Hit any D.C. dog park, click on Cuteoverload.com or stream the corny-but-kind-of-good romance "Marley & Me" and you'll witness touching evidence of humanity's connection with domesticated animals.
URL: http://www.topix.com/pets/2012/10/a-horse-with-heart?fromrss=1
Enclosure: http://www.topix.com/bigpic/mini-039e59f84d43308263f64948f171593c
Everything you ever wanted to know about your pets
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Veterinary Nutritionist Speaks Out in Favor of Gluten and Grains in Dog Food
**By Dr. Becker**
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(37)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder){kind=link}
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(37)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
SPCA To Hold Blind Dog Training Classes
Old dogs are being tossed aside by their owners and now the SPCA for Monterey County is training their owners in hopes of giving the dogs a chance at a longer life.
URL: http://www.topix.com/pets/2012/10/spca-to-hold-blind-dog-training-classes?fromrss=1
URL: http://www.topix.com/pets/2012/10/spca-to-hold-blind-dog-training-classes?fromrss=1
Attack Kitten
Ten week-old rescue kitten attacks whatever happens to be in her mom's hand.
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(1)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/attack-kitten.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/attack-kitten.aspx
Veterinary Nutritionist Speaks Out in Favor of Gluten and Grains in Dog Food
**By Dr. Becker**
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(36)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(36)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
Halloween pet safety tips
BOSTON, Oct. 31, 2012 As Massachusetts gears up for the annual Halloween fright-fest by selecting costumes and canvassing front lawns with headstones and spider webs, Angell Animal Medical Center today issued specific recommendations to help families enjoy the Holiday while keeping their pets safe and healthy.
URL: http://www.topix.com/pets/2012/10/halloween-pet-safety-tips?fromrss=1
Enclosure: http://www.topix.com/bigpic/mini-56a619207b3188350ce1bbaa66cd56db
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Veterinary Nutritionist Speaks Out in Favor of Gluten and Grains in Dog Food
**By Dr. Becker**
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(35)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(35)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
First-of-Its-Kind Pet Obesity Clinic Opens
**By Dr. Becker**
> Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine opened a pet obesity clinic in early September.
>
> The clinic employs three board-certified veterinary nutritionists. According to Dr. Deborah Linder who runs the operation:
>
>> _"By employing sound, research-proven methods, Tufts' Veterinary Obesity Clinic will help owners achieve safe and effective weight loss for their pets. While the common perception leans toward overweight pets being happy, research has proven otherwise, and we hope to effect change in the obesity epidemic among companion animals."_
>
> The clinic will treat dog and cat patients, and Dr. Linder will conduct pet obesity research there as well.
>
> Linder believes the biggest obstacle in treating the pet obesity epidemic is that 40 percent of owners of overweight pets don't know or won't acknowledge that their dog or cat has a problem.
>
>> _"What really gets me is that obesity and even [having] overweight animals is completely preventable,"_ Linder said. _"We do the best we can to help them, but it would be better to prevent." _place_holder;_
## I'm Not Sure How I Feel About Pet Obesity Clinics...
> When Dr. Linder says she'll be using "sound, research-proven methods" to achieve weight loss in pets, in terms of feeding those pets, she's referring to research funded almost exclusively by pet food manufacturers. Historically, there has been no _independent_ funding available for the study of dog and cat nutrition, so all research is tied in some way to major players in the pet food industry.
>
> Consequently, I'm not sure how I feel about a pet obesity clinic run by veterinary nutritionists who, if they are typical, have been indoctrinated by major pet food manufacturers. Part of this indoctrination is to embrace poor quality, mass produced commercial pet foods as appropriate nutrition for every dog and cat - even fat, sick ones.
>
> On the one hand, there is certainly a need for more focus on the tragic and growing epidemic of obesity in pets.
>
> But on the other hand, given the role diet plays in weight loss, obesity clinics run by advocates of biologically inappropriate food for dogs and cats doesn't seem like the right approach to tackling the problem of overweight pets.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
>
> If your pet is overweight and also dealing with significant health issues as a result (for example, arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, hypothyroidism, respiratory problems, [kidney disease](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/11/04/kidney-failure-pet-dogs.aspx), cancer), visiting a pet obesity clinic might be helpful.
>
> However, if your pet is still in good health but overweight or even obese, I recommend starting with the following steps.
## Getting Real About Your Pet's Weight
> The first thing parents of overweight pets need to do is get real (to be blunt). It's not difficult to tell a fat pet from a fit one.
>
> If your pet is a healthy weight, the following will apply:
>
> * Ribs and spine are easily felt
> * There is a waist when viewed from above
> * Abdomen is raised and not sagging when viewed from the side
>
> Your furry dependent is overweight or obese if:
>
> * You cannot feel the ribs or spine beneath fat deposits; fat deposits extend to the chest, tail base and hindquarters
> * The waist is distended or pear shaped when viewed from above
> * The abdomen sags when viewed from the side
> * The chest and abdomen appear distended or swollen
>
> Here's a [visual tool](http://www.petmd.com/sites/default/files/body_condition_score.pdf) you can use to evaluate the condition of your pet's body.
## Getting Your Overweight Dog or Cat in Shape
> For otherwise healthy pets, the secret to weight loss involves three straightforward strategies:
>
> * Feed a [balanced, species-appropriate diet](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/15/raw-meat-the-best-and-healthiest-diet-for-pet-cats-and-dogs.aspx). Skip all the commercial and prescription weight control and [low fat diets](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx). Regardless of her weight, your dog or cat still needs the right nutrition for her species, which means food that is high in animal protein and moisture, with low or no grain content.
>
> Take a look at the before and after pictures of my patient Cal, below. Cal was a rescue dog who arrived at his new home obese and depressed. His smart owner transitioned him to a balanced, species-appropriate raw food diet. Cal slimmed down on his own once he was eating the right kind of food.
>
> 
>
>  _place_holder;
>
> * Practice [portion control](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/06/16/how-to-help-your-chunky-dog-release-excess-pounds.aspx) -- usually a morning and evening meal, carefully measured. A high protein, low carb diet with the right amount of calories for weight loss, controlled through the portions you feed, is what will take the weight off your dog or cat. And don't forget to factor in any calories from treats.
> * Regularly [exercise your pet](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/09/16/fun-pet-exercise-for-cats-and-dogs.aspx). An overweight body gets back in shape by taking in fewer calories and expending more energy. Daily exercise, including at least 20 minutes of consistent aerobic activity, will help your pet burn fat and increase muscle tone.
Sources:
* [PetfoodIndustry.com September 6, 2012](http://www.petfoodindustry.com/News/Veterinarian_opens_pet_obesity_clinic_at_Tufts_University.html)
* [Tufts' Obesity Clinic for Pets](http://www.tufts.edu/vet/pr/20120906.html)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [How the Pet Food Industry Has Helped Create "Carnivore Metabolic Syndrome"](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/07/09/dr-becker-and-fox-on-pets-obesity.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Another Great Reason to Throw Out That Dry Cat Food](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/05/25/wet-cat-food-diet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Why are So Many Pet Owners Allowing Their Companions to Get Fat?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/07/06/high-risks-of-pets-obesity.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(1)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/first-pet-obesity-clinic.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/first-pet-obesity-clinic.aspx
> Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine opened a pet obesity clinic in early September.
>
> The clinic employs three board-certified veterinary nutritionists. According to Dr. Deborah Linder who runs the operation:
>
>> _"By employing sound, research-proven methods, Tufts' Veterinary Obesity Clinic will help owners achieve safe and effective weight loss for their pets. While the common perception leans toward overweight pets being happy, research has proven otherwise, and we hope to effect change in the obesity epidemic among companion animals."_
>
> The clinic will treat dog and cat patients, and Dr. Linder will conduct pet obesity research there as well.
>
> Linder believes the biggest obstacle in treating the pet obesity epidemic is that 40 percent of owners of overweight pets don't know or won't acknowledge that their dog or cat has a problem.
>
>> _"What really gets me is that obesity and even [having] overweight animals is completely preventable,"_ Linder said. _"We do the best we can to help them, but it would be better to prevent." _place_holder;_
## I'm Not Sure How I Feel About Pet Obesity Clinics...
> When Dr. Linder says she'll be using "sound, research-proven methods" to achieve weight loss in pets, in terms of feeding those pets, she's referring to research funded almost exclusively by pet food manufacturers. Historically, there has been no _independent_ funding available for the study of dog and cat nutrition, so all research is tied in some way to major players in the pet food industry.
>
> Consequently, I'm not sure how I feel about a pet obesity clinic run by veterinary nutritionists who, if they are typical, have been indoctrinated by major pet food manufacturers. Part of this indoctrination is to embrace poor quality, mass produced commercial pet foods as appropriate nutrition for every dog and cat - even fat, sick ones.
>
> On the one hand, there is certainly a need for more focus on the tragic and growing epidemic of obesity in pets.
>
> But on the other hand, given the role diet plays in weight loss, obesity clinics run by advocates of biologically inappropriate food for dogs and cats doesn't seem like the right approach to tackling the problem of overweight pets.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
>
> If your pet is overweight and also dealing with significant health issues as a result (for example, arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, hypothyroidism, respiratory problems, [kidney disease](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/11/04/kidney-failure-pet-dogs.aspx), cancer), visiting a pet obesity clinic might be helpful.
>
> However, if your pet is still in good health but overweight or even obese, I recommend starting with the following steps.
## Getting Real About Your Pet's Weight
> The first thing parents of overweight pets need to do is get real (to be blunt). It's not difficult to tell a fat pet from a fit one.
>
> If your pet is a healthy weight, the following will apply:
>
> * Ribs and spine are easily felt
> * There is a waist when viewed from above
> * Abdomen is raised and not sagging when viewed from the side
>
> Your furry dependent is overweight or obese if:
>
> * You cannot feel the ribs or spine beneath fat deposits; fat deposits extend to the chest, tail base and hindquarters
> * The waist is distended or pear shaped when viewed from above
> * The abdomen sags when viewed from the side
> * The chest and abdomen appear distended or swollen
>
> Here's a [visual tool](http://www.petmd.com/sites/default/files/body_condition_score.pdf) you can use to evaluate the condition of your pet's body.
## Getting Your Overweight Dog or Cat in Shape
> For otherwise healthy pets, the secret to weight loss involves three straightforward strategies:
>
> * Feed a [balanced, species-appropriate diet](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/15/raw-meat-the-best-and-healthiest-diet-for-pet-cats-and-dogs.aspx). Skip all the commercial and prescription weight control and [low fat diets](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx). Regardless of her weight, your dog or cat still needs the right nutrition for her species, which means food that is high in animal protein and moisture, with low or no grain content.
>
> Take a look at the before and after pictures of my patient Cal, below. Cal was a rescue dog who arrived at his new home obese and depressed. His smart owner transitioned him to a balanced, species-appropriate raw food diet. Cal slimmed down on his own once he was eating the right kind of food.
>
> 
>
>  _place_holder;
>
> * Practice [portion control](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/06/16/how-to-help-your-chunky-dog-release-excess-pounds.aspx) -- usually a morning and evening meal, carefully measured. A high protein, low carb diet with the right amount of calories for weight loss, controlled through the portions you feed, is what will take the weight off your dog or cat. And don't forget to factor in any calories from treats.
> * Regularly [exercise your pet](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/09/16/fun-pet-exercise-for-cats-and-dogs.aspx). An overweight body gets back in shape by taking in fewer calories and expending more energy. Daily exercise, including at least 20 minutes of consistent aerobic activity, will help your pet burn fat and increase muscle tone.
Sources:
* [PetfoodIndustry.com September 6, 2012](http://www.petfoodindustry.com/News/Veterinarian_opens_pet_obesity_clinic_at_Tufts_University.html)
* [Tufts' Obesity Clinic for Pets](http://www.tufts.edu/vet/pr/20120906.html)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [How the Pet Food Industry Has Helped Create "Carnivore Metabolic Syndrome"](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/07/09/dr-becker-and-fox-on-pets-obesity.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Another Great Reason to Throw Out That Dry Cat Food](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/05/25/wet-cat-food-diet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Why are So Many Pet Owners Allowing Their Companions to Get Fat?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/07/06/high-risks-of-pets-obesity.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(1)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/first-pet-obesity-clinic.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/first-pet-obesity-clinic.aspx
Veterinary Nutritionist Speaks Out in Favor of Gluten and Grains in Dog Food
**By Dr. Becker**
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(34)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(34)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
Veterinary Nutritionist Speaks Out in Favor of Gluten and Grains in Dog Food
**By Dr. Becker**
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(32)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(32)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
Veterinary Nutritionist Speaks Out in Favor of Gluten and Grains in Dog Food
**By Dr. Becker**
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(30)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(30)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
What's Your Dog Dressing Up As On Halloween?
A Halloween tradition has kids dress up as superheroes, princesses, or pirates, in the quest for tricks or treats.
URL: http://www.topix.com/pets/2012/10/whats-your-dog-dressing-up-as-on-halloween?fromrss=1
Enclosure: http://www.topix.com/bigpic/mini-e782597cfd7b8ffdcd1359c0c74ac1c5
URL: http://www.topix.com/pets/2012/10/whats-your-dog-dressing-up-as-on-halloween?fromrss=1
Enclosure: http://www.topix.com/bigpic/mini-e782597cfd7b8ffdcd1359c0c74ac1c5
Veterinary Nutritionist Speaks Out in Favor of Gluten and Grains in Dog Food
**By Dr. Becker**
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(27)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(27)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
Veterinary Nutritionist Speaks Out in Favor of Gluten and Grains in Dog Food
**By Dr. Becker**
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(22)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(22)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
Cotton States Cat Show scheduled for November 3-4 in Duluth
This weekend hundreds of pedigreed and household pet cats from across the country will be competing at the Cotton States Cat Clubs' 74th annual Cat Fanciers' Association Cat Show at Gwinnett Center in Duluth on Nov.
URL: http://www.topix.com/pets/2012/10/cotton-states-cat-show-scheduled-for-november-3-4-in-duluth?fromrss=1
Enclosure: http://www.topix.com/bigpic/mini-5984338b35ca3b3d2a8124c30dd8d7d4
URL: http://www.topix.com/pets/2012/10/cotton-states-cat-show-scheduled-for-november-3-4-in-duluth?fromrss=1
Enclosure: http://www.topix.com/bigpic/mini-5984338b35ca3b3d2a8124c30dd8d7d4
Veterinary Nutritionist Speaks Out in Favor of Gluten and Grains in Dog Food
**By Dr. Becker**
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(20)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
> Recently I ran across several articles in a veterinary industry publication citing the opinions of veterinary nutritionists on gluten and grains in pet food.
>
> It occurred to me as I read one of the articles that major pet food manufacturers, concerned about their increasingly knowledgeable customer base, might be encouraging veterinary nutritionists to speak out in defense of mass-marketed commercial pet food formulas - the kind that typically include a number of ingredients that are biologically inappropriate for dogs and cats.
>
> Now, it could be that suddenly industry publications are simply interested in talking with veterinary nutritionists about gluten and grains in pet food, but whatever the motivation, I think it's important pet owners understand how one gets to be a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
>
> I'll get to veterinary nutritionists and their ties to the pet food industry shortly, but first I want to briefly discuss the article I read.
## Myth: "The Ingredients Themselves are Not Important."
> The article, titled "What's The Truth About Gluten," features veterinary nutritionist Dr. Lisa Weeth, who asserts:
>
>> _"As long as the animal does not have a documented food allergy, owners shouldn't worry about whether the food contains corn, wheat or rice-the ingredients themselves are not important-and more about the quality of food overall."_
>
> This statement makes absolutely no sense. How does one measure the quality of a pet food - or any prepared food -- if not by its ingredients and the manner in which those ingredients are processed?
## Myth: Dogs Require Grain-Based Fiber
> Weeth also maintains grain-free, gluten-free pet diets don't contain enough fiber compared to formulas containing oats, barley and rice. Again, this makes little sense. It is common knowledge dogs and cats have no biological requirement for grains, so grains can't possibly provide the fiber Dr. Weeth feels is missing.
>
> She goes on to say she sees dogs in her practice with poor stool quality and gassiness caused by their gluten- or grain-free diet - problems that resolve when additional complex carbs are added.
>
> My guess is the dogs she's referring to have digestive issues entirely unrelated to lack of grain-based fiber. That's a little like linking a human's digestive issues to a need for more donuts in the diet.
>
> Chances are the dogs with gassiness and poor stool quality have chronic GI inflammation and allergies or sensitivities to one or more ingredients in their commercial grain-free pet food.
>
> And I highly doubt the dogs' GI problems were resolved by adding grains to their diet. Have you ever known a human to solve his or her digestive issues by adding, say, Wonder white bread to their daily food intake? I didn't think so ...
>
> Note that the dogs' problems supposedly resolved when additional "complex carbs" were added. It could be these pets benefitted from some extra veggies, fruit fiber or psyllium husks, all of which are complex carbohydrates.
## Myth: Dogs are Omnivores
> Dr. Weeth relies on the erroneous belief that canines are omnivores, not carnivores, to promote the notion that unlike cats, which she admits are carnivores, _"Dogs have evolved and adapted to human food patterns for a longer period of time."_
>
> I couldn't disagree more. Canines are scavenging carnivores, and you need look no further than your dog's teeth to see nature's carnivorous design. The teeth of animals are specifically devised for the food they are born to eat. Omnivores have both sharp, meat-tearing teeth and wide, flat molars built to grind plant matter. Your dog has no flat molars because nature didn't intend for him to eat plants. Ninety-nine percent of your dog's DNA is shared with wolf DNA - neither dogs nor wolves have evolved into herbivores in the last 100 years.
>
> Dogs are incredibly resilient and can withstand more nutritional abuse that most species. As Weeth points out, dogs can _survive_ eating grain-based foods. But they do not _thrive_ on diets that contain biologically inappropriate ingredients and/or less than optimal amounts of animal protein.
>
> The dog owners I've met aren't interested in pet food that merely assures their pet's survival. They're looking for the best, most biologically appropriate nutrition they can afford for their canine companions.
>
> Dr. Weeth also discusses cats and the fact that their natural prey, for example, mice, provides about 66 percent water and 10 percent carbohydrates. She uses this example _"...to illustrate the point that the diets we typically feed may be very different than what nature intended."_
>
> I believe our goal should be to mimic pets' natural diets as closely as possible, and that feeding food very different from what nature intended is a root cause of many of the diet-related diseases we see in dogs and cats today.
>
> Weeth goes on to say, _"A typical dry cat food, even one marketed as 'grain-free,' is still 10 percent water and 25 percent to 50 percent of the calories as carbohydrates."_
>
> What Dr. Weeth fails to mention is that current research clearly points to the benefits of moisture-rich diets to the health of pet cats. So the commercial "convenience" diets we've been feeding pets for several decades are indeed very different than what nature intended ... and not in a good way.
## Veterinary Nutritionists Have Financial Ties to Major Pet Food Manufacturers
> Veterinary nutritionists receive a diploma from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). They are DVMs who go on to become board certified in veterinary nutrition. The additional training they receive runs at least two years and they must pass a written exam at the end of their coursework in order to obtain board certification.
>
> ACVN is the smallest of the veterinary colleges and there are fewer than 100 veterinary nutritionists in the world. They work in veterinary schools, government agencies, pet drug companies, private animal hospitals, for themselves, and very frequently, for pet food companies. Major pet food manufacturers also frequently pay the tuition for DVMs studying to become veterinary nutritionists.
>
> So when you hear or read that a veterinary nutritionist recommends X or Y or Z pet food - or discourages the feeding of raw or homemade diets, for example -- keep in mind that many practicing veterinary nutritionists are obligated in some way to a pet food manufacturer. This association creates a rather obvious conflict of interest when it comes to the advice they offer, not to mention the training they have received.
>
> Fortunately, the _place_holder;[AHVM Foundation](http://foundation.ahvma.org/) wants to assist in the development of integrative veterinary nutrition departments which can further study and delineate the applicability of species-appropriate diets. That will provide the veterinary community with unbiased pet nutrition experts with no ties to the pet food industry.
Sources:
* [Veterinary Practice News August 30, 2012](http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-dept/small-animal-dept/whats-the-truth-about-gluten.aspx)
**Related Articles:**
 _place_holder; [The Things You NEVER Want to See on Your Dog Food Label...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/02/03/choosing-a-healthy-dog-food-for-your-pet.aspx)
 _place_holder; [Vegan Dog Food: Is It Right to Force a Meat-Free Diet on Your Carnivorous Pet?](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/10/vegan-dog-food.aspx)
 _place_holder; [What to Never Ever Feed Your Cat or Dog...](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/07/the-skinny-on-low-fat-diets.aspx)
[** _place_holder;Comments _place_holder;(20)](http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx?ShowAllComments=True#comments)**
URL: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/31/veterinary-practice.aspx
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