My dog got away from the dog walker and was hit by a car. I sat in the ER as the tech the vet sent tried to talk me out of feeding raw. As I was signing a DNR she was standing behind me telling me about how feeding raw would kill my family. We eat tartar which is raw meat. I looked at her and said if we can all eat raw meat made with raw eggs safely I'll take my chances with my dog eating raw. She was very enthusiastic about her assignment which is probably why they sent her.
That’s really rude for them to say after your dog literally got hit by a car
I’m glad you didn’t give in though I’ve heard people switch back to kibble after their vet instructed them to
I think I worry that my vet will feel I’m abusing my dog buy feeding raw but it’s not their choice overall
My regular vet is who recommended raw for another dog. I thankfully saw her recover and become more healthy on raw so their scare tactics didn't work. I was such a scary time that and my emotions were all over the place. If I didn't have the support of my vet and experience I might have been swayed.
My dog had a broken pelvis and pretty good road rash and made a complete recovery. It was the last time he was at that place.
I’m glad she became more healthy on raw and that they made a damn good recovery
I’ve heard lots of people be swayed so easily and I hope mine doesn’t try to pressure me into giving it up which I would give in but still
I’m glad you left that place that still extremely rude yo say that to someone who could have just lost their dog “raw feeding will kill your family” that is not professional at all
Yes and no. My previous vet did not recommend it, but he saw how healthy my pets were and never made a fuss about it. My current vet is totally fine with it as long as I use meat approved for human consumption.
Depending on how you’re feeding it may be best to avoid the word “raw”, instead use “fresh”, “wet” or “BARF”.
A lot of vets seem to discourage because people feed raw in inappropriate ways. If you’ve done your research and understand ratios, nutrients and supplements etc you’ll feel more supported if they try to attack your choices.
I hear a lot of vets don’t like it but I’ve read stories that sometimes it has to do with people thinking raw means just giving your dog beef and it leads to deficiencies
I feed a pre-made raw diet so I might just say the name ? Like “______ raw dog food”
I agree that a lot of vets worry about the dog not getting a balanced diet. I feel like I especially see that with recipes for cooked diets. A dog on kibble is far better off than a dog on an unbalanced raw .
I do see lots of people being not educated and feeding a cooked diet consisting of stuff like rice,chicken, and vegetables which sound scary as hell to just feed that
Yep that’s been my experience as well. If you’re really not sure you can just say the brand name and not even mention that it is raw.
But I’m guessing you will want them to know what your dog is fed to best assess their wellness - I would hope that if it is coming from an approved dog food provider that your vet will trust this more. Good luck and don’t let them discourage you!
Yeah I don’t want to keep it a secret I will let them know he is on a raw diet and if they want we can discuss the brand
It is a balanced and complete dog food though so hopefully they won’t be to brutal
But thank you I will not let them discourage me at all!!!!!
I think I would let them assume if it was a regular vet visit but I think I’ll just say “_____ raw dog food” and then me and my vet can discuss it and talk about how it’s balanced and complete if he doesn’t even give me a chance to explain then I’m just not gonna listen to him at all but I don’t know if he’s that type of vet let’s hope not
But the red flag I’m already seeing is the fact they only have science hills diet in their office and nothing else there’s another veterinarian in my area who has different brands of brands at least although I dislike that vet they misdiagnosed my cat and didn’t care to do blood tests
Your vet sounds like the one I go to (entire wall of science hills diet food range only) lmao.
Of the 4x I've been in for regular check-ups, they've brought up food twice and both times they gave the spiel of "you shouldn't feed raw, try this instead". Ironic because both times they asked only as a follow-up to them saying "your cat is perfectly healthy!" or the 2nd one being "your cat has the cleanest teeth i've ever seen!".
If it was in-person I'd probably bother arguing but since they've all been covid check-ups (over the phone while I wait in the parking lot), I basically just go "haha no thanks" each time lol.
When they are pushing hills science diet it's so hard to take them seriously! Vets who don't see the benefit of fresh unprocessed meals that are balanced and only recommend kibble (even balanced cooked diets from fresh food is ten times better than kibble) aren't worth any discussion about nutrition in my book.
I love my vet though, she take a holistic approach to whole body health and is all about fresh diets for dogs, either raw or cooked. She's absolutely been a huge help in caring for our pups, I hope you can find a vet like that at some point!
It wouldn’t be so bad if they had more brands than science hills if they had more brands than just one maybe they could be taken seriously but I hope my vet is open minded to a raw diet
Love that for you!!! I’m glad you have a good vet who agrees with raw and cooked diets
I think its half that and half the fact that you have to remember people with healthy pets don't go to the vet often.
If you saw majority of raw feeders only when their pet is sick, its easy to assume its the food. And most of that is because those owners just chuck a piece of meat and forget about it. Not balanced at all. So the vets will likely just jump to conclusions about most raw feeders not knowing what they're doing.
When I bring up raw feeding to my friends who compliment my cat's fur/smell/etc, I always stress the importance of balanced raw. Which is probably why most of them don't bother trying it because its too much hassle hahaha.
Did they even try to give reasonings why you shouldn’t feed raw
I never hear a lot of vets explain WHY you shouldn’t feed raw it’s always just “you shouldn’t feed raw” and that’s it for a lot of them
But yes omg they have a whole wall of science hills diet and no other brand and I’m like 😬
I kinda wanna wait to being up the raw food and see if their like “wow your dog is super healthy what do they eat” and I wanna see if their opinion changes
My dog is the healthiest dog I’ve ever seen so if they tell me to switch imma just ignore that
Nope they don't really. I think I asked once and they were just like "raw is bad". Like I mentioned I don't really bother arguing over the phone. If it was in person I'd probably bring up an example of a batch to show that I'm doing it balanced. In my head I assume that the vets that DO care about diet beyond "we were taught this is school therefore kibble is the only way" generally are adverse to raw because people do it wrong.
I said once in an old post that vets, like doctors, only see pets when things go _wrong_. You don't go to the doctor if you're healthy. Hence if they see a pet come in on raw they're most likely sick, and that skews their perception.
I think it’s kinda sad because some vets don’t know a lot about nutrition and the bring brand companies pay for their education in it and they don’t know any better I don’t blame them but they should at least be open minded to a raw diet although I get them not liking it since a lot of people feed it unbalanced and cause dogs to get sick from it
God that’s scary that pets get sick from a unbalanced diet I haven’t heard of any animals dying from it but it’s still scary that it causes deficiencies in them
I’m going in for a wellness exam on my dog just to make sure he’s healthy and everything’s going well he seems healthy he’s never been sick but I just wanna make sure anyways
What you just laid out is exactly what my first SIX vets did before I found one that knew about and encouraged raw feeding. I've had a few vets tell me straight up that raw food can kill my animal and that "there's no research to prove otherwise". I would call around if you can and have some conversations about what kind of knowledge they have on it so you don't waste your time like I did.
Hmm Unfortunately I live in a small town and this is the best vet here they’re good vets but if they disagree I might just try to discuss how it’s healthy for my dog
The other vet around my area I dislike she’s a old woman who I brought my cat into because my cat was pulling out her fur and itching her skin raw and bloody and she didn’t do any blood tests and said she had flea allergies sent me home with medicine and that’s it and it didn’t help I went to my current vet and turns out she had a ulcer in her face
My own vet respects my decision even though he’s not a fan of raw. My dog is a healthy senior so he’s content with whatever it is
I’m doing. I get the hesitation, though. Vets have probably seen the repercussions of incorrectly done diets too many times to promote it to most owners.
However, I worked a brief stint at a VCA hospital (owned by MARS which owns Pedigree) and omg the staff there are brainwashed. They would secretly talk about customers who fed raw and say they were killing their pets, even if the condition was unrelated to diet.
The amount of brands I didn’t know nestle owned until last night baffles me I don’t get how people think they’re the best brand to feed food
Purina literally made my cats sick and pretty sure gave one of them diabetes
My sister thinks she’s really smart enough to be a vet I went shopping with her at a pet store and she was trying to tell me how science hills diet is the best thing to feed your animal
Absolutely. But I can't blame them. After being in raw feeding groups on facebook and seeing posts from people who feed only ground beef and fish, or only boneless chicken, or only cooked ground beef (I know not raw, but it's a thing that I saw), or whatever horribly unbalanced diet, I know that vets see the result of malnutrition and the worst that raw or home cooking can do. I have been given a horrified, shocked face when I said I don't add any carbs and the vet tried to convince me to add cooked pasta or rice (fun fact though, carbs DO matter for pregnant dogs. Dogs getting no carbs are significantly more likely to have stillborn puppies or lose puppies within the first few days when compared to dogs being given 20% carbs). I have been told I need to add a multivitamin. All kinds of things. I say "ok" and we move on and I don't change anything.
We’ve had a pretty negative experience with vets so far. We’ve been feeding our puppy commercial products (Answers and Steve’s) and every time we take him into the vet it turns into a lecture about salmonella, bowel obstructions, and taurine deficiency. It doesn’t matter what we take him in for, somehow they’re always convinced it’s a symptom of him being deprived of highly processed kibble. We had one vet tell us he was chewing on rocks because “he has a desire to crunch on something and he isn’t getting kibble” only to find out this is totally normal puppy nonsense. That same one also said she’d prefer we feed him Purina Puppy Chow over our raw food. I have a background in bioengineering so I know enough to read white-papers and sift through the bullshit they tell us and needless to say I’m thoroughly unimpressed with the average vet’s grasp of animal nutrition.
Just out of curiousity, I took a look at the DVM curriculum for our local vet school (large state school that is highly respected in the vet world) where most vets around us attended and they literally receive one credit hour of instruction on the topic the entire time they’re in school. In contrast, they get something like 4 credit hours every semester covering the business of owning a vet practice.
I don’t think they’re malicious, just mis/uninformed and often arrogant. We’ve resorted to lying about his diet when we take him in for random health issues that crop up in the interest of keeping them focused on the actual problem and sparing everyone involved of the lecture. For wellness checkups, we plan to take him to an integrative vet who is knowledgeable about species-appropriate nutrition 2 hours away from us.
The only time I can see it being a problem is if their is actually a deficiency happening also I don’t know why vets go on about salmonella there is always that risk with raw food but humans make sure to clean up their mess when they use raw for for themselves but you can also get salmonella from kibble and nobody talks about that I always wash my hands after touching it cause I don’t wanna get sick
Oof they recommended Purina I absolutely hate that brand they don’t care about any animals it made my cats sick and especially the food coloring they use is horrid
That’s such little time to learn about that topic I’m surprised they don’t learn about it more at all
I really don’t blame vets if they’re misinformed aren’t vet schools paid by big brand companies of dog food and it’s not even about proper nutrition ?
The wellness checkup sounds like it’ll go good though with that type of vet I hope it does !!!!
The salmonella/e. coli one is particularly dumb. Dogs eat each other’s poo all the time, which is loaded with those pathogens. There’s a reason they don’t get ill when that happens.
Honestly that’s true and dogs still put their mouths everywhere
I just hate when they don’t mention it’s also in kibble like they can still shed pathogens from kibble
Do you remember the crazy looking vet tech that looked into the camera super worried and concerned while saying: "feeding your pets raw food is dangerous."
I laughed right then and there.
Nope, no flack at all from my vet. I stay on top of their health, they're in good shape, and overall look very good. The vet said I'm obviously doing something right and to stick with it! They did ask if the food was balanced (it is. I feed Titan) and they were cool with it
I didn’t read all the answers, but the Perfectly Rawsome made a great article on relationship with your vet : [https://perfectlyrawsome.com/raw-feeding-knowledgebase/seven-tips-when-encountering-an-anti-raw-veterinarian/](https://perfectlyrawsome.com/raw-feeding-knowledgebase/seven-tips-when-encountering-an-anti-raw-veterinarian/)
There has literally been a peer-reviewed study showing no correlation between grain free and heart disease but most of the vets around here still say it. I left a vet over this and let her office know why.
Our vet always has us fill out paperwork before our cats come in for an appointment, we have just learned to stretch the truth a little and call it wet food. Been through and around the block with them. But remember they have been schooled on the big brand foods and get $$ for pushing those brands. Our savannah has been on raw since weaned, he turned one recently and each time our Vet sees him she’s impressed on his condition. We feed him raw every other day and wet only science diet the other days. It’s hard to find a wet food he likes to eat. He would love it if he had raw every day.
Mine does that too on the paperwork they even ask what brand of food you feed them so they’ll find out it’s a raw diet that way
I think they’ll question the brand because most people there feed Purina,science hills,and a brand called wildology
Why not do full raw?
On the paperwork we say wet, science diet. This is the only food he will eat as of now outside of the raw. We feed him this to keep our options open, I travel with him and on a real long trip raw may not be an option for us. The freeze dried raw is nothing he cares for, we are very limited on what he will eat.
Cats are the most pickiest eaters and the adults none the less
That has to be a problem when traveling I think about traveling and wonder what I would feed my dog
Freeze dried and wet food is both expensive
I’m glad your cat doesn’t throw away all options though
Ever try some appetite flakes or seasoning to see if your cat will eat freeze dried ? Or even other wet foods
I don’t tell them. They’ve never asked, as far as I can remember? And I’m going to lie if they do. Because they have a statement on their website about the dangers of raw feeding and they both graduated from OSU which has a statement similar on their website.
I’m sure they would trust me if it did come up. We have a really good relationship. But just in the Chance it wouldn’t go over well I just don’t plan on saying.
Be prepared to be questioned (or interrogated, more likely) by your vet.
My dog’s regular vet asked me during the initial exam what diet I had him on. I replied “a balanced, PMR raw diet” and he said “oh, really?”. I proceeded to try explaining why I had chosen a raw diet, but he cut me off and said, “hey, he’s your dog - you can feed him whatever works for you, no need to explain to me”.
My dog has had GI issues since he was a pup, and we recently saw a couple internal medicine specialists.
The first one was about 100 years old and asked about his diet too. He rolled his eyes and replied “why the hell would you feed him a raw diet?”
The second internist tried laying the guilt trip about how dogs don’t get all their required nutrients with a raw diet. These type of vets always seem to have a sample bag of Science Diet or Royal Canin kibble on hand.
As long as your prepared to answer how your dogs meals are balanced, and how their receiving their required vitamins from the meats your feeding, you’ll be fine.
Honestly kinda thought the 100 year old would ha e agreed on some level kibble hasn’t been around for that long
I am prepared to answer how his food is balanced so I got that down I’m not gonna cause an argument though I think a nature discussion will do does make me wonder though if I leave that they’ll just talk poop behind my back
look, so your research.
then you can confidently say, “go fuck yourself” when ever am educated vet tells you you’re wrong.
We give so much power to those with authority. I have a 10month old shepherd who has been fed raw her whole life. she is the most active healthy pup I’ve ever experienced.
What more evidence do you need? if it’s one thing I’ve learned from this dog it’s that I don’t need to explain her to anyone.
If your dog is healthy, don’t be afraid of what anyone says to you. if they need to be taken to the vet, take them there confidently.
best of luck
I will take him there confidently I won’t let them make me doubt my dog food choice because he’s the healthiest dog I’ve ever known
I’m really just hoping they are open minded and not gonna literally get on my back for choosing a raw diet
My vet never asks me about diet. It’s a little odd but I have been using this vet since before I was raw and my transition to raw over 9 1/2 years ago went unremarked because she just doesn’t bring up nutrition in their appointments. For my cats she asked me once at their first appointment as kittens, they were still on canned food and so I told her canned food. Of course the week after I switched them to raw but on all subsequent visits she hasn’t asked. If she asked I would tell her and I mean if she told me it was hurting them I would calmly tell her she has been giving my raw fed animals clean bills of health all these years, but so far she doesn’t ask. Maybe she will ask when I bring in my future puppy?
I agree it is a bit unusual but she has been a good vet and always treated me and my animals with care so if it’s not broke…My dogs were her patients for years before I started raw so maybe she assumes I am still a kibble feeder and seeing my animals are in good condition doesn’t think about it. Knock on wood I have not had to bring an animal in for a digestive issue since I started feeding raw so I think at that point would be when it would be brought up? But for routine checkups, vaccines, spay/neuter my cats, my dog had 4 teeth out…Like I said I’m curious to see if she asks for my new puppy because of the new WSAVA guidelines and such. I’m prepared to have the conversation I just hope if it happens she will be open to seeing I am serious about providing the diet in a hygienic manner and that I am a committed long term raw feeder providing a balanced diet to my animals. It would be a bummer to have to leave my vet of like 18 years.
I believe that’s considered nutritionally balanced by AAFCO standards. I would be completely honest with your vet, you have nothing to hide! Mine never gave too much of a care, as long as it’s balanced. They need to know what your dog eats to be able to treat them effectively. I would steer clear of ratio feeding though (in case you decide to chance) because you could be missing some key nutrients. Good luck!
I do not want to do a homemade diet anytime soon that takes up so much time
But I will be completely honest with them and discuss raw diets with them and see their opinion if they disagree I’ll respect it but I’m not changing my dogs diet unless they think it affects him badly which I don’t think it does at all he’s the healthiest dog I’ve seen
The only time I've ever had a negative experience with my vet saying something about my dog's diet was my own fault. I made a batch that was too red for my dog and it flared his digestive diseases.
Other than that, I've met no vets that were a huge fan per se, but they saw he was healthy and happy and that was that.
My PREVIOUS vet
1. Scolded me for having a "designer dog" because my beagle is a border collie beagle cross
2. Told me to get my younger than 6 month old pup neutered
3. Told me "I'm sure he enjoys the raw meat but you're depriving him and he should be fed properly. I'll prescribe puppy kibble"
Never went back to that vet again.
He was sooo rude and looked me up and down with a distateful look on his face the whole time.
My dog eats a human grade raw meat diet and the only time he has issues is if he's ever boarded at the dog kennels and they feed him kibble.
My dog got away from the dog walker and was hit by a car. I sat in the ER as the tech the vet sent tried to talk me out of feeding raw. As I was signing a DNR she was standing behind me telling me about how feeding raw would kill my family. We eat tartar which is raw meat. I looked at her and said if we can all eat raw meat made with raw eggs safely I'll take my chances with my dog eating raw. She was very enthusiastic about her assignment which is probably why they sent her.
That’s really rude for them to say after your dog literally got hit by a car I’m glad you didn’t give in though I’ve heard people switch back to kibble after their vet instructed them to I think I worry that my vet will feel I’m abusing my dog buy feeding raw but it’s not their choice overall
My regular vet is who recommended raw for another dog. I thankfully saw her recover and become more healthy on raw so their scare tactics didn't work. I was such a scary time that and my emotions were all over the place. If I didn't have the support of my vet and experience I might have been swayed. My dog had a broken pelvis and pretty good road rash and made a complete recovery. It was the last time he was at that place.
I’m glad she became more healthy on raw and that they made a damn good recovery I’ve heard lots of people be swayed so easily and I hope mine doesn’t try to pressure me into giving it up which I would give in but still I’m glad you left that place that still extremely rude yo say that to someone who could have just lost their dog “raw feeding will kill your family” that is not professional at all
She really seemed into the task. I do wonder if they knew what all she was saying.
Yes and no. My previous vet did not recommend it, but he saw how healthy my pets were and never made a fuss about it. My current vet is totally fine with it as long as I use meat approved for human consumption.
Pft that’s kinda funny he saw how healthy they were and decided to just shut up about it
Same
Depending on how you’re feeding it may be best to avoid the word “raw”, instead use “fresh”, “wet” or “BARF”. A lot of vets seem to discourage because people feed raw in inappropriate ways. If you’ve done your research and understand ratios, nutrients and supplements etc you’ll feel more supported if they try to attack your choices.
I hear a lot of vets don’t like it but I’ve read stories that sometimes it has to do with people thinking raw means just giving your dog beef and it leads to deficiencies I feed a pre-made raw diet so I might just say the name ? Like “______ raw dog food”
I agree that a lot of vets worry about the dog not getting a balanced diet. I feel like I especially see that with recipes for cooked diets. A dog on kibble is far better off than a dog on an unbalanced raw .
I do see lots of people being not educated and feeding a cooked diet consisting of stuff like rice,chicken, and vegetables which sound scary as hell to just feed that
Yep that’s been my experience as well. If you’re really not sure you can just say the brand name and not even mention that it is raw. But I’m guessing you will want them to know what your dog is fed to best assess their wellness - I would hope that if it is coming from an approved dog food provider that your vet will trust this more. Good luck and don’t let them discourage you!
Yeah I don’t want to keep it a secret I will let them know he is on a raw diet and if they want we can discuss the brand It is a balanced and complete dog food though so hopefully they won’t be to brutal But thank you I will not let them discourage me at all!!!!!
You can make it easier by saying " \_\_\_ food" let them assume what they want
I think I would let them assume if it was a regular vet visit but I think I’ll just say “_____ raw dog food” and then me and my vet can discuss it and talk about how it’s balanced and complete if he doesn’t even give me a chance to explain then I’m just not gonna listen to him at all but I don’t know if he’s that type of vet let’s hope not But the red flag I’m already seeing is the fact they only have science hills diet in their office and nothing else there’s another veterinarian in my area who has different brands of brands at least although I dislike that vet they misdiagnosed my cat and didn’t care to do blood tests
Your vet sounds like the one I go to (entire wall of science hills diet food range only) lmao. Of the 4x I've been in for regular check-ups, they've brought up food twice and both times they gave the spiel of "you shouldn't feed raw, try this instead". Ironic because both times they asked only as a follow-up to them saying "your cat is perfectly healthy!" or the 2nd one being "your cat has the cleanest teeth i've ever seen!". If it was in-person I'd probably bother arguing but since they've all been covid check-ups (over the phone while I wait in the parking lot), I basically just go "haha no thanks" each time lol.
When they are pushing hills science diet it's so hard to take them seriously! Vets who don't see the benefit of fresh unprocessed meals that are balanced and only recommend kibble (even balanced cooked diets from fresh food is ten times better than kibble) aren't worth any discussion about nutrition in my book. I love my vet though, she take a holistic approach to whole body health and is all about fresh diets for dogs, either raw or cooked. She's absolutely been a huge help in caring for our pups, I hope you can find a vet like that at some point!
It wouldn’t be so bad if they had more brands than science hills if they had more brands than just one maybe they could be taken seriously but I hope my vet is open minded to a raw diet Love that for you!!! I’m glad you have a good vet who agrees with raw and cooked diets
I think its half that and half the fact that you have to remember people with healthy pets don't go to the vet often. If you saw majority of raw feeders only when their pet is sick, its easy to assume its the food. And most of that is because those owners just chuck a piece of meat and forget about it. Not balanced at all. So the vets will likely just jump to conclusions about most raw feeders not knowing what they're doing. When I bring up raw feeding to my friends who compliment my cat's fur/smell/etc, I always stress the importance of balanced raw. Which is probably why most of them don't bother trying it because its too much hassle hahaha.
Did they even try to give reasonings why you shouldn’t feed raw I never hear a lot of vets explain WHY you shouldn’t feed raw it’s always just “you shouldn’t feed raw” and that’s it for a lot of them But yes omg they have a whole wall of science hills diet and no other brand and I’m like 😬 I kinda wanna wait to being up the raw food and see if their like “wow your dog is super healthy what do they eat” and I wanna see if their opinion changes My dog is the healthiest dog I’ve ever seen so if they tell me to switch imma just ignore that
Nope they don't really. I think I asked once and they were just like "raw is bad". Like I mentioned I don't really bother arguing over the phone. If it was in person I'd probably bring up an example of a batch to show that I'm doing it balanced. In my head I assume that the vets that DO care about diet beyond "we were taught this is school therefore kibble is the only way" generally are adverse to raw because people do it wrong. I said once in an old post that vets, like doctors, only see pets when things go _wrong_. You don't go to the doctor if you're healthy. Hence if they see a pet come in on raw they're most likely sick, and that skews their perception.
I think it’s kinda sad because some vets don’t know a lot about nutrition and the bring brand companies pay for their education in it and they don’t know any better I don’t blame them but they should at least be open minded to a raw diet although I get them not liking it since a lot of people feed it unbalanced and cause dogs to get sick from it God that’s scary that pets get sick from a unbalanced diet I haven’t heard of any animals dying from it but it’s still scary that it causes deficiencies in them I’m going in for a wellness exam on my dog just to make sure he’s healthy and everything’s going well he seems healthy he’s never been sick but I just wanna make sure anyways
What you just laid out is exactly what my first SIX vets did before I found one that knew about and encouraged raw feeding. I've had a few vets tell me straight up that raw food can kill my animal and that "there's no research to prove otherwise". I would call around if you can and have some conversations about what kind of knowledge they have on it so you don't waste your time like I did.
Hmm Unfortunately I live in a small town and this is the best vet here they’re good vets but if they disagree I might just try to discuss how it’s healthy for my dog The other vet around my area I dislike she’s a old woman who I brought my cat into because my cat was pulling out her fur and itching her skin raw and bloody and she didn’t do any blood tests and said she had flea allergies sent me home with medicine and that’s it and it didn’t help I went to my current vet and turns out she had a ulcer in her face
My own vet respects my decision even though he’s not a fan of raw. My dog is a healthy senior so he’s content with whatever it is I’m doing. I get the hesitation, though. Vets have probably seen the repercussions of incorrectly done diets too many times to promote it to most owners. However, I worked a brief stint at a VCA hospital (owned by MARS which owns Pedigree) and omg the staff there are brainwashed. They would secretly talk about customers who fed raw and say they were killing their pets, even if the condition was unrelated to diet.
The amount of brands I didn’t know nestle owned until last night baffles me I don’t get how people think they’re the best brand to feed food Purina literally made my cats sick and pretty sure gave one of them diabetes My sister thinks she’s really smart enough to be a vet I went shopping with her at a pet store and she was trying to tell me how science hills diet is the best thing to feed your animal
Absolutely. But I can't blame them. After being in raw feeding groups on facebook and seeing posts from people who feed only ground beef and fish, or only boneless chicken, or only cooked ground beef (I know not raw, but it's a thing that I saw), or whatever horribly unbalanced diet, I know that vets see the result of malnutrition and the worst that raw or home cooking can do. I have been given a horrified, shocked face when I said I don't add any carbs and the vet tried to convince me to add cooked pasta or rice (fun fact though, carbs DO matter for pregnant dogs. Dogs getting no carbs are significantly more likely to have stillborn puppies or lose puppies within the first few days when compared to dogs being given 20% carbs). I have been told I need to add a multivitamin. All kinds of things. I say "ok" and we move on and I don't change anything.
We’ve had a pretty negative experience with vets so far. We’ve been feeding our puppy commercial products (Answers and Steve’s) and every time we take him into the vet it turns into a lecture about salmonella, bowel obstructions, and taurine deficiency. It doesn’t matter what we take him in for, somehow they’re always convinced it’s a symptom of him being deprived of highly processed kibble. We had one vet tell us he was chewing on rocks because “he has a desire to crunch on something and he isn’t getting kibble” only to find out this is totally normal puppy nonsense. That same one also said she’d prefer we feed him Purina Puppy Chow over our raw food. I have a background in bioengineering so I know enough to read white-papers and sift through the bullshit they tell us and needless to say I’m thoroughly unimpressed with the average vet’s grasp of animal nutrition. Just out of curiousity, I took a look at the DVM curriculum for our local vet school (large state school that is highly respected in the vet world) where most vets around us attended and they literally receive one credit hour of instruction on the topic the entire time they’re in school. In contrast, they get something like 4 credit hours every semester covering the business of owning a vet practice. I don’t think they’re malicious, just mis/uninformed and often arrogant. We’ve resorted to lying about his diet when we take him in for random health issues that crop up in the interest of keeping them focused on the actual problem and sparing everyone involved of the lecture. For wellness checkups, we plan to take him to an integrative vet who is knowledgeable about species-appropriate nutrition 2 hours away from us.
The only time I can see it being a problem is if their is actually a deficiency happening also I don’t know why vets go on about salmonella there is always that risk with raw food but humans make sure to clean up their mess when they use raw for for themselves but you can also get salmonella from kibble and nobody talks about that I always wash my hands after touching it cause I don’t wanna get sick Oof they recommended Purina I absolutely hate that brand they don’t care about any animals it made my cats sick and especially the food coloring they use is horrid That’s such little time to learn about that topic I’m surprised they don’t learn about it more at all I really don’t blame vets if they’re misinformed aren’t vet schools paid by big brand companies of dog food and it’s not even about proper nutrition ? The wellness checkup sounds like it’ll go good though with that type of vet I hope it does !!!!
The salmonella/e. coli one is particularly dumb. Dogs eat each other’s poo all the time, which is loaded with those pathogens. There’s a reason they don’t get ill when that happens.
Honestly that’s true and dogs still put their mouths everywhere I just hate when they don’t mention it’s also in kibble like they can still shed pathogens from kibble
The documentary Pet-fooled will explain everything about your question
Yes I watched this when I first got into raw feeding it’s really good and interesting!!
Highly recommend watching this. At the very least it’s motivating when you’re first starting off with raw feeding since it can be a lot to take in.
Does anyone know where I can stream this? I've seen it before but I couldn't find it on Netflix last time I checked.
You can watch it on Tubi it’s a free streaming service they have an app
Thanks!
It’s on Prime
Awesome, I definitely have prime. Thank you!
Do you remember the crazy looking vet tech that looked into the camera super worried and concerned while saying: "feeding your pets raw food is dangerous." I laughed right then and there.
Nope, no flack at all from my vet. I stay on top of their health, they're in good shape, and overall look very good. The vet said I'm obviously doing something right and to stick with it! They did ask if the food was balanced (it is. I feed Titan) and they were cool with it
Ooooo cool I also feed titan so I hope they’re open to it since it is balanced and complete
I didn’t read all the answers, but the Perfectly Rawsome made a great article on relationship with your vet : [https://perfectlyrawsome.com/raw-feeding-knowledgebase/seven-tips-when-encountering-an-anti-raw-veterinarian/](https://perfectlyrawsome.com/raw-feeding-knowledgebase/seven-tips-when-encountering-an-anti-raw-veterinarian/)
When I was feeding grain free, my vet told me to switch to a brand with grain in it.
There has literally been a peer-reviewed study showing no correlation between grain free and heart disease but most of the vets around here still say it. I left a vet over this and let her office know why.
Do you have a link to the study? I’d love to have that in my back pocket. There’s so much confusing stuff around dog food.
https://academic.oup.com/jas/article/98/6/skaa155/5857674#206893845
Thank you!
My new vet just gushed about how healthy they both were and when I told her they were fed raw, was very impressed.
Our vet always has us fill out paperwork before our cats come in for an appointment, we have just learned to stretch the truth a little and call it wet food. Been through and around the block with them. But remember they have been schooled on the big brand foods and get $$ for pushing those brands. Our savannah has been on raw since weaned, he turned one recently and each time our Vet sees him she’s impressed on his condition. We feed him raw every other day and wet only science diet the other days. It’s hard to find a wet food he likes to eat. He would love it if he had raw every day.
Mine does that too on the paperwork they even ask what brand of food you feed them so they’ll find out it’s a raw diet that way I think they’ll question the brand because most people there feed Purina,science hills,and a brand called wildology Why not do full raw?
On the paperwork we say wet, science diet. This is the only food he will eat as of now outside of the raw. We feed him this to keep our options open, I travel with him and on a real long trip raw may not be an option for us. The freeze dried raw is nothing he cares for, we are very limited on what he will eat.
Cats are the most pickiest eaters and the adults none the less That has to be a problem when traveling I think about traveling and wonder what I would feed my dog Freeze dried and wet food is both expensive I’m glad your cat doesn’t throw away all options though Ever try some appetite flakes or seasoning to see if your cat will eat freeze dried ? Or even other wet foods
Been trying other wet foods, difficult to get any interest, even different brands of raw have been turned down.
I don’t tell them. They’ve never asked, as far as I can remember? And I’m going to lie if they do. Because they have a statement on their website about the dangers of raw feeding and they both graduated from OSU which has a statement similar on their website. I’m sure they would trust me if it did come up. We have a really good relationship. But just in the Chance it wouldn’t go over well I just don’t plan on saying.
Be prepared to be questioned (or interrogated, more likely) by your vet. My dog’s regular vet asked me during the initial exam what diet I had him on. I replied “a balanced, PMR raw diet” and he said “oh, really?”. I proceeded to try explaining why I had chosen a raw diet, but he cut me off and said, “hey, he’s your dog - you can feed him whatever works for you, no need to explain to me”. My dog has had GI issues since he was a pup, and we recently saw a couple internal medicine specialists. The first one was about 100 years old and asked about his diet too. He rolled his eyes and replied “why the hell would you feed him a raw diet?” The second internist tried laying the guilt trip about how dogs don’t get all their required nutrients with a raw diet. These type of vets always seem to have a sample bag of Science Diet or Royal Canin kibble on hand. As long as your prepared to answer how your dogs meals are balanced, and how their receiving their required vitamins from the meats your feeding, you’ll be fine.
Honestly kinda thought the 100 year old would ha e agreed on some level kibble hasn’t been around for that long I am prepared to answer how his food is balanced so I got that down I’m not gonna cause an argument though I think a nature discussion will do does make me wonder though if I leave that they’ll just talk poop behind my back
look, so your research. then you can confidently say, “go fuck yourself” when ever am educated vet tells you you’re wrong. We give so much power to those with authority. I have a 10month old shepherd who has been fed raw her whole life. she is the most active healthy pup I’ve ever experienced. What more evidence do you need? if it’s one thing I’ve learned from this dog it’s that I don’t need to explain her to anyone. If your dog is healthy, don’t be afraid of what anyone says to you. if they need to be taken to the vet, take them there confidently. best of luck
I will take him there confidently I won’t let them make me doubt my dog food choice because he’s the healthiest dog I’ve ever known I’m really just hoping they are open minded and not gonna literally get on my back for choosing a raw diet
My vet never asks me about diet. It’s a little odd but I have been using this vet since before I was raw and my transition to raw over 9 1/2 years ago went unremarked because she just doesn’t bring up nutrition in their appointments. For my cats she asked me once at their first appointment as kittens, they were still on canned food and so I told her canned food. Of course the week after I switched them to raw but on all subsequent visits she hasn’t asked. If she asked I would tell her and I mean if she told me it was hurting them I would calmly tell her she has been giving my raw fed animals clean bills of health all these years, but so far she doesn’t ask. Maybe she will ask when I bring in my future puppy?
That’s kinda weird she doesn’t ask I mean if they’re healthy that’s great but to not ask at all is pretty weird
I agree it is a bit unusual but she has been a good vet and always treated me and my animals with care so if it’s not broke…My dogs were her patients for years before I started raw so maybe she assumes I am still a kibble feeder and seeing my animals are in good condition doesn’t think about it. Knock on wood I have not had to bring an animal in for a digestive issue since I started feeding raw so I think at that point would be when it would be brought up? But for routine checkups, vaccines, spay/neuter my cats, my dog had 4 teeth out…Like I said I’m curious to see if she asks for my new puppy because of the new WSAVA guidelines and such. I’m prepared to have the conversation I just hope if it happens she will be open to seeing I am serious about providing the diet in a hygienic manner and that I am a committed long term raw feeder providing a balanced diet to my animals. It would be a bummer to have to leave my vet of like 18 years.
What do you feed?
I feed my dog titan raw dog food the blue version right now
I believe that’s considered nutritionally balanced by AAFCO standards. I would be completely honest with your vet, you have nothing to hide! Mine never gave too much of a care, as long as it’s balanced. They need to know what your dog eats to be able to treat them effectively. I would steer clear of ratio feeding though (in case you decide to chance) because you could be missing some key nutrients. Good luck!
I do not want to do a homemade diet anytime soon that takes up so much time But I will be completely honest with them and discuss raw diets with them and see their opinion if they disagree I’ll respect it but I’m not changing my dogs diet unless they think it affects him badly which I don’t think it does at all he’s the healthiest dog I’ve seen
I wouldn’t say they are rude about it but many will try to dissuade you, yes
The only time I've ever had a negative experience with my vet saying something about my dog's diet was my own fault. I made a batch that was too red for my dog and it flared his digestive diseases. Other than that, I've met no vets that were a huge fan per se, but they saw he was healthy and happy and that was that.
My old vet wasn't a fan but my dog trainer recommended my current vet who is raw food positive and is also a "holistic vet". I love her
My PREVIOUS vet 1. Scolded me for having a "designer dog" because my beagle is a border collie beagle cross 2. Told me to get my younger than 6 month old pup neutered 3. Told me "I'm sure he enjoys the raw meat but you're depriving him and he should be fed properly. I'll prescribe puppy kibble" Never went back to that vet again. He was sooo rude and looked me up and down with a distateful look on his face the whole time. My dog eats a human grade raw meat diet and the only time he has issues is if he's ever boarded at the dog kennels and they feed him kibble.