you to maybe ease some worry. I take my food from the bags and put it in sealable containers to prevent critters. I did the initial research and have had positive results and never looked back. This is also the food my breeder used which pleased me and my vet is happy if my dogs are healthy so no complaints. Not at all a bad parent  Bad vet for making you feel that way!!! |
I have Summer on Green Dog, and the yorkie on a senior food, realised that Summer could be on senior food now as she is 7, so I am gradually changing her to the yorkies food. Which, by the way is James Wellbeloved Turkey and Rice senior, buy on line and it is £42.49 for a 15kg bag including post which I dont think is bad, will lasts almost 7 weeks for them both. Great excitement from the girls when the box arrives at the front door!  |
| Yes, that's what I fed Fred on from the age of 7 as it has added oils and Sprocket is on the "adult/maintences" as won't eat the "large breed" varitety. I get from a feed place near Headcorn and as a "member" I get it a bit cheaper, usually around £40.00 and I get every 7th bag free. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|