Are “all-natural” diets really healthy?

Still on Winter break – nothing to report. The hotel is as busy as ever and still working long hours, only to come home exhausted and ready to study (yay!)

For all you people who preach about your all-natural pet foods, this rant is for you!

MSU Researchers Link Pet Food, Dog Illnesses Nationwide

http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2010/msu-researchers-link-pet-food-dog-illnesses-nationwide/?fb_action_ids=10201849253047039&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B184923911714646%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.likes%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

The brilliance of good marketing never ceases to amaze me. Likewise, the number of people who blindly fall for it without doing any sort of research. Knowledge is such a valuable tool; yet, most people don’t use it! Whether it be something you are buying, a life decision, or even politics, it should be your top priority to gain as much knowledge as you can so that you can make wise decisions! You do actually have a brain in there, or at least you should – use it for God’s sake!

Anyways, thought this article from Michigan State (I am a little biased since this is/will be my alma mater – Go Spartans!) was pretty interesting. Personally, I have never trusted the Blue Buffalo brand – I have seen animals affected by it firsthand. To give the benefit of the doubt though, Blue Buffalo is a relatively new brand and thus, they have some kinks to work out. I would never feed it to my pets, but that’s just my opinion. Purina/Pedigree fan here – although there are other good brands out there that I would feed as well (Royal Canin, Iams, Nutri-Source, etc). Sorry Blue Buffalo – just not for me.

Today, I am going to emphasize a few points about the myths of meals and by-products that are seen on pet food labels. Contrary to rumors, they really do not stand for low quality contents (for the most part), especially when used by a top reputable brands. Get ready to blow your mind a little: “chicken” and “chicken meal” mean the exact same thing! Whoa! The difference is how the product arrives at the supplier. Both chicken and chicken meal consist of flesh and skin, with or without bone. Chicken arrives in a wet form (don’t think chicken breast though – it can come from any source like thigh too) and then can be processed and dried to be used in kibble form. Meal is when the product already arrives dried and broken down. Meal is both cheaper for the manufacturer (less truckloads cause it is broken down into its dry concentrated form) and for you! It is more expensive to ship wet meat and then for the supplier to have to dry it themselves.

Boneless does not always mean better. Same goes for fresh. It is a marketing trick. Actually bone is a good source of calcium and phosphorus, so it is actually good to have a little bit of bone added. And fresh just implies how it came to the supplier. Fresh is no better than frozen.

Muscle meat does not contain all the nutrients (vitamins and minerals) needed in the animal’s diet. That is where by-products come in to play and where Blue Buffalo has possibly gone wrong (since muscle meat is low in calcium – look at MSU’s article). By-products are defined as the clean parts of a carcass: necks, feet (yes it is fine to use feet!), undeveloped eggs (poultry), and organs (liver, intestines, lung, spleen, etc). By-products are strictly regulated by the AAFCO and must be clean (no wastes or intestinal content) and no feathers, beaks, fur, hooves, etc. By-product meals are the exact same thing, just already dried and ground-up when they reach the supplier. Guess what? We, as humans, eat some of these products too (unless you are a vegetarian/vegan)! We eat organs such as liver. We eat intestines (sausage!). Just think about it. By-products can be an excellent source of protein!

Disclaimer! Meals and by-products can be cheap/low quality products as well. Which you cannot determine from the label. So, in that case, research the food brand and make sure they are a highly reputable company. Any reputable company will go to great lengths (strict rules, regulations, procedures, and tests) to ensure they have high quality ingredients.

There are many other factors that go into a good pet food diet such as calories, carbs, fat (all look at intake versus what the pet really needs), etc. Nutrition is a highly extensive and complicated field and could be talked about for days.

Other marketing ploys: the pictures! Just because there are pretty pictures of nice chicken breasts or T-bone steaks on the front does not mean that is what actually is in the diet.

All labels must read: complete and balanced.

Point is: do not take advice from the local pet store owner, your neighbor down the street, and definitely not commercials! Ask a veterinarian or a veterinary nutritional specialist about your pet food!

Finally, I fully admit I am no expert in this field; although, someday I hope to be! So, do not fully take my word for it. In fact, if you are an expert in this field – I would love to talk to you! or if there is something I stated that is wrong – please correct me! Be smart and do your research. Knowledge is valuable – never walk into anything blindly or buy stuff willy-nilly. My source of information is, first and foremost, my professor (who is a veterinarian specialized in nutrition) whom taught a whole semester on this stuff, my fellow veterinarians and techs with whom have both extensive knowledge and experience in this, and by (drum-roll!) looking at articles!

A few articles to look at:

This is from Blue Buffalo and what they say about by-products, etc: http://bluebuffalo.com/health/read-the-label. One thing I want to note, they are right when they say that the ingredients are listed by weight. On the flipside, water can add to the weight of a product – more water = less concentrated = less nutrients! Again, a whole other topic.

Here are some simple articles from Purina: http://purinaproclub.com/tools/spread-the-word/myths-facts/by-products

Some good info and great definitions. Also, helped me to write this (giving credit where credit is due!): http://www.askavetquestion.com/nutrition/chicken-byproducts/

If you don’t read any of the other articles, this is the best resource you could look – straight from the AAFCO themselves. This website explains everything very clearly, is detailed, and to the point. It would behoove you to not check this site out! http://petfood.aafco.org/Home.aspx

Your homework: there are similar rumors out there about ground corn and other ingredients. I want you to do extensive research on these (ask your vet!) and come to a decision that is not based off of marketing.

 for your fyi.

Ugly Consequences

On Winter break right now, so not too much to update on. Bout ready to pass out from working 9 and a half hours cleaning rooms (housekeeper!). Yes, I am working while going to school. Gotta pay the bills some how and school isn’t cheap either! Trying to save up and pay off as much as I can now since vet techs are way underpaid! – just for the record, vets don’t make that much either.

Okay, getting to my rant of the day:

Recently a friend of mine (also a vet tech student) posted this link onto her page. http://www.viralnova.com/dog-breeds-truth/ I encourage anyone who sees this to take a look. This link briefly illustrates how pure breeds aesthetics have drastically changed over the last hundred years – and it’s not for the good of the animal unfortunately.

Trending in the last few years is the idea of owning a designer dog. Meaning people just randomly mix dog breeds together to make them more cute or pleasing. Most times people don’t realize what exactly they are mixing together. Or, as shown in the link above, certain breeds have been so specified that they don’t even look or function like the dog they used to be. One example of breeding gone wrong is the German Shepherd. It makes me cry every time I see one with a back end so low that they can barely walk. Shepherds were specifically bred that way to be aesthetically pleasing to humans. As a result, they now have such horrible back and hip problems that they can no longer serve their intended purpose – all thanks to humans! Just another example of our ignorance leaving a lasting footprint, and in this case, it effects the creatures around us.

Point is: if you are going to buy from a breeder, make sure they are first and foremost reputable. Next, do your research of the breed – know what their proper conformation is supposed to be and what problems may arise from owning a pure-bred dog. If possible, get the history of bloodlines from the breeder. If you can alleviate as many problems as possible, you will be saving your bank account tremendously! Do not buy for aesthetic reasons!

http://www.viralnova.com/dog-breeds-truth/

Getting it off my sleeve

We’ll just cut it to the chase: the veterinary technology program, and the whole field in general, is one of those things that is hard to explain to people  on the “outside”. I’ve never been much of a writer. Lord knows how many diaries I have started and left at that. But I am starting to feel that someone needs to give a glimpse into the crazy life and mind of a vet tech (student). In return, I am hoping to receive self-therapy to help me through – you’ll see why eventually.

What is a Vet Tech?

To put it in simple terms, a vet tech is a nurse for animals. We learn and perform the exact same things that a human nurse would – just on four-legged animals (and for a significantly less salary!). Vet techs are literally the backbone of the veterinary field (vets=head, assistants and other staff = supporting limbs). We are the go-between for the doctors, clients, and staff alike. To quote my professors: we are first and foremost the patient’s advocate! Common misconception: vet techs are not veterinary assistants! Don’t get me wrong, veterinary assistants are important to the success of a clinic, but they do not go through at least two years of schooling and board exams to obtain their title.

Please don’t ask us when….

…we are going to go into vet school? or why don’t we want to be the doctor? or why didn’t we go into human medicine? We literally get these question every day! Personally, I don’t want to be a vet (doctor) because they don’t get the daily hands-on duties that I love. Vet techs (just like human nurses) usually establish a more personal connection/relationship with the patient (and client!) than the doctor ever will. As far as not venturing into human medicine – humans straight up annoy me! Many humans I have dealt with in working and personal situations have time and again shown how lazy, ignorant, disgusting, selfish, and stupid our species is. I could go on and on about that subject, but I’ll leave that for future stories to illustrate. All in all, I would have no problem pulling the plug on a human, especially if they exhibit the qualities listed.

What the program is like in a nutshell:

Challenging, rewarding, draining, unique, unexpected, emotional, worthwhile, etc.

The vet tech program is nothing like what I expected, which is both good and bad. If/when I get through this program, I have no doubt that it will be the most proud and profound moment of my life thus far. I was an all A student all through high school, I already successfully obtained a bachelor’s degree in biology, and I can safely say that the vet tech program is the hardest academic program I have ever been in. It is not uncommon in this program to be failing at some point in time. Heck, they have counselors that work specifically with this program for when a student has emotional break downs (yes it happens all the time!) You have to be smart, responsible, mature, etc to succeed – no slacking off, no partying, no life in general! But through it all, we get to do cool things! Just this last semester I drew blood from various veins from cows, sheep, horses, pigs, dogs, and cats, I got to assist with surgeries already, I put a cow in a headlock and shoved pills down their throats, I got to dart pigs, the list can go on and on. This is the time of our life where our love for animals blossoms into a passion!

Now I know that was lot of rambling and not much of a view into my mind yet, but I had to get that all out there. Keep in mind that my grammar and spelling may not always be spot on. Though I usually am a grammar nazi, I am not as concerned about that on here. I am writing as it comes out in my thoughts.