Nutritional Balance; Small vs. Large Companies

ORIGINAL: abbysdad

I don't believe that ANY kibble, even my beloved Innova can be totally nutritionally complete

That is what Dr. Wysong believes, even about his own kibble, he thinks any kibble should be supplemented with meat. 

 
Big fan of Wysong here and this thread reminds me of one his other mantras: Rotation! Rotation! Rotation!
 
Balance is created over time from feeding healthy ingredients in variety in common sense portions.

According to members of that organization, that is all of them. There are approximately 60,  of whom, less than half specialize in canine and feline nutrition. 
 




Question

Could you recommend a GOOD dog nutritionist/vet in St. Louis area. I have seen one holistic vet, and I am seriously concerned with her recommended diet. I wonder if her vitamins/minerals are adequate. Plus, I am uncomfortable with her choice of bone meal and her personal preference for raw meat/egg products. Can you please help?

Answer

There is only a handful of Veterinary Nutritionist and you can see the entire membership of the American College of Veterinary Nutritionist at www.acvn.org under “Diplomates”. About 75% of them are in industry and do not do private consultations, or do large animal nutrition only.
You are left with 6 options and you can see those listed at www.aavn.org, on the “Nutrition Resources” page, under “Small Animal Nutrition Services”. None are in Missouri but all will do consultation by phone, fax, or internet in conjunction with your local veterinarian.



Rebecca Remillard, Ph.D., D.V.M., DACVN
 
 




Question

I would like to know if there are any Vet Nutritionists in the state of Colorado that I can work and speak directly with? I am interested in developing my own dog treat recipes.

Answer


Go to www.acvn.org, and click on "Diplomates"
([linkhttp://www.acvn.org/diplomates.html).]http://www.acvn.org/diplomates.html).[/link] This is all of them.
 
Korinn E Saker, D.V.M., Ph.D., DACVN

ORIGINAL: ronross


That is what Dr. Wysong believes, even about his own kibble, he thinks any kibble should be supplemented with meat. 

"Big fan of Wysong here and this thread reminds me of one his other mantras: Rotation! Rotation! Rotation!

Balance is created over time from feeding healthy ingredients in variety in common sense portions."


I agree!

ORIGINAL: abbysda 


There is only a handful of Veterinary Nutritionist and you can see the entire membership of the American College of Veterinary Nutritionist

Maybe they are not from the US, therefore not members of the American College of Veterinary Nutritionists.

My allergy dog and many others that I know, have done very well on the Pro Plan/One sensitive systems.

According to members of that organization, that is all of them. There are approximately 60, of whom, less than half specialize in canine and feline nutrition.

 
 Thanks for correcting me; that's a lot fewer than I would have expected. I know many dogs do well on the Sensitive Systems; one reason I didn't want to feed it is because it almost certainly has ethoxyquin which is a preservative I want to avoid.

And I agree with you, Papillon. I would perfer a food supervised by a vet or nutritionist but I'm not everyone.
 

And Nutro's nutrition is supervised by a vet.

Yeah, the more I think about it, I highly trust the nutritionists that I study under that I have done this for years (and those of my friends who have graduated and have gone to Purina, Royal Canin , etc).  There is no messing around when it comes to dog food; they really do try to make a food as nutritionally balanced and as beneficial to the dog as possible.  Some take this more to heart than others. 

There is no messing around when it comes to dog food; they really do try to make a food as nutritionally balanced and as beneficial to the dog as possible. Some take this more to heart than others.

 
 I think the small companies want to make the best dog food possible but with their limited funds to spend on researching nutrition they may not be able to make a food as nutritionally well balanced as the large companies. I definitely prefer the ingredients of foods like Eagle Pack, Innova, etc. but I know that it takes more than good ingredients; the right nutritional balance is critical.

Here's my, pretty undeducated aside from what I read on boards etc., but if a company makes many levels of food... ex. Purina... dog chow, one, proplan (maybe others)... then even THEY know that Chow is not that good since they make a better version.  Therefore, even if I did consider feeding purina, I couldn't feed dog chow. 

I didn't want to feed it is because it almost certainly has ethoxyquin which is a preservative I want to avoid.

 
Yes, that is kind of tricky, I noticed that with my allergy girl and of course they are all different, she would only do well on a fish based food with a high Omega 3 content, but the food could not have any type of flax or sunflower in it.  It was difficult to find a Super Premium food that met that profile.  I have read where dogs should not be allergic to oils, but if I give my dog anything with sunflower oil or any type of flaxseed in it, she will start scratching, I have also talked to other people that have experienced the same thing. I also noticed Natural Balance advertises no Sunflower Oil in there allergy formulas, so Pro Plan ended up being the only one that met that profile and she does well on it.

I have a question reading all this.  I don't consult a pediatric nutritionist when I feed my children, and never have.  Ie, they never had commericial "baby food", one child because he couldn't eat these products, and the second child ate only whole fresh foods because my first child put me in the habit of preparing their foods from day one of solid feeding.

Can I be trusted to supply my kids with a "balanced" diet?  Do I have the expertise that I need?  Or should I switch them over to Carnation Instant Breakfast bars and beverages, which are nutrionally complete as certified by hospital dietary experts?  Is my kids' nutrition as important as my dogs'?

I'm pretty confident that a variety of high-quality foods that are appropriate for my dogs will provide them with all the nutrients they need.  That's the best I can do and I refuse to second guess my choices because this company or that one or I myself do not employ a specific type of high-dollar expert that the big corporations have decided I can't feed my dogs without. [sm=rolleyes.gif]

 Jessie's not allergic to ethoxyquin (that I know of); it's a chemical preservative made by Monsanto that was originally used to preserve rubber. There is a lot of controversy over whether or not it causes kidney and liver problems as well as cancer; the FDA has banned it from human food except for trace amounts in a few spices and asked the pet food industry to limit its use (if I remember correctly) to150ppm. U.S. Coast Guard regulations require that all imported fish meal be preserved with ethoxyquin ; a special permit is required to be exempt and the only pet food company I know of that has this permit is Eagle Pack. As far as oils are concerned I prefer an animal source such as the Menhaden fish oil in Eagle Pack Fish because from what I've read dogs derive more benefit from animal fat sources such as chicken fat and fish oil than they do from plant sources.

And I agree with you, Papillon. I would perfer a food supervised by a vet or nutritionist but I'm not everyone

 
How do you know companies like Innova, Canidae, and Natural Balance don't have nutritionists supervising the production of their food?