Dog Food Advisor – 5 Myths About Veterinary Recommended Dry Dog Foods Busted!!!

dog eating dry food

Dry dog food is amazing stuff so much science and convenience all wrapped into one.
“Dog Food Advisor – 5 Myths Busted’

However, people are always keen to create stigmas around feeding dry.
Well I’m here to advise you that many so-called “facts” are indeed “myths”.

Feeding dog biscuits

Vets are your best Dog Food Advisor’s. There is a reason why most of them recommend science-based dry dog food.

1. Lets Bust The First Myth

“Corn is a cheap filler and isn’t good for your dog”

Wrong! Corn is bioavailable for dogs and has many nutritional benefits! The fact that it’s easily sourced is not why it is in dry dog foods.

Bioavailable – means your dog can digest it and absorb the nutrients. Some foods are not bioavailable to dogs. This means they pass through and are not absorbed.

Corn contains:
Protein
Carbohydrates
Fiber
Vitamins
Fats.
This makes it an excellent choice.

Dog with Glasses on

Dog Food Advisor Fun Fact.

Did you know Flaxseed oil and Turmeric are not bioavailable to dogs!?

Many articles you read online will recommend these products as holistic alternatives. However, they can’t even absorb it. They just poop it right back out!

Tumeric is good stuff and when mixed with other ingredients like pepper and fats. It can then become, bioavailable for dogs.

It is science-based dog food companies that do this research and provide this for you. Which is another reason why we recommend them for your dog.


Dog Food Advisor – 5 Myths Busted!

2. Vets only promote dry food because they make heaps of money out of it’

If you think vets make heaps of money out of selling you dry food you are wrong!

Most clinics I have worked in only have a 20-30% mark up on dog food. Which isn’t a lot when compared with “dog toys” a typical mark up on toys being 100% in my experience.

So no vets aren’t getting rich from you buying dry dog food, Someone probably is but its not Vets, they truly promote it because of its science-based and a balanced diet for your dog.

close up photo of dog wearing sunglasses 1629781

3. Grain-free Is Better For Your Dog Because Grains Are Bad.

Lets Bust This.

Wrong again! in fact, some recent studies show potential links between grain-free diets and heart disease. Dogs need grains they are nutritionally beneficial for them! Grain allergies are uncommon in dogs.

Grain-free diets are great if you’re dog actually has a grain allergy, but until proven through a true food elimination trial, there is no need to take your dog off grains.

I go into more detail on this in my Food allergy post:
https://furfunme.com/fur-fun-with-pets/food-allergy-trial/

4. Feeding A Raw Or Grain-free Diet Will Fix Your Dogs Skin Issue.

Ok now, this one can be a heated subject as raw feeders, in particular, are very passionate advocates of it. But if your raw feeding, try to keep reading before you write me off.

I’m not a raw feed hater. But the facts and science are against it and so I admit I struggle to be an advocate for it.

It is just the way it is sorry until science proves to me it is better, it will be my opinion.

However, what does frustrate me is this belief that swapping your dog to a raw or grain-free diet will fix all their skin issues.

Some get lucky and the dog actually did have a grain allergy and by swapping to raw or grain-free the skin did in fact get better. But this is luck not a magical cure for everyone.

I work in a special interest small animal skin clinic. I have to have these conversations, often multiple times a day with very upset and confused owners. They want to understand why raw or grain feeding hasn’t fixed their dog.

Let me explain…

Your dog’s skin issues *if its food allergy* will most likely be caused by an animal-based protein source.

So feeding raw or grain-free is not likely going to help the majority of food allergic dogs.

I‘m not saying grain allergies don’t exist in dogs, but they are uncommon.

Owners are better to perform a true food elimination trial, actually, find/confirm the allergy, then change their dog’s diet appropriately.

In-fact the best thing you could do for your skin dog is to go and see your vet! Make a start on finding the cause as food allergies, in general, are less common than environmental ones.

You can see more detail about food allergy and elimination trials here in this post:
https://furfunme.com/fur-fun-with-pets/food-allergy-trial/

See my post on itchy skin and start the process of finding the cause of your dog’s skin issues:
https://furfunme.com/fur-fun-with-pets/dog-is-itchy-all-the-time/


Dog Eating from food bowl

5. Whole/Real Meat Is Better Than Meat Meal Or Meat By-Products

Being a dog food advisor let me explain.

Meat meal is just whole meat with the water removed. So no, it’s not a con, in fact, it is better, you are not paying for water.

Meat by-products are organs like the liver. They are nutrient-rich ingredients that your dog benefits from.

So there we have it 5 myths busted. I hope you found it interesting.

As always thanks for reading.

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2 Replies to “Dog Food Advisor – 5 Myths About Veterinary Recommended Dry Dog Foods Busted!!!”

  1. Some great points! I have had a lot of people make comments to me over the years because we choose to feed our dogs dry dog food. I did get a good laugh out of reading how uncommon grain allergies are as I have one dog that legitimately has one. It took a lot of trial and error to isolate her laundry list of allergies (she’s also allergic to a number of protein sources), but her vet was SO patient and helpful through the process! I don’t know why so many people automatically assume it’s grain-related without taking the time to find out what’s actually going on!

    1. They are uncommon but they do still exist, poor you and your fur baby for being so unlucky. You have my empathy and respect. So great that you and your vet were patient enough to get to the cause!
      It is so unfortunate that the human fad of grains is clouding owner’s decisions because they often miss the real cause wasting both time and money.
      Thank you so much for your comment, I was nervous about this post creating a stir, and so it is nice to have someone appreciate the points I’m trying to make = )

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