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Response to Ms Sherry Weaver's article

    Ms Sherry Weaver is a vet who appears on the very popular website of Cesear Millan. You can find a link to this article by clicking here. I have written to Ms Weaver to back up some of her claims, but so far, she has not responded to any emails. I've invited Ms Weaver and all others to join our email list where she can back up her claims. To join the Raw Feeding Web Review site, please click here. Ms Weaver has not joined the email list as yet.

    I've been specifically asked to review Ms Weaver's article.As per my usual style, I have copied and pasted her article here, and put my responses to it.

    As a side note, and unrelated to my response to Ms Weaver's article, I want to make the following additional comments:

    1. A better animal behaviourist than Millan is Jan Fennell. Can I suggest you get your hands on her books and DVD's. Her books are available at Amazon. Or I have a direct link from my site by clicking here. Frankly, once you read her books you'll realise how third rate C Millan is.
    2. As soon as Ms Weaver completes her phD, I'll call her "Doctor". Until that point, her and any other vet without a phD should never be referred to as a Doctor. Let's not over-state people's qualifications now.

    If Ms Weaver and any one else would like to learn more about the raw diet, the best email list to join, can be found by clicking here.

    New: I've now included a poll at the end of the article. Please take the time to fill it out after you have read the article.

    Please read below Ms Weaver's article, and my response to her claims in the right hand column:

Ms Weaver writes.....

Jane Anderson responds......

The decision on what to feed our canine children is a complex one. There are pet food companies shouting at you that, if you don’t feed their food, you don’t love your dog, and well-meaning others who want to convince you that anything commercial is taking the lazy way out. There are foods that are "all natural" and foods with tasty bits to convince your finicky dog to eat. Just like feeding ourselves, it is very hard to sort out the truth from the marketing.

Ms Weaver, you've made an interesting point up front - the decision on what to feed a dog should not be complex. It should never be a complex question on what is the best food to feed any species. The simple answer is to feed it what nature intended. A dog is a carnivore, so feed it a carnivore's diet. Making it look like feeding is a dog diet is a complex exercise is an advertising executive's job. The harder they make it look, the more they can convince you that whatever product they are trying to sell is the answer to this invented complex problem.

Just like feeding ourselves, with a little bit of education, it's easy to work out what is bullsh*t and what is fact, actually. (sorry for being coarse, here, but I'm fed up with lies and myths.)

We all can agree that choosing the right food for life can be one of the biggest factors in longevity and quality of life. We also have to realize that just like human food, the best-tasting food is often not the most nutritious. Usually foods with "tasty bits" are sold to satisfy the human’s emotional needs more than the dog’s nutritional needs, and are often the cause of obesity (a common killer of dogs).

I'm glad you raised that first point - food is an important element in the longevity and quality of any species, including dogs and cats. And yes, obese dogs are invariably fed commercial dog food. How does that work? Is that not your first clue that something is wrong straight away with commercial dog food?

What "all natural" really means is often anyone’s guess. To really choose the best food takes some research or requires finding someone knowledgeable who you really trust to advise what is right for your individual dog. This is not the salesman at the pet store who has only been informed by representatives from the food companies, and it shouldn’t be just some website that made sense to you. Typically, your veterinarian or a trained nutritionist (who can often be found and contacted on vet school websites) is the best resources to make decisions for your dog as an individual.

Lies exist on the packaging of many products. So let's make it easy - if it looks natural, it probably is. eg: a chicken quarter looks pretty natural. I'm still looking for the kibble tree that grows kibble.

Most vets receive less than 3 hours education at university regarding dog nutrition, and the textbooks have been written and/or supported by pet food companies. The fact that you support commercial dog food, Ms Weaver, is the best indication so far that you're education when it comes to an appropriate diet for a carnivore, is lacking considerably (despite the fact you call yourself a "doctor"!)

Given that vets receive most of their education whilst on the job from pet food salespeople, you really are no better than the "salesman at the pet store". After all, your surgey sells pet food doesn't is Ms Weaver?

And are their posters in your surgery advertising pet foods? Or freebies such as pens, notebooks, and shirts? I bet there is!

One type of food espoused by some well-meaning pet lovers is biologically available raw food (BARF). The idea of this approach is that raw food is closer to what a dog would eat in the wild. Unfortunately, dogs in the wild do not live very long, which, to me, is a flaw in their logic, but I try to consider all viewpoints on issues this important. From research as it stands now, there is no real evidence that there are any health benefits to eating raw meat. If, however, you do want to try it, make sure you do your research and do it the right way. With extreme choices such as raw food, there is no such thing as "I do mostly raw food". Even proponents of the diet will tell you that there are risks if you don’t do it exactly right. In addition to finding organic food sources, you must balance the food with vegetables and other sources of micronutrients to meet all of your dog’s nutritional needs. Changing an adult dog to BARF too quickly can cause pancreatitis, so follow the instructions of people who have successfully made the transition.

Actually, the "Barf" diet is one that is based on an omnivore's diet. As a dog is not an omnivore, it is an incorrect diet. The term you are looking for is "an appropriate raw diet". And this is one based on what a carnivore eats.

Unsurprisingly, the pet food companies have been unable to ever substantiate that their crap in a bag diets are superior to a raw diet. And that's a fact. However, millions of years of evolution show us that dogs and cats have survived through the ages on an appropriate raw diet. And evolution is the best clinical trial you can find Ms Weaver (did they not teach you that at university?).

In terms of the length of life a dog in the wild lives, oh Ms Weaver, you aren't well educated are you? It is an entirely different existence, where wild dogs are subjected to other prey, humans with guns, decreased habitat,cars and freeways, etc, which causes their shortened lifespan. Let's compare apples with apples here!

It's a complete over-reaction to refer to a raw diet as "extreme". In fact, it shows how uneducated Ms Weaver actually is. It may come as a surprise to Ms Weaver that in many parts of the world, feeding a dog kibble is considered absurd. Where I come from, feeding raw is considered the norm. However, using the word "extreme" is a nice emotive word, and I can see why Ms Weaver has used emotion rather than fact to back up her position. The dog food companies are fantastic at using the same approach.

In terms of feeding vegetables, why would you give a carnivore vegetables? Now that is just plain weird.

I'd like to see the statistics on moving a dog to a raw diet causing pancreatitis. You've made that up Ms Weaver, haven't you?

Since most of us don’t have time to look for and properly prepare organic chicken, it is more sensible to find a high-quality commercial dog food that is preserved with vitamin E or other natural preservatives (eliminating chemicals and using high-quality meat instead of meat byproducts). These foods are formulated by trained nutritionist to be the best and help your dog live the longest, healthiest life possible; something that most of us are not trained to do.

I'm sorry, do "high quality commercial foods" use organic food supplies? No. And do you understand the substitution rules that pet food companies are allowed to use other products rather than what is on the label? How about those dog food companies that were exposed a few years ago using dog by products to make dog food? Yes, the dead dogs from the humane societies etc, were going back into dog food. And this was by so called high quality dog food companies as well as the lower end mobs. Not sure they ever put that on the label! Where were the so called "trained nutritionists" then.

Ms Weaver, quite frankly, you are either completely niaive as to how companies operate, or you have never been exposed to real information here.

Clearly you are not trained to talk much about dog nutrition.

Getting back to organic foods - there is absolutely no doubt that there needs to be a complete change in the way our food chain operates. Non-organic foods are not the best option for anyone of any species.

Commonly, BARF is recommended for dogs with certain medical problems such as skin conditions or immune problems. Sometimes it helps, not because of any magic of raw food, but because the key ingredients to which the pet is sensitive are eliminated. This same thing can be accomplished with carefully chosen commercial foods, getting all the nutritional advantages of teams of nutritionists while avoiding the risks of parasitism and food poisoning.

I've literally had more people email me with stories of their poor pets, then I'm sure you've had hot dinners Ms Weaver. Invariably they all have the same story - their dog has a considerable health problem. Their vet has recommended a series of very expensive interventions that involve drugs and an even more expensive commercial diet - and the dog has not gotten better. Many are on the cusp of giving up when they look for alternatives. The vets don't want to admit that a raw diet could fix it - especially not after they have spent thousands of dollars on "treatments" that have only exacerbated the dog's problems. And more often than not, by simply changing the diet to a natural diet, the problems are resolved in a small amount of time at a fraction of the cost.

Check out the ingredients on the label of these so called "carefully chosen commercial foods". Do you seriously believe a sick dog should be fed peanut shell? or beet pulp (which is also used to make kitty litter)? And at a huge cost? The dog suffers further, and the poor pet owner is losing their hair with worry at the same pace the poor dog is losing their hair through an incorrect diet!

Ms Weaver, please substantiate your claim that feeding a raw diet will lead to parasites and food poisoning! This again is using emotion, rather than fact.

In addition, you might want to balance this with the numerious commercial food recalls every year that have resulted after the commercial dog food has caused massive food poisoning and deaths amongst pets!

A good example is a dog with a skin problem. Food allergy is a very common component of itchy skin in dogs. Chicken, beef, lamb, corn, soy, wheat, egg and dairy products are common ingredients which induce these allergies, but, whether they are raw or cooked, the immune system looks at them the same. The key to choosing a food for skin problems is to pick one that does not include any of these ingredients, is preserved with vitamins, and preferably is supplemented with fatty acids (fish oils). Most large food companies now have their own versions of these foods. They are usually sold as prescription foods but are not significantly more expensive than over-the-counter foods of equivalent quality.

Not sure what experience you actually have with a raw diet, but with the contact I have had with people who have moved dogs off commercial food to a raw diet, dogs that seemed allergic to chicken flavoured commercial diets, for the most part seem to do fine with appropriate raw chicken in their diet. The same goes for beef and lamb. However, given soy, wheat, and corn are not ingredients that should ever be fed to a carnivore, I can't understand why you would ever want to feed them.

So rather than go for these very expensive "prescription foods" why not recommend the appropriate approach of an appropriate raw diet? After all, it's going to cost the pet owner about a quarter of the price of a "prescription food", and in all likelihood, lead to the improvement of the dog's conditon?

With the wealth of foods that are available to help many different conditions, the lack of evidence that raw food provides any advantages, and the potential risks of raw food, I can’t recommend that it is a good choice at this time. As research is done, we may one day find that there are advantages, but, for now, high-quality commercial food is the better choice.

You don't need a "wealth of foods" to feed your dogs to "help many different conditions". If you feed a correct raw diet to start with, you will never see these conditions. You spoke about logic early. I can't see the logic in deliberately making a dog sick by feeding the wrong food, and then trying to patch it up by feeding another version of the wrong food.

You don't need to go to vet school to see this just doesn't make sense.

Again, I look forward to reading more about the "risks of raw food" you allude to, but do not substantiate. Remember, we want facts!

Again, the pet food companies are yet to prove their products are better than a raw diet, so what research exactly are you waiting for?


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