If you could travel back to the 1950’s, you would be surprised to see that doctors recommended their patients to smoke. They did it because the tobacco industry could influence education and the opinion of doctors.
Now, if we could fast-forward a few decades, we would see with equal astonishment that veterinarians recommend feeding dogs the commercial foods that are available today in pet stores and supermarkets.
However, most dog owners nowadays take their veterinarian’s advice on pet food seriously.
Are you one of them?
Why Vet Recommended Dog Food Advice Cannot Always Be Trusted For Your Tibetan Mastiff
1. Corrupted Veterinarian Education
Many veterinary education institutions receive ongoing financial support from large pet food manufacturers. This includes funding for research and veterinary association events.
In this way, pet food manufacturers ensure that nutritional information received by veterinarians is influenced by them.
Meanwhile, veterinarians don’t necessarily receive specific nutrition education. However, it is common that they are informed about nutritional issues from the teachings given by representatives of main pet food manufacturers.
So it is no surprise that the professional education of veterinarians is tainted at the grassroots with the idea that commercial food is healthy for pets.
2. "Scientific" Studies Funded By Dog Food Companies
All good professionals must be continually updated in their knowledge. It is not enough to just stick with the degree and knowledge obtained at the university.
In the case of veterinarians, as well as human doctors, the means to keep themselves updated are publications from recognized media, where the results of scientific studies are published.
What veterinarians may not be aware of is that those scientific studies are often conducted or funded by large pet food manufacturers.
Therefore, their results are biased to “demonstrate” that their products are beneficial and healthy for pets.
For instance, the “scientific” results may point out that raw pet food may be contaminated with parasites.
This is a finding that goes in line with the interests of major pet food manufacturers, who rarely have raw pet food in their main production line.
Those scientific studies are usually backed by statements issued by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), who is a secret ally of the major dog food manufacturers.
However, those “findings” overlook certain peculiarities of pets’ organisms. For example, that dogs’ digestive systems are designed to withstand the types of bacteria contamination found in raw pet food.
Veterinarians may trust the results of these commercially funded scientific studies, and reinforce the idea that commercial foods from major brands are preferable to other feeding options (like raw dog food).
3. Manipulated Social Media And Dog Blogs
Every good veterinarian must maintain interaction with his colleagues and participate in communities in order to exchange knowledge and experiences.
However, these interactions are not always favorable for their professional activity. Especially in environments as easily manipulated as social networks.
These communities are often held together through blogs or social media groups, some of which are manipulated – explicitly or covertly – by the pet food giants.
Take the case of BlogPaws, for example. BlogPaws is a social media company that teaches bloggers, influencers, and pet owners how to use social media “responsibly and effectively.”
Sounds good, if it wasn’t for the fact that – as the same company tells on its history page – in May 2017, BlogPaws was acquired by Chewy.com, one of the largest retailers of pet products.
From that point on, any advice you get from BlogPaws will be geared towards helping the business of Chewy and his parent company, the large conglomerate PetSmart.
This is one of several examples of social media manipulation that unethically supports the interests of the major pet food brands that usually produce unhealthy dog food.
But others such cases are not so easy to spot.
Surely you have heard of influencers, those people who have hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, Twitter and other social networks.
Well, there are also pet influencers: people who are wanted by the marketing agencies of the big pet food brands, to plant ideas in the minds of vets and pet owners.
There are agencies, such as The Pets Agency, that target pet influencers and match them with marketing agents of pet product companies.
Through those agencies, pet product companies literally recruit (pay) people with a certain number of followers on social media to spread messages favourable to their businesses.
Many veterinarians use their title to build a reputation as pet influencers, thus earning an extra income by spreading an advertising message on social media.
A strong reason not to take their advice on healthy food for your pet, don’t you think?
4. Vets Suspicious Of Natural And Raw Food For Your Mastiff
Normally, veterinary science, like medical science, systematically discredits alternative therapy, calling it dangerous for the health of pets.
In the case of human medicine, doctors have begun to accept and even recommend certain alternative treatments, such as meditation, that are more effective than any medicine.
However, in the world of veterinary science, the vast majority of veterinarians are still wary of new nutritional alternatives that promise to improve the health of pets.
And holistic medicine, natural medicine, organic food, raw food and any other option that does not fatten the wallets of large pet products companies enter into that mistrust.
5. Veterinarians Economic Self Interests
This is the last reason, but may by far be the strongest one, to believe your vet is not going to give you good advice on healthy food for your pet.
In human medicine, doctors can prescribe medicinal products and even give free samples. But professional ethics prevent doctors from selling medicines or any other health-related products.
However, your vet can sell you pet food and even medicines for your pet.
Being involved in the business, the vet has a clear financial interest.
Then, the vet will likely recommend that you buy the product that gives most profit, rather than the product that is best for you pet’s health.
Pick A New Vet For My Tibetan Mastiff?
Most vets are not “bad”, many of them are simply misinformed.
If your veterinarian recommends a product from the main pet food brands, ask for the reasons for that recommendation.
And don’t accept them, unless you are 100% convinced that their justifications are valid.
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