why do vets always reccomend junk foods like iams and science diet?

Question

wow Stark ...you dont come across a vet like that everyday. thats awsome

Answer 1

General vets study a lot of different things in school. The time they spend on dog nutrition is not going to be more than a day or so. They need to cover cat, bird, reptile, fish, rodent, nutrition too. And everything else about all these species. I would never even think to ask my vet what to feed my dog. I also would not ask my human G.P. what I should eat.

Answer 2

As a couple of techs have mentioned above, vets do not get any sort of deal or 'kickback' for promoting Science Diet or other brands. The most they may get is a discount on purchasing the food in quantity. Hill's is popular for its prescription diets which are formulated specifically for various organ dysfunction. That is why they are common in vet's offices.
As for schools, I know that in tech school, we had two reps (one from Purina and one from Hill's) come and give a lecture/presentation on nutrition. It's too bad a rep from Natura or Old Mother Hubbard didn't do that. Our tech school dogs and cats were fed Science Diet products. I'm sure the school got a deal on the purchase of the foods. And I have to say that most of the animals did fine on that food, although some, including my dog, had GI troubles until I adopted them and started them on Innova. Regardless, publicly funded schools have very tight budgets. I'm sure if they had a better deal on Innova or Wellness or some other food they would have purchased that instead.
I'm not a fan of science diet myself. I did feed my animals Iams until fairly recently when I switched to Innova. Take time to read and more importantly UNDERSTAND the labels.
Super-premium foods like Natura brands (Innova, EVO, California Naturals), Wellness, Canidae, Eagle Pack, etc. are relatively unknown. Spreading the word will help educate the public. Most people buy foods like Iams, Science Diet, Purina ONE, etc. because they are heavily advertised and people think they are feeding a very good food. Honestly, at least those are better than feeding Ol' Roy or some crap you find at the tractor supply place. Many animals do fine on them. I must also add, that we see cats and dogs with a variety of illnesses. They eat everything from Ol' Roy or Purina Dog Chow, to Eukanuba or Iams, to Solid Gold or even a raw diet. It doesn't seem to make a difference. Just my opinion.

Answer 3

not all vets do. I have never had a vet try and push any food on me except when my cat was suffering from really really loose stools. And even then, my vet didn't care what food I wanted to buy - he just stipulated to look for a food that had some fiber in it to "clean out" the GI tract. He said if I wanted to buy Science Diet Prescription from him, fine, if not - search the stores for food with fiber. Honestly, the cat had the hardest poos ever using the prescription strength Science Diet. But it was uber expensive and I found other food that I was more comfortable paying for and my cat seemed to do well on. But not all vets push a brand of food.

Answer 4

Unfortunately, vets can be like doctors. Doctors get kickbacks from drug companies, and vets get kicbacks from dog food companies and drug companies!
My vet, on the other hand, doesn't recommend any kind of dog foods at all. He tells me what ingredients are good for my dogs, and I select my own foods. He also suggests some great things I can cook at home. I would trust him with all my dog's lives.
I have had other vets in the past, but the reality is if you don't like what your vet is pushing, find another vet.

Answer 5

The veterinarian I work for doesn't recommend Science Diet or Iams, and if she did, she wouldn't get any kind of kick back from them. She recommends any of the high quality dry food diets out there, like Canidae or Blue Buffalo. The only time she will recommend a Hill's or Purina diet is if it is a prescription diet that will benefit the dog's health.

Answer 6

Because they DO get a kickback and they sponsor nutrition in vet schools.

Go to this list. 6 is rated high, 1 is garbage food. Check to see where Iams and Hills Science rate. They tell you what the ingredients are and if they would recommend the food. I betcha Hills Science Diet and Iams are at the bottom. Pure crap!

Also go to www.iamscruelty.com

Answer 7

I dont know why vets do but they are "ok" foods - not great but ok.
Basically if you read the first 4 ingredients and you would eat them then its a good food. Corn, corn protein, meat byproducts, bonemeal and wheat are all bad for dogs digestion yet the ingredients are in the common dog food- take a look here:

This is pedigrees puppy foods first few ingredients - sounds appetizing doesnt it----
Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, rice, corn gluten meal, animal fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, source of vitamin E), natural poultry flavor

Here is Iams large breeds ingredients (first few)---Chicken, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Chicken By-Product Meal (Natural source of Glucosamine), Ground Whole Grain Barley - also sounds so appetizing right

Now here is an EXCELLENT dog food -This is what we feed our dog -ORIJEN i would eat this (have actually because it smells good too) - i can understand what the ingredients are and have no problems eating any of it --this is the complete list and it is all good stuff --Deboned chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, russet potato, lake whitefish, chicken fat, sweet potato, whole eggs, turkey, salmon meal, salmon and anchovy oils, salmon, natural chicken flavour, sunflower oil, sun-cured alfalfa, dried brown kelp, carrots, spinach, peas, tomatoes, apples, psyllium, dulse, glucosamine Hcl, cranberries, black currants, rosemary extract, chondroitin sulfate, sea salt.

READ THE INGREDIENTS on any package of dog food - do you want to eat meats that came from rendering plants(bones, tongue, guts etc), animals you dont know if they died of some disease before going into the pot of dog food and a whole bunch of other crap that just sounds totally disgusting - i dont think you would so why would you feed it to mans best friend!

Answer 8

For the millionth time vets do NOT get paid to sell or promote ANY food..they MUST buy ANY food they sell including prescription diets at wholesale prices and sell it at retail just the same as any other business that sells pet foods.Matter of fact they usually have to pay a higher wholesale price because they don't sell in the same volumn as other pet businesses.

Vets get a general course in nutrition..it covers everything from cats to rats, dogs to hogs. Vets tend to recommend foods they are familiar with and these happen to be the foods that advertise heavily. It is unfortunate that the "good" food companies never send info or a rep to visit vets, to inform them about their foods and the ingredients..they never promote their products. No matter how good a vet is there is no way they can know about every "good" food out there.

As for Hill's "sponsoring" vet schools, etc, etc...I asked ALL 5 of the vets I work with plus a couple of other vets..All went to different vet schools..all laughed at this and said they get pretty tired of hearing all this crap, because it isn't true. The only "Hill's " anything were seminars which were optional and most of them never attended. They never got free food, t-shirts, etc from Hill's or any other company unless they attended a seminar. As a tech I never got any free anything either from Hill's or any one else and none of my nutrition classes were sponsored by a food comapny either..there was no mention in ANY of my books about any food company.

At the hospital where I work if any staff member wants to purchase Science Diet foods (which only 1 person does) they pay the wholesale price..as for incentives from Hill's if you want to call a $10 off coupon once or twice a year on the biggest bag they sell an incentive... We also have to fight for every little sample we get...nope no big promotional gimics..The reps are a pia..they are very in your face all the time if reps from other food sources would only be half as vigilant at promoting their products..

Answer 9

Vets don't get classes on the specific nutritional requirements of different animals. They get classes such as "Small Animal Surgery", not classes like "Canine Nutrition" or "Feline Nutrition".

Here are the classes available at a veterinary school:
http://courses.k-state.edu/fall2007/CS/schedule.html
http://courses.k-state.edu/fall2007/DMP/schedule.html
You'll see there are virtually no courses specific to a certain species or breed of animals.

Hills, the makers of Science Diet, also pour money into vet schools, so the future vets are hearing about Hills brand all through their schooling. ( Article from the "Wall Street Journal": http://www.4pawsu.com/vet_dogfood.htm )

Answer 10

those aren't junk foods first off, and for the comment about the profit or whatever....there's not one on food really, because the vet has to buy it and then sell it at really no more than what the pet stores sell it for,...so there's no profit whatsoever on foods unless they are prescription diets and then it's only a few bucks. Iams, science diet, purina, eukanuba, etc are really good foods compared to things like sunshine, ol'roy and things that are full of fillers and tons of by-products. I've called dog food companies before, and generally they have no problem telling you what's in their food. But I did call somewhere (not to be named) and they never would really send a "ingredient list". They aren't made in the same plants...the only reason they were on the recall list together is because they both have wheat gluten in them...which comes from the same wheat distributer, has nothing to do with the plant. I would listen to someone who's gone to school for 8 years, they're not trying to screw you over. You would listen to your doctor wouldn't you. Even if you go to school to be a technician, you have to take a course on nutrition. Vet's have to, do you think they just know how to prescribe "prescription diets". No, you have to learn what food helps treat what....