Is it Ethical for Veterinarians to Recommend Pet Foods?

 I  believe that it is a conflict of interest for a vet to recommend a food that they sell for profit. It's no different than any other conflict of interest and it shouldn't be allowed.

Well, now, wait a minute.  As far as that is concerned, what about Tiger Woods recommending a particular kind of golf ball or clubs, or a race car driver recommending a brand of oil?  Seems like we've got a similar "conflict of interest" going on, minus the star power.  People are just as vulnerable to that kind of influence. 

brookcove

Well, now, wait a minute.  As far as that is concerned, what about Tiger Woods recommending a particular kind of golf ball or clubs, or a race car driver recommending a brand of oil?  Seems like we've got a similar "conflict of interest" going on, minus the star power.  People are just as vulnerable to that kind of influence. 

To me, that's different.  I look to my vet for solid medical advice and have to place trust in him with helping me make life or death decisions regarding my pets.  He has a personal stake in the care of my pet.  A celebrity being paid to endorse a product is apples and oranges in my book.

brookcove

Well, now, wait a minute.  As far as that is concerned, what about Tiger Woods recommending a particular kind of golf ball or clubs, or a race car driver recommending a brand of oil?  Seems like we've got a similar "conflict of interest" going on, minus the star power.  People are just as vulnerable to that kind of influence. 

Is my health, or yours, or yor dogs', going to suffer if you buy the wrong kind of golf club or the wrong car?

What about if doctors were recommending we all eat hamburgers and smoke 40 cigarettes a day - would that be unethical do you think?

also: think about it. your vet is someone you PAY to give you advice on your pets health which includes nutrition.

it seems that a big part of the problem comes from the fact that most vets actually DONT know much about dog nutrition. maybe if the problem could be tackled from that angle.

i do understand the part where they have to find ways to make ends meet!

Chuffy

What about if doctors were recommending we all eat hamburgers and smoke 40 cigarettes a day - would that be unethical do you think?

But I have never seen a Vet selling a dog food that is actually dangerous for dogs.  I agree that Vets should have more nutrition education and I am sure that some do.  Mine referred me to a site, can't remember it now, that explained about how foods are labeled and he is somewhat educated on food.  He does sell prescription diets, SD and Purina brands but never recommends them, at least to me.  He does ask what I am feeding the dogs and I am sure if I said Ol Roy he would advise me that it is not a very good food.  I don't like Science Diet but I don't believe it is a bad food, just overpriced for what you are getting.  Many dogs live long, healthy lives on SD and Purina and I don't think your comparison is fair.

JackieG

But I have never seen a Vet selling a dog food that is actually dangerous for dogs. 

I'm not too sure about that.....the SD isn't what I think anyone should be recommending.   

A pro golfer like Tiger is endorsing a product...saying " I use it...and I like it!"    That might be a little different than a doctor saying this is good food...UNLESS he does stand behind it.  If he truely believes the food is good we should all feed it to our dog for good health...and he has proof of this..then maybe he should sell it. Anything less than that....then no,,,he should not sell it.    

We look for our doctors ( blindly most of the time ) to tell us to do what is best for our dog or ourselves.   They should only be suggesting things that they know is fact.

JackieG

Chuffy

What about if doctors were recommending we all eat hamburgers and smoke 40 cigarettes a day - would that be unethical do you think?

 

But I have never seen a Vet selling a dog food that is actually dangerous for dogs. 

Hamburgers aren't exactly "dangerous" for us either.  They just aren't particularly healthy.

dyan

If he truely believes the food is good we should all feed it to our dog for good health...and he has proof of this..then maybe he should sell it. Anything less than that....then no,,,he should not sell it.    

Good point and maybe when the vet recommends SD to folks they should ask if that's what the vet feeds his/her pets.

I don't think there's anything wrong with a vet recommending a pet food but I'm always going to be skeptical if the food they recommend happens to be the one they sell and they don't have any suggestions for other foods. My vet recommended NB allergy formula for Sassy and we've been using it ever since (3+ yrs). She could've steered us towards the SD allergy formula that they sold, but she didn't.

Personally, I have no issue with vets recommending food to people.  If the vet suggesting Science Diet convinces someone to not feed their dog Kibbles n' Bits, isn't that better?

Sorry folks, but the people on here are in the minority when it comes to our animals.  Particularly in this economy, most people, people who do love their animals, are not going to want to go anywhere but the grocery store to buy pet food.  After all, if Fluffy has gone all this time doing well on Ol' Roy, most people don't see a logic in changing it just because some weird "dog people" tell them it is not nutritious.  The bag says it's nutritious, the government says it's nutritious, the dog eats it and seems fine, so what's the problem?  However, if their vet tells them there is this other food that is better, and while it's a little more money the vet says it's better and they can just pick up a bag there, then that might change things.  And again, Science Diet is better than many of the grocery brands out there.

Also, I'll just say this--I've done my own dog food research and it sucks.  I'm convinced that the only reason I've stuck to it so long is that I'm OCD and evidently a bit masochistic. 

Some people will tell you that any commercial diet with kill you dog.  Others will tell you that specifically kibble will kill your dog....  And everyone knows that RAW is the best, except when it's not....And if you get the premade raw it's no good and the ground up bone fragments will cause bowel obstruction so you must only feed "real" raw (because there is somehow no risk of bowel obstruction with entire bones )......  But really homecooked is the way to go..... But is you must feed you dog kibble then it should be grain free.....Except that grain free isn't good because it dehydrates the dog when they are digesting it.... And so not even get me starting on trying to feed an arthritic dog.....

How many people do you really think are going to wade through all the the endless, agenda-ridden, and too often false info out there just to figure out what to feed there dogs?  I enjoy researching things and found it very frustrating.......

If vet's don't recommend food, then what do they tell people when they ask about feeding their dogs?  Even guidelines as to what to look for can get sketchy.  Lots of people on here would never recommend Jack's food because the first ingredient is brown rice, but he's done fabulous on it......    

cakana

Good point and maybe when the vet recommends SD to folks they should ask if that's what the vet feeds his/her pets.

They probably do....they get it cheaper.  And lets face it...like everyone here always says...they have to knowledge about food...so they don't know any better either!

Oh my!  If I could quit laughing about Sillysallys post I might be able to type!

I had a cat with recurrent UTI problems....the old "sludge" buildup.  Poor Smokey was on RX food for years, yet kept going back for more antibiotics, etc.  He finally had to have his urinary tract surgically rebuilt from male to female...yep, a sex change operation.  At the very least, that food didn't help the cat, and looking at the ingredients now, I suspect that it did hurt him.

I've talked to folks who are paying $80 and 90 a bag for RX foods, and I'll tell you, when I look at the ingredients I want to upchuck.

When DH was diagnosed with diabetes, the DOCTOR didn't tell him how to eat.  He sent us to see a nutritionalist.  Now why does a VET know so much more than a doctor about nutrition?

No, I don't think it's right for a vet to recommend food.  A recommendation is one thing, most vets don't do just that...they push and insist.

My experience has been that if I ask about commerical food or homecooked or even supplements they will give their opinion.   I have never had a vet say use this or that brand other than when they were suggesting prescription foods-and that is like medication so yes it's ethical. 

Also, I notice that people are hung up on exact ingredient lists here.  But, what vets are looking at is if the food provides adequate nutrition--and that doesn't have to be delivered with the ingredients people on this board would prefer.  It's the same thing with the prescription diets, the ingredient list may not look good at all, but the food is made up in such a way that it will do what it's supposed to.  That's why they are prescribing it, not because chicken is the first ingredient but because whatever combination of stuff they put in there will help whatever problem it's designed for. 

And lets face it...like everyone here always says...they have to knowledge about food...so they don't know any better either!

*slowly unruffles feathers*    I'm assuming that "t" is an "n"... Generalizations and assumptions are poor arguements.

I have a sneaking feeling that if everyone's vets recommended Eagle Pack or Innova, no one would have a problem with the fact that they were recommending food brands.

Veterinary education in nutrition has indeed been lacking in the past decade. But things are changing. There are AHVMA chapters at the majority of schools, and many holistic companies are FINALLY coming to talk to students. Many specialized nutrition courses are available, and yes (this is coming from a "high end brand" feeder) - they do NOT push a brand. They say "these are available commercial diets for kidney disease, etc. And these are the nutrients you have to look at. "Old school vets" may push food because that was the information on BRANDS that was presented to them. Saying they have no knowledge about food is ridiculous, though. 

I have no problem with vets recommending  a type of food (i.e. a holistic diet, a low allergen diet, a high protein diet, a special RX diet) and giving the client some examples of brands of that nature, and saying which brands they have seen the most success with. That's not marketing. That's medicine. Totally ethical.

I have no problem with vets recommending  a type of food (i.e. a holistic diet, a low allergen diet, a high protein diet, a special RX diet) and giving the client some examples of brands of that nature, and saying which brands they have seen the most success with. That's not marketing. That's medicine. Totally ethical.

I kind of agree.  And kind of not.

The point of my Tiger Woods analogy is that Tiger is an implied expert on golfing.  People take it for granted that if he recommends something it's because it's part of his expertise.  When in reality he recommends whatever his agent tells him to.  He can take my kid's undersized golf equipment, his beat up little golf balls, and go out and beat just about any comers up and down and right round the course.  It's what he does.

He is not, however, an expert on what kind of golf balls or clubs make other people winners - I doubt he even has the vaguest idea about what would help a mere mortal improve their game other than lots of practice.  But his commercials and adverts for golf supplies imply that he does know, and believe what he says.

In the same way the dog food companies drop information into the stream of vet school education that reinforces several concepts:

1. People are incapable of feeding their pets without the pet food companies' help.
2. Pet food companies are experts on pet health, particularly with regard to nutrition
3. The ingredients in any commercial diet are there to promote optimum health, not expand anyone's bank account
4. Vets can help their clients by steering them towards "superior" foods like Pedigree, Euk, Purina and Hill's.

Actually, on this last point, it may be possibly true that vets do their clients a favor by at least getting them to think in that general direction.  Making the connection between "better" food and good health is, after all, the first step towards becoming aware of the really great choices out there now.

What I'd wish to see, if vets aren't going to get training in applied nutriton beyond what I've seen evidence of:

1. Recommendations to a nutrition expert in conjunction with conditions that typically respond to nutrition (metabolic, organ failure, allergies)
2. As above, recommendations of general types of foods that might be appropriate rather than just checking out the client with a bag of what the office "happens" to sell
3. Making it clear that they stock particular foods because they are personal favorites, or the ones they can get for the best price, or whatever - rather than implying that it's the best food possible for every individual dog

About that last point - it's possible that many of us don't realize how price pointing and stocking works for extremely low volume dealers such as most vet's offices would be.  One of the reasons you'll see the typical "names" in many offices is that, I would guess, those companies don't punish them as distributors as much as they would a very low volume dealer that was not a vet (or groomer or other dog professional). 

Like Tiger, getting their product into those niche markets is worth the bother of doing it, for the association and implied gravitas it builds.  The real shame is that more holistic producers don't pursue this type of marketing more.  Some of them are going after the feed store owners, which is nice, but doesn't do for them what the vet's office will.

Wow, you should hear my feed store owner/operator harangue about "5-star" and "6-Star" foods!  He has signs and brochures all over the place and goes to every single conference the holistic producers have in the area.  I'm hoping to have Sabine Contreras come here for a workshop and I'm going to ask him to sponsor it.  I'm sure he'll agree.  Feed store guy!  It's a strange new world.