Vet Bashing - Why We Must Find Common Ground
Let’s talk about a seemingly controversial topic within our community; vet bashing.
Something we hear often within our group and in the wider community regularly is owners and vets disagreeing on the care and well-being of the pet in front of them.
Pet owners coming back from their veterinarians feeling deflated, let down, unheard, belittled. They look to their community to vent and to be offered reassurance - but one has to wonder, is it always the vet's fault that they often take such a vastly differing standpoint?
In my humble opinion, no.
Vets are extremely knowledgeable, hardworking and by the very nature of their job, caring and empathetic professionals - there is no doubt about it, the job they do in our world today is extremely demanding. They are underpaid, overworked and in parts of the U.K. right now, they are also having to deal with a vet shortage.
They go through years of studying and placements and for most of their appointments they have to provide a one-stop shop service having to encompass many skillsets in a limited time frame to fact find and offer solutions, fast.
The institutions in which they are educated for a minimum of 5 years of their lives just aren’t set up in the open, free-thinking ways as we often see in our community.
Nutritional Education
Something that is often debated is just how much nutritional education veterinarians are given during their time in vet school. A well-known and popular integrative female vet said recently they had received just 2 hours of small animal nutrition, a 1-hour nutritional presentation from hills pet food representatives where students were educated on the commercial food available and its benefits. Finally, they received a small class in “clinical nutrition” - whereby students are educated on diets for specific conditions and a large part of this was said to be about “scientifically adapted” commercial pet foods available for each condition or as many of us know them to be, prescription diets.
Of course, one can never truly know exactly how much education is taught within vet school without attending themselves - there are so many variables. After all, the nutrition syllabus and teaching are set and taught by the individual vet school. Some of which may or may not receive sponsorship, funding and lectures from commercial pet food organisations.
Those same commercial Pet food companies may also contribute by providing additional lectures and learning materials. These additional lectures can also include nutrition teaching, both basic and clinical, and a presentation of nutrition research. Veterinarians are also taught about these commercial pet foods from a marketing standpoint, as once students qualify and go into practice, pet food can be a valuable source of revenue for the practice.
At current, in the U.K. though there are around 30,000 veterinarians, of that, there are only 3 qualified, board-certified veterinary nutritionists in the UK.
For the most part - pet owners only visit their veterinarian when their pet is sick and so as you can imagine, veterinarians will often only see that animal once something has gone awry. And the damage that an unbalanced diet can have on a pet long-term can be detrimental.
A recent study at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine analysed 200 different recipes for home-prepared dog foods. Recipes were selected from Facebook groups, websites, veterinary textbooks, and pet care books. The findings highlighted that 95% of the recipes were deficient in at least one essential nutrient and 84% were lacking in multiple required nutrients.
A paper from 2010 entitled “Frequency and extent of nutritional imbalances in bone and raw food diets (BARF) rations” by Professor E. Kienzle showed that 76% of raw diets showed at least one nutritional imbalance.
With all of this in mind, it’s not hard to see why some veterinarians may have such drastically differing opinions from pet owners, after all, Small animal nutrition is such a fast-moving science.
So what’s the best way to deal with this difference of opinion?
First and foremost (and I should hope it goes without saying) the absolute worst and most unacceptable approach is to stay silent during the appointment to go home and “vet-bash” online. Thankfully, in our groups (and most reputable canine health groups), vet bashing is not tolerated and is a bannable “offence” and for good reason.
New research shows nearly 70% of veterinarians have lost a colleague or peer to suicide and about six in 10 have sought professional help for their mental health. It’s thought that the profession has one of the highest rates of suicide.
In our group, we have a saying “be kind, online” and we don’t believe in publically naming and shaming anyone, let alone a veterinarian who was most likely just trying to do the best they could do with the skill set and knowledge available to them.
Making an informed decision
What I (and many of our admin team) have found helpful when finding ourselves in these situations, is to open up the dialogue.
You can do this by making sure the decisions you have made for your pet's health and well-being are well thought out.
It is simply not enough to take an Internet stranger’s (no matter how renowned they may be online) advice as “gospel” - if you want to ensure you are making the healthiest decision for your pet you must go and educate yourself and ensure you have read up on the research available to ensure you are making a well-informed decision.
Nutrition courses - an unregulated industry
There are tons of readily available nutrition courses, most of which are all distance learning. That said, it must be remembered that the pet nutrition sector is largely unregulated and many courses offer poor or outdated science, some of these are relatively low cost which can be rather problematic as they are too often easily accessed and thus relied upon.
The title Nutritionist is not protected, therefore anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. so it’s always important to investigate who is running said course and if their information is from a credible source.
From beginner to advanced, here are the courses we recommend for pet owners that want to learn more;
1. Dogs Naturally University courses; cover essential oils, raw feeding, homoeopathy etc.
2. ISCP level 5 Diploma In Canine Nutrition & Health
3.iPET Network Level 3 Diploma in Canine Nutrition (Ofqual regulated)
It’s because of this lack of regulation that it’s crucial to take care when looking for a consultation, whether you are looking for targeted advice for your pet's health condition or looking for the correct advice on choosing the best diet for your pet's health, ensure you are not handing over any money until you are certain of their qualifications and experience - most reputable professionals will be more than happy to discuss this with you.
Opening up the dialogue;
In most cases whereby I have found myself in disagreement over the care of my pets with my veterinarian, I have welcomed a discussion. Once my vet knew and understood the reasons as to why I have made the decisions I have - providing adequate “argument” - and allowing my veterinarian to see and understand that I have made an informed decision and as such am aware of the “risks” - my vet was more than happy to compromise.
When it comes to my pets care these days, those sorts of conversations don’t happen often anymore as I have a vet that is on board with my chosen approach however, the last occurrence was over my then puppy, Teddy’s, vaccinations.
During this visit, I advised the vet of my chosen vaccination protocol - and as a veterinarian, she made sure she had done her due diligence to ensure I had made an informed decision and we arrived at a compromise to do one DHP vaccination at 14 weeks (instead of me wanting to do it at 12) followed by a titer test 6 weeks later.
From experience, as long as you are well informed and armed with enough information regarding the risks and benefits most vets will be more open to a compromise.
In cases where confrontation overrules compromise:
In some cases you may find that your veterinarian cannot overcome their standpoint and no matter how well equipped you may be with your decisions regarding your pet's health and well-being, they are just not willing to compromise.
In such difficult circumstances, the best decision is to walk away and find a veterinarian that is more aligned with your way of thinking.
A good place to start is the community we find ourselves in - speak to fellow dog owners, reputable group members and their admins and seek out personal recommendations.
Another place to look is the raw feeding veterinary society - they list all veterinarians that are practising members who are pro-fresh feeding and more often than not are more likely to be integrative veterinarians.
Another option is looking at the BRITISH ASSOCIATION OF HOMEOPATHIC VETERINARY SURGEONS.
The bottom line?
As previously mentioned, particularly in the U.K. right now we are experiencing increasingly troubling conditions for pet owners and veterinarians alike.
We are facing a National shortage of veterinarians - a profession with one of the highest rates of suicide. Due to multiple global factors, the price of care and treatment for our pets is on the rise, as is the price of insurance. As if that wasn’t enough, there are even pharmaceutical shortages.
Now more than ever pet owners and veterinarians need to work together wherever they can. It is simply impossible to own and adequately care for our pets without veterinarians and we must be seen to do what we can to support them and assist in their personal and professional lifelong learning - the "ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated" pursuit of knowledge - something that we should all assist ourselves with too!
There is always something more to learn for all of us - no matter how far on our educational journey we are and it’s important to remember this at all times. Surround yourself with the right resources and you might just find you’re in the best place possible to advocate for your pet's health and well-being to make an impact and find a mutual standing ground with your vet for your pet's best interests.
Some great resources for you and your vet;
Our recommended resources list which can be found here
The forever dog - Surprising New Science to Help Your Canine Companion Live Younger, Healthier, and Longer. Book by Karen Shaw Becker and Rodney Habib
Feeding dogs The Science Behind The Dry Versus Raw Debate - Dr Connor Brady
Sources;
https://nutritionrvn.com/2020/10/03/everyones-an-expert-in-animal-nutrition/?amp=1
https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/articles/has-your-vet-been-brainwashed
https://www.feedingravendoodles.com/articles/veterinarians-and-the-pet-food-industry
https://www.pfma.org.uk/news/prepared-pet-foods-deliver-optimum-nutrition
https://www.facebook.com/Holisticvet.Ltd/videos/2392569454374580/
Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats 2006, Animal Nutrition Series: National Research Council, pg 72
Hand, Thatcher, Remillard, Roudebush: Small Animal Clinical Nutrition: 4th Edition, pp 1192
