I just adopted Meeka from BRAT and took her to my vet. She is 10 pounds overweight and he recommended Purina Fit and Trim. I know food is a big debate topic with dog owners, but why do vets recommend a food when the first seven ingredients are whole grain corn, whole grain wheat, soybean meal, corn germ meal, soybean hulls, corn gluten meal, and meat by-products?? I wouldnt even consider feeding this to her, I just don’t understand why vets recommend it.. anyone have insight on this?
DiegosMom,
I think I asked the same question a while ago because the vet use to recommend stuff to me that I know was not nearly as good as what I was feeding my furkids. Someone gave me the answer that the vet needs to push foods that are funding the vet, kind of like Banfield pushes brands that are in their store. This last time that I went I was prepared to challenge the vet on this because I had a print out of the ingredients for Innova EVO, I know I need to just let it go but it bothered me that they were always pushing foods that weren't so great.
chaseandzahrasmom-
thanks for the response, i didnt say anything when he said that, even though i know i feed better food than that, because i know the vet would just blow me off.. i feel the same as you, it just bothers me they push those foods..
And IMO, there is nothing wrong with telling your Vet that…. and IMO, if your Vet blows you off, I would find a different Vet... it is one thing to push a food and/or product... but another to be rude to a client and not listen to them... and also, as I understand it in Vet School they spend less then one day learn about foods... more recent Vets learn a lot more and also now that there are many specialties in Vet Medicine things are changing lots...
You know it is the one vet that was always pushing the pet store food to me and telling me that Chase (our Puggle) was overweight. Chase does not appear fat to me, he has the sucked in part where it should be he is part pug and Beagle so he has extra skin, he is excerised everyday.
I just felt like everytime I had her she was trying to push me away from foods that I educated myself on and she always made me feel like I wasn't being a responsible pet parent because I wasn't feed store brand X which she thought was better. I request for any vet besides her when I go there now, the other vet I usually get never has given me food recommendations or told me that Chase is overweight.
I guess it shows that you need to educate yourself, trust your vet but be informed so that you can ask questions.
And for many years, Vets never said anything to people about pets being overweight… some much has changed over the years...
my vet is very old and i just feel like he doesnt know whats going on now in the vet world.. i am moving to another city in about 6 months, so i dont want to switch vets now, and then again in 6 months, so i'm just gonna stay with him till then i guess.. when i do move i'm gonna find a vet who i am more comfortable with and who seems to be more up to date with their knowledge.. thank god for this board, i have learned so much from everyone here..
A good vet that stays current with the changes in the field is hard to find. My vet does sell Hills Science Diet and there are many clients that buy it. They have never pushed their food to me and have never commented about the food(s) that I feed. My vet does work hard to stay current about topics in the field. They were very excited to hear about the linked marker test and that we may have a direct gene test for Fanconi in the near future. We are not their only basenji clients but from the comments the vet techs make, we are their favorites.
lvoss- thats great you have a vet that has other basenjis and knows about the linked marker test.. i'm gonna try really hard to find a knowledgable vet who stays current with changes..
My Vet clinic is the same way… they listen to breeders and people that are involved in the Fancy.. one thing about my vets, it I call and say I need an appointment "now" I am in there.... they know that I would not call for a "hang nail".... My vets also sell SD and others that I would not use, but they don't push them on me... and that is OK... and they are NOT afraid to refer me to a specialist if they at unsure about what is going on.... Also everyone should remember that your dog's records, blood test, etc are your property and I urge everyone to get copies... you never know when you might need them..
