Vet addresses common pet owner misconceptions about pet nutrition

Many pet owners have misconceptions about veterinarians and may be reluctant to seek or follow their advice, says Dr. Michael Watts, a veterinarian and owner of Clevengers Corner Veterinary Care, in an online article. 
In the article, Dr. Watts shares an email conversation he says that he had with a friend, regarding pet food allergy management for his friend's cat and a veterinarian's advice.
Dr. Watts says his friend wrote: "I think there’s a big 'conspiracy' out there among vets or maybe the newbies get brainwashed in vet school with all that corporate money. I think my cat might have food allergies (losing a ton of hair, itchy) but took him to the vet anyway...We ended up with a newer vet and he was saying we might have to put him on a big brand prescription diet — the hypoallergenic one. He was shocked when I told him I’d never feed my cats that junk food. The first ingredients always seem to be 'chicken byproducts' and fillers like corn... It makes me sad to think of all these people out there listening to this vet and using big corporation food when they can just feed their pets a high-quality, good protein diet."
Yet, according to Dr. Watts, veterinarians that sell veterinary diet pet foods make very little money doing so, typically US$1 per bag or less. 
"Large companies are simply better at being sure veterinarians have the most up to date information on their diets, so that might be your 'conspiracy,'" Watts says. "In addition, many veterinary therapeutic diets are actually superior for treating specific conditions than anything that can be found over the counter. However, the ingredient lists are formulated by board-certified veterinary nutritionists and other scientists – not the marketing department."
Watts also says that studies have shown that beef, chicken, wheat, soy, lamb, milk and egg have been the cause of more allergies in pets than corn has. Watts says that cooked ground corn is actually a highly digestible source of carbohydrates, protein, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids. 
"Unfortunately, the niche market petfoods have demonized it to a point that I don’t even waste my breath with clients anymore. Either a client will take my educated recommendation or they will ignore me, listening to 'Dr. Google' or propaganda from specialty pet food manufacturers," Watts says.

Petco offers new holistic petfood, free pet training seminars

Petco is introducing a new, holistic pet food option in addition to offering free training seminars for pet owners and their pets.

Petco is carrying Nature's Variety Instinct and Prairie diet pet food lines. Instinct offerings include both raw frozen diets and dry, grain-free foods. The company says its Prairie diet uses whole grains and has a high meat content.

Nature's Variety Prairie is also sponsoring free "Family Fun Dog Training Seminars" in October 2011. The 30-minute lessons teach positive training methods and provide participants with a free sample of the Prairie pet food and a coupon for a future purchase.
"We believe that healthier pets and happier people make a better world," says John Sturm, vice president of merchandising for Petco. "The addition of Nature's Variety into our natural food selection, as well as their generous sponsorship of our free training seminars, mean we can continue to provide exceptional products and services to our customers."

Study: consumers should do research when choosing a 'diet' cat food

It is important to do research when choosing the best lower-calorie or weight loss cat food because calorie contents vary, according to a study summarized in an article on readingeagle.com.
Researchers evaluated 49 cat foods designed to aid in weight management. Their findings, published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, showed that dry food calorie contents varied from 235 to 480 calories per cup, while canned food varied from 78 to 172 calories per cup. The researchers recommended that consumers check with manufacturers for the actual calorie content of the petfood. In addition, the article says that a normal cat requires 20 calories per pound of ideal body weight per day, but that overweight cats should only be given about 50% to 70% of that amount.

Study: Varied calories in diet petfoods confuse pet owners

Because the calorie counts of diet petfoods vary widely among brands, pet owners may be unknowingly overfeeding their pets, according to a study conducted at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.
The study measured the calories in 93 commercial diet petfoods (44 canine diets and 49 feline diets) and found that a pet owner serving one cup or can of diet petfood could potentially be adding more than 200 calories a day to their pet’s diet by switching brands.

Study finds cat, dog obesity increasing

In the US, over 45% of dogs and 58% of cats are now estimated to be overweight or obese according to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention. The third annual National Pet Obesity Awareness Day Study, conducted in October 2009, found that from 2007 to 2009, the number of overweight dogs and cats increased by 2% and 5%, respectively.
“Pet obesity is now the biggest health threat to pets in the US,” said lead researcher Dr. Ernie Ward. “The costs of obesity in illness and injury make it the number one medical issue seen in today’s veterinary hospitals.”