how much info do you share w/your vet regarding raw/cooked diet?

tunisianswife · 09-01-2009, 08:15 AM

I absolutely love my vet. I also have learned so much here regarding feeding raw/cooked diet, and better dog foods. we are now pretty much grain free. My lhasa enjoys his raw beef bones, I cook chicken/rice sometimes but admit that I have had to do that less since using a good dog food. they get cottage cheese, eggs, etc. I have found that they don't get bored w/things as much now since I have read the threads here. I also should mention that after 6 yrs of running out of ideas, my dogs will eat their kibble as well as eat the homemade.

that being said...when I've casually mentioned in conversation when the topic of feeding comes up, my vet will grin, etc. when I mention the above. I know I've read so much how SOME vets are not truly educated as well as an animal nutritionist, so I get that.

example: yesterday my 11 mo. old shih tzu got neutered. when I was asking about food intake immediately post op, I mentioned that I had some chicken that I would cook up with a little rice to feed in small amts.. His response

and he said this very nicely with a smile on his face) "well, that depends on how much and how early you want to start spoiling the little fella".

I just know that this is not a subject where we have the same opinions on, so I just will not divulge too much. I feel like a 'closet feeder' again. LOL

anyone w/similar experiences? just curious. and again, you folks have been so helpful the past month in helping me gain knowledge, as well as give me the confidence to not feel guilty about feeding my dogs raw beef, etc.

lovemygreys · 09-01-2009, 08:38 AM

We've had a full and completely open discussion about our raw feeding diet with our vet. We have one diabetic dog and one with kidney issues, so I wanted to make sure the vet and I were on the same page about what these two dogs in particular were eating.

They were hesitant to take Melody off her prescription kidney kibble, but I was able to talk about each element of her diet and why it was chosen and they said why not give it a try and monitor her blood levels. So far so good. They are open to learning and are learning via us and our dogs. Not sure if they'd ever recommend a raw diet to other kidney patients (jury is still out on how Mel will ultimately do) but now they have a real live dog with real live data to see how a kidney disease can be managed with something other than rx kibble. It's an alternative they *may* be able to offer in the right situation.

Our vets know us very well. They know we don't make decisions lightly or without serious research. If I ask their opinion, I expect an honest one. And they give it. But it doesn't mean we always take it...and they aren't offended if we don't. All in all, we have a good partnership with them. The way it should be.

DJsMom · 09-01-2009, 08:41 AM

I love my vet too, & honestly I don't think she'd have any problem with me feeding a cooked diet to my dogs, but when I told her that I feed them a raw diet, she went on to tell me that she's heard many, many horror storys about pets who are fed a strictly raw diet, such as 1 particular case where the dog had rickets.
Hopefully my dogs & I will be able to prove to her that if done properly a raw diet is very good & healthy.

Kuma'sMom · 09-01-2009, 09:07 AM

I'm very open about Kuma's raw diet with my vet, but I'm very fortunate to have a holistic vet who is a huge propent of raw diets. She thinks the diet Kuma's on is absolutely perfect, lol. I love my vet!

DJsMom · 09-01-2009, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuma'sMom

I'm very open about Kuma's raw diet with my vet, but I'm very fortunate to have a holistic vet who is a huge propent of raw diets. She thinks the diet Kuma's on is absolutely perfect, lol. I love my vet!

I would LOVE to find a vet that felt that way! One that I could actually discuss the menu with. So far I just haven't come up with one like that

Hallie · 09-01-2009, 10:13 AM

We don't mention it if he doens't ask, our vet is ignorant

. He's anti holistic,rotation,grain free, raw, and homecooked. He usually tries to push science diet in my face and the whole nine yards

Binkalette · 09-01-2009, 10:49 AM

My vet would like everyone to feed Science Diet. You can guess how much I'd share with them. :-/

Northern_Inuit_Luv · 09-01-2009, 10:54 AM

My first vet was really against it, and gave us a bunch of paperwork on why the raw diet is so bad....at the time, we decided not to switch, but then our puppy came, and she wouldn't touch the kibble...so we had to learn pretty fast. Our new vet loves the raw diet, but doesn't really know much about it other than all the benefits that comes with the raw diet...so she is learning more from us than we are learning from her. Its nice to have support, though

Ayanla · 09-01-2009, 11:18 AM

I don't discuss nutrition with my vet. When one of my pups had vomiting/diarrhea shortly after we first got her, one of the comments he made with regards to her food was that he saw no need to feed "overpriced boutique food like Innova" when Eukanuba or Iams was just as good. He also sort of tsk-tsked me for giving my pups pumpkin and/or yogurt as a biweekly treat and as a dietary aid to regularity. He's absolutely adamant that dogs should have no people food ever, so somehow I don't think he'd be too in love with the idea of a raw diet.

I love my vet for other reasons, but he's definitely not someone I'd go to for advice about nutrition.

tunisianswife · 09-01-2009, 11:32 AM

interesting posts. Now my vet did suggest pumpkin for my lhasa who had gained 2# the past yr. he suggested it could be given a bit before a meal to help curb the appetite during mealtime. Now I understand what the source of his 2# gain was, and it was not due to a verocious appetite with loads of food served each meal. it was me giving him treats because he wouldn't eat what I had given him. again-my fault and 6 yrs of pulling my hair out finding what they would eat but also again-after coming here and correcting MY errors, things are great and I don't have to do the treat substitution.

when i stated to him that they were now cutting down drastically on the grain foods, he has this look like I have three heads. He too pushed science diet but when I told him what they were on(blue buffalo, TOTW, Wellness) he did state that they are all good foods and where I can purchase them locally if I don't want to keep ordering online.
He too is one that is totally against 'people food'.
anyway, I'll just continue to do what I'm doing. as long as they are having no health issues, and are eating their food I'll just not broach the subject unless it is asked.

Maliraptor · 09-01-2009, 11:37 AM

Since Im a tech, I work with the vets. So I am honest about feeding raw at times.

Reactions have varied from "how horrible" to a few vets actually agreeing with me.

phoebespeople · 09-01-2009, 11:42 AM

Before we got Phoebe, I asked a Vet down the road from us about feeding RAW, and she freaked out. She said we'd kill our dog with salmonlella and e-coli, and it would make us sick and that was the worst, stupidist thing we could do. I had already done a lot of reaseach by then, and I knew she was full of sh*t. It made me so angry! How could this "educated" person be so ignorant? I looked around the office and all I saw was Royal Canin, they we obviously working on commission. I would never trust a vet who pushes kibble.
Anyways, our new vet is holiostic/natural remedy/RAW food friendly, and they are awesome! It's nice to have that support, and it's nice to see Phoebe thrive and hear people compliment her on her white teeth and silky coat and boundless energy.
If you are looking for a vet, ask them if the support the RAW diet. If they say no, turn around and walk out.
By the way, The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association's platinum sponsor is Hill's (Colgate Palmolive). If your Vet wants to ba a memeber, well, you do the math...

flipgirl · 09-03-2009, 12:15 AM

I work at the animal hospital where I take my dog and I've had the same response from all of the vets there. I get "why would you feed your dog raw?" to one vet's explanation that raw is not natural because the meat I'm feeding my dog is not the same meat being preyed upon in the wild. She said the animals get killed in a slaughterhouse where they are stuck in a crowded room and crap all over each other. It's the same meat we eat but she said we cook the meat we eat. She said, 'that's the real explanation and if you want to feed your dog natural food without preservatives, then feed her canned". Well, first of all, the animals are skinned after they crap all over each other (sorry too graphic) and second of all, I don't know of any animal hunting a can in the forest. But all the vets recommended Hill's prescription. Yeah it would be nice to get a nice discount on dog food but I have fed c/d canned and the poops were bigger than my dog. Compare them to the poops she has on raw, there's no contest. However, if I ever see a wild dog hunting down a can of dog food in the forest, I will rethink my feeding methods!

Having said that, I believe prescription foods have their place but I also think that they could be made with better quality ingredients considering the price they charge for the foods. There is a vet who is somewhat of a holistic vet where I live and she recommends raw to her clients, but I can't afford the $140 dollars she charges just to see my dog. Some of you are quite lucky! It would be nice to have a logical discussion about raw and dog food in general with a vet who is not so brainwashed with Hills' propaganda.