It isn't a matter of vets being "bought." It is a matter of the system they are taught in and the benefit to the schools. Vets are not given much study in nutrition. They leave the nutrition to the pet food companies that are supposed to be doing the research and study into what is a healthy diet for a dog. You will find much the same attitude in human doctors concerning nutrition and medications. Those things are left to the nutritionist and the drug companies. Drug company representatives educate your physician about the drugs they prescribe for you.
Unfortunately, since the 1950's dog food has been produced according to what can be easily packaged, transported and live on a shelf for months at a time and not necessarily what is healthy or natural for the animal. That is why dog kibble is baked at least 3 times at high temperatures in order to kill any organic matter in the "meat" so that it will sit on a shelf for long periods of time. Even at that preservatives are often added. Since any nutrition that the animal would get from the protein sources has to be destroyed they then add synthetic vitamins. Much like our white bread. For me convenience is not always the way to obtain the best quality of anything. Fast food is convenient.
I feed my dog commercial frozen raw food. I'm sure it is not perfect but it is made from free range meats that are not injected full of hormones. antibiotics, steroids or any of the other things that most meats on the market have in them. It does not have grain in it and I believe it is much more easily assimilated by the body than a kibble that is quite unnatural for a dog's digestive system. It is not as convenient as dry food by a long shot but to me the health considerations involved are much more important. By the way, the fact that the enzymes in raw that keep teeth tarter free is also a huge consideration.
My vet, though not totally holistic, is very much for feeding raw as long as it is under safe conditions. Others that I know who were told by vets not to use raw were told that the high risk of salaminial was the reason. That seems to go along with this decision to discourage raw feeding. It is my understanding that in order for a recall to be made the salaminial has to be found inside the bags of food. I find it interesting that despite the many recalls of kibble the vets still have no complaint or even warnings against the use or handling of kibble.
As an aside one of my kids knew someone who worked in a pet food factory. (kibble) The machines are supposed to be cleaned after each batch of food is finished. The employee said that the cleaning is very often not done and that is one of the ways salaminial gets into the food. Yuck. I could tell you some other details but lets just say there are many opportunities for bad bacteria to get into the food at these factories. I just encourage kibble users to do a good study of the company you buy from. |