Jump to content

Barf Vs Super Premium Commercial Foods


Inka3095
 Share

Recommended Posts

My old clinic got a monthly payment for having the food and advertising it out in reception. And I know more then one other then does the same.

Who paid you? Our clinic would love a kick back, my boss has never been paid for stocking Hills, Advance, RC OR Euk and our practice has been open for over 20 years, I think we are being ripped off! :(

I'm just going by my experience here, and if this is not what happens in australia then my mistake, i am not from here. people can call it shelf maintenance or benefits, whatever you like and you know what, maybe I'm wrong, I am just a vet nurse, not a practice owner, but like I said, just going by personal experience.

Maybe your talking about a rebate? For example, if the clinic sells x amount a quarter then they get a percentage back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 63
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

My old clinic got a monthly payment for having the food and advertising it out in reception. And I know more then one other then does the same.

Who paid you? Our clinic would love a kick back, my boss has never been paid for stocking Hills, Advance, RC OR Euk and our practice has been open for over 20 years, I think we are being ripped off! :(

I'm just going by my experience here, and if this is not what happens in australia then my mistake, i am not from here. people can call it shelf maintenance or benefits, whatever you like and you know what, maybe I'm wrong, I am just a vet nurse, not a practice owner, but like I said, just going by personal experience.

Maybe your talking about a rebate? For example, if the clinic sells x amount a quarter then they get a percentage back.

Most likely! I haven't been vet nursing long so still learning. Happy to admit I'm wrong if its the case :-) I also haven't done much work here in Australia so it might be different here.

I still wouldn't feed the food however. In America hills just got a patent to put polyethylene coating on the kibble to increase shelf life. Eesh!

Yay I got the quote thingies right on the I pad this time lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The proof on how well MY dogs do on a RAW diet as compared to a kibble diet is right in front of me....and it shows on my Vet bill as well.

+ 1

I get comments on the condition of my pugs, especially on their muscle tone and their coats.

On the same token people always commented on Alvin's coat etc when he was fed a commercial diet, same with my Stafford. I was always asked what I fed due to their muscle tone and glossy coats. I switched to raw a month or so ago and see no external differences as they already looked awesome before. Im not bagging raw as I do believe it is better for dogs and they prefer it, just that I see dogs in peak condition fed commercial food.

Same here, I switched to raw in March this year. They were eating Canidae before. No changes in condition that I've noticed, but they do enjoy their food more, which is why I decided to make the switch despite the studies I found saying there was no difference between high quality dry and raw.

One thing I have noticed though, is that Obi is much less reactive on raw. But that's inconclusive because he was also at that age where he would start to mellow a bit, AND we did a lot of impulse control training, so it could be a combination of things that made him less reactive. Pixie was plagued with ear infections, and still is now that she's eating raw food.

Edited by fuzzy82
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I noticed a positive change in my dogs when I switched from premium dried to raw about 4-5 years ago, I also find it's much more economical to feed raw than premium kibble.

I'm not hard core about feeding raw (it's my choice and what I find my dogs do best on, end of story) but I do think that the way dried food is advertised leads people to feel like you have to be a scientist to feed your dog a balanced diet. I think it scares people out of feeding raw because they feel like it's complicated or difficult to get the 'balance' right. My personal experience is that feeding raw is simple and I can't imagine feeding any other way. I talk to soooooooo many people who say the reason they won't feed raw is because they are scared of getting it wrong, and it doesn't have to be that way.

Edited by huski
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used the Guide Dogs patties we tried BARF big dogs but she prefers the guide dogs ones.

Diva has been on a diet this last month. Previously she had an incredible coat so shiny and soft. The vet told us to go dry for the month while she loses a little puppy fat (Hills Diet) her coat isn't shiny and it's a lot coarser (sp?), even adding in contraband sardines and eggs.

Our month is up and she's down to an acceptable weight so we're going back onto the patties. will be interesting to see how her coat changes.

**overweight due to over eager toddlers feeding her buffet style when no one is looking, NOT due to her real food **

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My old clinic got a monthly payment for having the food and advertising it out in reception. And I know more then one other then does the same.

I don't know of any payments for stocking the foods. The best I know if is having the company supply a few bags of food for feeding hospital patients, a couple of branded scrub shirts and maybe some lunch at the training seminars.

We stock primarily one brand, plus the prescription lines from another but I will quite happily discuss other brands of food or other feeding regimes (including raw / BARF). I'm only really interested in changing it if it clear that it is not working for the patient. I feed my own dogs one of the brands that we don't stock on the shelves because I think they do better on it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1351258058[/url]' post='6000523']

Yep a few free t-shirts and maybe the odd bag to give out as samples and that was about it :)

Well I can tell you now we got a hang of a lot more stuff from hills and royal canin then that where I used to work. Like I said just my experience, people seem to be missing out where I said that..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also clinics are paid to sell the food as well.

Really???????

No vet clinic I have ever worked in was paid for selling any food. I would love to know who does actually get paid for selling dog food

I think perhaps what was meant is that the vet clinic is selling the food, and thus getting the diff between wholesale and retail....but probably doesn't realise how small that margin is.

Posters should be aware that "nutrition for dogs" is not studied in any depth at vet school. The students have a couple of lectures by reps from dog food companies, and if they are interested in nutrition must do their own research.

Also, in a 10 minute appointment, it is difficult to properly advise on a balance raw diet for dogs, whereas dry dog food IS balanced.

I think it would be difficult to do any scientific study on raw vs dry - although I do think the manufacturers put figures out there - whether they are any use or not is another matter. If you buy a copy of Give A Dog a Bone by an Billinghurst, you will find lots of arguments in there for raw. About $20 copy

Personally - these are my reasons

raw is much cheaper

I know the food is fresh and wholesome

There is evidence (Dr Larry Glickmann, Purdue) that raw is better for Cavaliers because raw strengthens the heart muscle/connective tissue and helps prevent MVD.

none of my dogs have ever had skin or health issues on a raw diet

I don't think wild dogs simply nick behind a bush to gobble up some Advance or something.

And I wouldn't like a diet of baked beans or something day in day out, I think variety is good for dogs, and keeps their appetite honed

Edited by Jed
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hahah, I love the thought of a nice wild dog whipping open a can of Advance behind a handy tree :D

I just read the ingredients of my turkey flavoured 'Big Dog BARF' and it contains garlic..... Ok, call me ignorant, but garlic is poison to dogs is it not? Why would they add it to their food??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hahah, I love the thought of a nice wild dog whipping open a can of Advance behind a handy tree :D

I just read the ingredients of my turkey flavoured 'Big Dog BARF' and it contains garlic..... Ok, call me ignorant, but garlic is poison to dogs is it not? Why would they add it to their food??

There is some debate over garlic. A family member living in the Pilbara region of WA regularly added it to the whippet's meal to repel brown dog ticks and it worked a treat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There isn't a debate about garlic...in large amounts it is toxic and I've seen a small dog poisoned by it. How often and what amount is the key. The costs to do a raw versus kibble diet study would be massive and there's no real incentive to do one.....commercially that is. Some dogs do terribly or raw diets and vice versa. There is no one perfect diet ....feed what you can afford and what your dog thrives on!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hahah, I love the thought of a nice wild dog whipping open a can of Advance behind a handy tree :D

I just read the ingredients of my turkey flavoured 'Big Dog BARF' and it contains garlic..... Ok, call me ignorant, but garlic is poison to dogs is it not? Why would they add it to their food??

I add garlic time my dogs raw mix. Not much, but a tiny bit. Small amounts is okay for them, like most things on the "not for dogs" list, just not huge quantities.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The BEST dogfood is the one your dog does BEST on!!!

Many puppies and dogs have passed through my doors over the years.....some can't/couldn't tolerate a raw diet, some have/had an intolerance to some dry dogfoods, some do great on whatever they are fed....some even prefer the cooked dog rolls and so it goes!!!

Even for humans now, everything we eat generally has something about it eg.fat, sugar, hormones, pesticide etc. that isn't good for us or we may have allergies to. We just have to work through it and find out what suits us best and so it is with dogfood.

The fact remains that the BEST dogfood is the one your dog does BEST on....and that is our job as dog owners, to work that out!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also find it's much more economical to feed raw than premium kibble.

I find it a lot more expensive. Granted, I have no wholesaler and have to buy everything from the butcher or Woolies. But my dogs need an awful lot of food to maintain weight on raw and my costs have skyrocketed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1351286523[/url]' post='6000612']

The BEST dogfood is the one your dog does BEST on!!!

Many puppies and dogs have passed through my doors over the years.....some can't/couldn't tolerate a raw diet, some have/had an intolerance to some dry dogfoods, some do great on whatever they are fed....some even prefer the cooked dog rolls and so it goes!!!

Even for humans now, everything we eat generally has something about it eg.fat, sugar, hormones, pesticide etc. that isn't good for us or we may have allergies to. We just have to work through it and find out what suits us best and so it is with dogfood.

The fact remains that the BEST dogfood is the one your dog does BEST on....and that is our job as dog owners, to work that out!

I got accused of being a dry food evangelist for saying this on FB this week.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share


×
×
  • Create New...