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With the current furore over the influence major pet food companies are having in our Veterinary Nutrition curriculum, the question “what is the best thing to feed my pet?” has never been more relevant. If the designated experts in our community are not being taught in an unbiased manner, how can they be relied upon to provide unbiased advice?
Regular “Pet Food” is not the best solution
At the moment the majority of graduating veterinarians advise people to feed their pets a premium dry commercial dog or cat food. They are supposed to contain all the nutrition your pet requires for optimum health. But the immediate question that springs to mind is, “If I go to a human nutritionist, they would never advise me to live on a diet of highly processed, mass produced biscuits. So what is different about our pets?”. The answer is “nothing” of course; highly processed food is not ideal for your pet.
The pet food-marketing situation has reached the point that new pet owners are afraid to feed their pets anything but “Pet Food”, for fear of injuring their pets.
The reality is that a large number of health problems are caused by commercial pet food diets, and that every day animals are suffering and even dying (many in agony) because of the excellent marketing techniques of the large pet food companies.
Mismatch between dry food and the pet’s normal diet
In their natural diet, dogs receive a lot of water through their food, which is not given with the dry “pet food”. The water content is but one issue. The high carbohydrate content and non-animal protein sources have been implicated in our pets (dogs and cats) developing diabetes, obesity, and other diseases.
So where does this leave the pet owner and the veterinarian? It is hard to find unbiased scientific research because the large pet food companies control the research agenda. Vets are scientists and like to have scientific studies to back up their clinical decisions. Yet all the studies are based around the biscuits rather than foods designed to replicate a wild diet.
I am currently gathering data from zoo veterinarians, research that has been done on wild and zoo animals, a range of experts in pet nutrition, and the limited research that does exist in this area.
The right diet
Dogs are not very difficult to provide a balanced diet. If you make a diet that is balanced to you then it is likely to be balanced for your dog. When in doubt add a multivitamin and mineral supplement. There are proponents of various raw diets for dogs, and some of the concepts behind these diets have merit. However, given dogs love to scavenge and eat a range of foods in the wild, I would avoid getting too strict about what your dog eats. A common sense approach with the usual no go foods such as onion, etc. is fine. Don’t forget that domestic dogs have been living on the food we throw away for thousands of years. They are amazingly well adapted to eat a human-like diet. As we learn more about the mistakes humans have been making in their own diets (such as ingesting large quantities of carbohydrates since 1980), we must also transfer that to dogs.
There are diets on the market that are supposed to replicate a wild diet. These diets are definitely a big step in the right direction. However, there are a couple of caveats I would mention. Firstly, make sure they have the correct nutritional profile (try and find one that is linked to a veterinarian or someone similarly trained in animal nutrition). Secondly, they generally use a large animal (such as kangaroo) as the primary source of meat. There is mounting evidence to suggest that if you want the best for your pet then an even weight diet is important. Not many small dogs are capable of taking down an Eastern Grey Kangaroo or Cow.
Conclusion
So the answer to the original question is evolving. My current advice is to not over complicate it. A varied range of foods, avoiding those on the dangerous list, and a raw lamb shank or something similar, with the meat on, for some fun and a bit of a dental work out. Avoid dry commercial foods (particularly in cats), and watch this space as new foods are produced that truly do represent the ideal diet for our pets.
About the Author
Dr Antony Karolis, BVSc (Hon 1), MBA, Veterinary Industry Advisor, Investment Consultant, Business Development, Graduate Advisor.
Dr Karolis is the CEO of WellPet a chain of three clinics in Sydney’s Western Suburbs since 2005. He owns 9 pets, including a cat, a dog and birds. He likes to walk his dog, play guitar, go for a surf and play with his children.
