Myth #1: Raw food is not appropriate for dogs and cats.
These days most people know this not to be true. But the more popular raw meat pet diets become, the more it seems the commercial pet food industry tries to convince the public otherwise. I guess we can expect more of the same until the big commercial pet food companies come out with their own raw pet foods.

In reality, raw meat is one of the best things you can do for your pet. Much the same as wild or zoo animals, a pet’s digestive system was designed to handle raw meat. That is not to say it isn’t important to follow safe-handling guidelines, much like you would for yourself. And, of course, every pet is an individual, and some might prefer cooked meat or may have a compromised immune system and unable to handle raw meat. Typically, dangerous bacteria such as salmonella are fought off  in your pet’s highly acidic saliva. As an extra safe-guard, bacteria doesn’t have time to incubate when traveling through a dog or cat’s short digestive system. On a positive note, there’s a plethora of benefits that come hand-in-hand with the naturally-occurring nutrients and enzymes present in raw meat. 

Myth #2: Garlic is toxic to dogs.
The truth is, garlic is indeed toxic to dogs — IF YOU FEED 50 CLOVES OF GARLIC IN ONE SITTING! Obviously no pet parent would ever feed that much garlic to their dog in such a short amount of time. Truth is, when fed in reasonable amounts, garlic is a fantastic ingredient that not only is a great natural flea repellent, but is also a tremendous antioxidant and detoxifying agent for dogs.  For more information regarding the health benefits of garlic in a dog’s diet, please click here.

Myth #3: Grains are bad.
Grains have definitely gotten a bad rap over the years. Mostly because of the pet food companies that use low-quality “bottom of the barrel” grains as affordable fillers. Many feed-quality grains are leftovers from the human-grade grain production process. And the recent pet food recall, resulting from tainted wheat gluten, hasn’t helped the reputation of grains as pet food. But make no mistake, as long as you stick to whole grains from high-quality, “top-of-the-barrel,” human-grade sources, they’re an excellent food for dogs and cats. Grains are chock-full of naturally-occurring nutrients and can form a fantastic foundation for a healthy pet food diet. For those with dogs that do have genuine allergies to grains, a grain-free diet is obviously the best choice.

Myth #4: Vets are thoroughly qualified to provide nutritional advice.

This is a sticky subject that is guaranteed to offend some people, particularly those in the veterinary profession. Nevertheless, the harsh reality must be discussed and I encourage all pet parents to do their own research and draw their own conclusions on the matter.

This myth is in my opinion, false. Don’t get me wrong. Conventional veterinarians are highly qualified individuals; however, their qualifications are for conventional disease diagnosis and treatment, surgeries and conventional drug prescription. While veterinarians perform much needed services for our pets, these services should not include selling pet food, and/or administering ‘nutritional advice’. Veterinarians receive very little nutritional training during college. This is a fact. The training they do receive is often advocated by or even administered by the pet food companies. Their nutritional training comes from the inaccurate view that dogs are omnivores and can safely be maintained on a grain-based diet, even when scientific research has proven that canines and felines have no evolved need for carbohydrates, yet refined carbohydrates form the bulk of veterinarian-prescribed processed foods. Perhaps that is why pets today are allergy-prone, overweight, and suffering from a variety of ailments linked to carbohydrate-rich, processed food such as cancer, allergies, diabetes, poor dental hygiene, arthritis, seizures, inflammatory bowel disease, hyperactivity, etc.

Veterinarians and pet owners alike need to remember that veterinarians are consultants. A pet owner consults a vet when their pet has a specific problem or need. The pet owner pays the veterinarian's wages; the veterinarian works for them. A client is perfectly within their rights to deny treatments or request that things be done differently. Furthermore, a client is perfectly within their pet ownership rights to feed their dog or cat a diet different than which the veterinarian recommends, and a client is within their rights to disregard a vet's 'nutritional advice.'

Myth #5: Dry kibble cleans a pet’s teeth.

This is another myth that many pet owners (including veterinarians) believe to be true, but is totally false.

As leading holistic cat veterinarian Dr. Jean Hofve points out, “Most cats don’t consistently chew dry food; they swallow it whole. Obviously, without contacting the teeth, there is zero effect on tartar accumulation. For cats who do chew dry food, whether consistently or occasionally, there is still little or no benefit. The kibbles shatter, so contact between the kibble and the teeth occurs only at the tips of the teeth.”

The same goes for dogs. In fact, since most commercial pet foods, including vet-prescribed foods, are loaded with high refined carbohydrate content, dry dog foods can actually increase plaque and tartar levels — and thus cause more dental problems than they supposedly prevent. When all is said and done, the only way to ensure the health of a pet’s teeth and gums is through the use of dental products designed specifically for pets.Ultimately, regular teeth brushing for both dogs and cats is the only viable way to ensure optimal pet dental health although there are many all-natural alternatives to choose from as well.