Funny thing happened on Thursday when I took Shaed to the vet. For some reason, I think it was the compliment the vet gave about my dog looking really good and healthy, I told him that we've been feeding her and Otto a raw diet with supplements(daily vitamin, salmon oil, and digestive enzyme). I was attacked by the you can't do that and that's not a balanced diet(which I need to give them with dry food), dry food is sooo much better than that and it's better for their teeth, so on and so forth.

This vet apparently has no knowledge what-so-ever about how the raw diet is more beneficial for our dogs than kibble and that most dogs that eat raw are healthier and live longer than dogs that eat kibble/dry food.

I stood there and listened to the concern while he checked her weight-only down one pound from January-then he checked her teeth. Wow, those teeth look really good no more puppy teeth(i should hope not since she's 17 mo old).

Vet asks me if it was because of the pet food "scare" and Oprah's vet that made me decide to go to raw. Nope, the "scare" happened to be the end of some pets lives and I don't watch Oprah. And my GSD has never been so ready to eat her food before. She's a healthy yougng bitch and he just wants to try and push the dog food they sell on me like any other vetrinarian, which isn't going to happen.

Also, the vet stated that female dogs normally go into heat between 6 mo and 11 mo and that it's a good idea to spay them before this. All I had to tell him was that she already had 2 heat cycles already and left it at that-not going to spay her, period. He let this go only after I had gotten defensive about the raw diet and told him that my GSD's teeth were begining to stain on the back molars and since going to raw have become whiter, stronger and sharper.

I know this really didn't have a rhyme or reason, I just had to vent a bit because we had switched to this vet only after my GSD saw 4 different vets at a different office-not what I'm used to, being from ND and having one vet for all our pets. Thank you for listening to me.

Not to long ago I had to take Turbo to an emergency vet. One of the vets there said that people like me (people like me....what the hell)can't put together a "complete and balanced" diet. He then went on to tell me that his dogs got the runs when he moved to his new house so he put them on S*****e D**t I/D. Then he said he thought it was the water that caused it! So buy a freakin' filter for the water instead of make them eat crap.

He also tried to pin the bloody poo my dog was having on it. Before he knew about the diet he said that it could happen to any dog, at any time, because they came into contact with something that irritated their bowel. Then he tried to backslide into it being the diets fault.

If a vet is good and will give my dog a good chance and try to diagnose the problem at hand and not use my dogs diet as a blanket diagnosis for all things then I would just agree to disagree.

Maybe you got fiery enough that he'll back off. Grrrrr!

I just can't see where people get off saying things about how you raise your dogs. I would never judge someone for feeding kibble. I don't even bring it up with my friends unless they ask. Maybe we should start jumpin' on vets that feed Hill's since they feel its ok to do it to us.

http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=134&Number=137631&Searchpage=2&Main=14347&Words=Ed+Frawley&topic=0&Search=true#Post137631

Well Keleah...I work for a vet and up until very recently I was the raw-feeder-in-the-closet The subject never really came up but I knew if I just up and mentioned my dog's diet (or asked their opinion) I'd get nothing back but negatives.

The funny thing is that my co-workers comment all the time on how good my dog looks..."His breath is so fresh", "His teeth are so clean", "His coat is so shiny", "He is so healthy"...and on and on.

The other day one of the techs pulled me out back and showed me some poop True left a day or two before. She was VERY concerned that it was turning white and was certain something was dreadfully wrong with my dog. She simply couldn't believe it's normal...that he's actually using almost everything he's being fed..."WHAT are you feeding your dog??!!" She threw out every argument against and horror story about raw feeding (that's all she's ever heard about it)and the easiest reply to each point was "just look at my dog...he's fit and healthy...you said so yourself". It shut her up

 Quote: Sarah_Morris

Well Keleah...I work for a vet and up until very recently I was the raw-feeder-in-the-closet The subject never really came up but I knew if I just up and mentioned my dog's diet (or asked their opinion) I'd get nothing back but negatives.

Makes you feel like you're goin' to the principal's office.

The vet for me is a place to go when my dogs are sick, there is no need for me to discuss anything with them about what I do with my dogs or my decisions to not neuter/spay, what I feed them, how I vaccinate them etc. I simply don't discuss it with them, then nod and smile if they give me advice that contradicts what I do. If you have the luxury of a vet that shares those beliefs with you then you are lucky.

I've had my scares and worries with the RAW feeding (food poisoning, throwing up yellow bile, not eating etc, you may have read the posts), and it takes a lot of faith in the internet community to be able to maintain feeding RAW. Especially when my vet is smirkingly pointing at his supply of Science Diet, suggesting that using that would have prevented my numerous trips to his office.

I would personally feel a lot more comfortable with what I am doing if I could only find one vet who supported RAW feeding.

However, that is about as likely as China, and/or the 'democratic' world, recognizing Taiwan as a country!!

I will therefore continue pestering the Leergbug staff, and posting all my little dramas here on the forum. Hoping that what I am doing is the best for my dog.

 Quote: Su Saou Wen

. . . I would personally feel a lot more comfortable with what I am doing if I could only find one vet who supported RAW feeding. . .

About the best you can hope for is one like I have. He doesn't support or recommend raw, but he can't argue with how healthy my dog is. And he doesn't try to get me to switch. Of course he's probably not happy that we almost never have to go see him.

Mike

Hi everyone. I'm a vet, and I feed my dogs raw. I'm the only vet I know who does this. I have a GSD, an old, old mongrel terrier, and my partner has 2 pugs. They are all on raw and are as fit as can be. The littlest pug is just 4mo old, he's been on raw since he was 9 weeks (when we got him). You should see him chew up chicken backs!

The biggest benefit I see is in dental health.

Just for info, in my practice for the clients who want to feed from a bag, I recommend Burns.

BTW, I'm in the UK.

Take care,

Sarah

 Quote: Sarah Mark

Hi everyone. I'm a vet, and I feed my dogs raw. I'm the only vet I know who does this.

Go Sarah!

My vet doesn't seem to think the average pet owner is competant enough to feed raw, but they (it's a multiple vet practice - even worse!!) haven't told me out right not to do it, I just get sideways looks and the occassional head shake from the techs. That said, they constantly comment on how beautiful Oscar's teeth are, and he is in excellent shape. Don't know why they can't bring themselves to reccommend it once in a while - the evidence for it is pretty darn convincing!!

~Natalya