Category Archives: Nutrition

Evidence Update- A Systematic Review of Diets & Dietary Supplements for Arthritis in Dogs and Cats (TL;DR- Can we please stop giving them glucosamine?!)

One of the most common topics over the lifetime of this blog has been treatments for osteoarthritis in dogs and cats. I’ve talked about pharmaceuticals, acupuncture, electromagnetic fields, laser, and other treatments, but the bulk of the articles have addressed the most popular over-the-counter (OTC) … Continue reading

Posted in Herbs and Supplements, Nutrition | 21 Comments

Raw Diets and Allergies-SkeptVet and DogRisk Exchange Letters in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine

In March of this year, I wrote a post discussing the limitations and misleading conclusions of a research study in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine (JVIM) which claimed that feeding puppies a raw diet could reduce the risk of allergies later … Continue reading

Posted in Nutrition | 10 Comments

Are Vegan Diets Healthier for Dogs & Cats?

IntroductionGiven the media frenzy the article has kicked off, it is unlikely very many people are unaware of a recent study reported in the journal PLOS One that claims to show vegan diets are healthier for dogs and cats than … Continue reading

Posted in Nutrition | 18 Comments

Does eating a Raw Diet as a Puppy Reduce later Allergy Risk?

I have written many times about the controversial subject of raw diets for dogs. The bottom line, based on existing evidence, is there are no proven health benefits to these diets and several well-documented risks, including infectious disease and nutritional … Continue reading

Posted in Nutrition | 4 Comments

Fresh Diets for Pets: Are they Healthier than Kibble or Canned?

Nutrition is one of the most frequent subjects my clients want to discuss, and often one of the most controversial. Raw diets,1 vegetarian or vegan pet foods,2 ketogenic diets for pets,3 the significance of “artificial” versus “natural” pet food ingredients,4 and the fundamental question … Continue reading

Posted in Nutrition | 21 Comments

Grain-free Diets and Heart Disease in Dogs: Two New Studies

I have to admit, I didn’t think I would again be addressing the topic of diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) so soon after my recent podcast and post summarizing the debate. But the science around this topic is racing ahead, and there are two new … Continue reading

Posted in Nutrition | 4 Comments

Plant-based vs Meat-based Diets for Cats: Which is Healthier?

It hasn’t been very long since I last wrote about vegetarian diets for pets, but a new study is out that touches on the issue, so I thought it was time for an update.  Dodd, S. A. S. et al. (2021) ‘A … Continue reading

Posted in Nutrition | 13 Comments

Diet-Associated Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) in Dogs: What Do We Know So Far?

I have been following the controversy, and the research, on diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs since the issue was first addressed by the FDA in 2018. I recently had a chance to talk with Andy Roark on his Cone … Continue reading

Posted in Nutrition | 7 Comments

Raw Pet Foods & The Death of Expertise

One of the more enlightening, and terrifying, books to come out in the last 5 years is Tom Nichols’ The Death of Expertise. In clear prose, with cogent argument and substantiating evidence, the author makes the case that the proliferation of misconceptions, … Continue reading

Posted in Nutrition | 19 Comments

Food is Love- Veterinarians and Nutrition

Food is LoveAs a child, I was a big fan of the Peanuts cartoons. One of my favorite characters was Snoopy, a suave, bipedal beagle who wrote novels and engaged in breathtaking aerial combat with his nemesis, the Red Baron. … Continue reading

Posted in Nutrition | 19 Comments