How to Talk to Your Vet About Raw Pet Food

Fresh raw pet food diets are gaining popularity with countless success stories backing them up. And it’s important to note that one of the most important health decisions you make for your pet is what you put in the food bowl.

Even so, it can be alarming to discover that your vet may be uncomfortable discussing ingredients, may not be knowledgeable about nutrition or supportive of fresh food feeding.

Over the years, we've found that many pet parents are intimidated and discouraged to speak with their veterinarians about their decision to feed fresh raw pet food.

What we learnt from talking to pet parents and veterinarians is that there is often a lack of understanding between both parties. Sometimes this leads to poor communication, uncomfortable relations, and at times even rifts.

To assist you in communicating your interest or decision to feed a responsibly prepared raw pet food diet, we've written a Supportive Letter to Veterinarians that you can hand out to your vet during your next appointment.

Let your vet know that you've done your research on the benefits and safety of fresh raw pet food, and are fully informed about the proper handling of your pet’s fresh food.

We enjoy fruitful and supportive relationships with many veterinarians, nutritionists and scientists, and are happy to communicate if they would like further information.

Simply, download, print, and share it with your vet.

Dear Dr,

Being the trusted food provider for this pet, we would like to provide you with additional information regarding our responsible raw food diets for dogs and cats.

As you may know, raw diets represent a small percentage of commercial pet food diets that are currently available in the UAE. And as such, you may be unfamiliar with our brand, feeding philosophy and safety precautions.

We have been manufacturing raw pet food in Dubai, UAE, for more than six years now, and our industry professionals have a combined 50 years of nutritional expertise. Also, our recipes have been reviewed, approved by two board-certified veterinary nutritionists from the USA.

Further, we work with world-renowned integrative veterinarian, Dr Barbara Royal, DVM, CVA, as our Director of Nutrition and Integrative Medicine.

We use nature as the foundation, accompanied by enhanced science-based evidence to create raw food that best serves our pets’ health. Our meals comprise a complete and balanced diet including nutrient requirements for growing puppies and kittens and for the maintenance of adult dogs and cats. In addition, all our recipes meet AAFCO, FEDIAF, and NRC nutritional requirements for all life stages.

Our formulations contain high-quality proteins (not from plant sources, grains, or meat by-products), balanced fats, and low carbohydrates. Also, we include a small nutrient mix of important trace minerals to meet their targeted nutritional requirements. To add on, all our recipes use only single-sourced proteins that are ideal for pets with food allergies or food intolerances.

Following this, we implement a comprehensive approach to food safety and use only certified organic vegetables and human-grade meats inspected by the Dubai Municipality. The manufacturing is then done in a HACCP, ISO 22000 and BRC-certified kitchen. Going one step further, we also use Bacteriophages as an added safety measure. In addition, to ensure safe handling, all pet parents who choose to feed our meals are well-educated in the hygienic handling of raw food in their homes.

To assist you with your patients, Dr Barbara Royal, who has over 30 years of professional veterinarian experience, further explains the varying clinical observations of pets being feed a raw diet.

• When conducting X-rays, you may see small fragments of bone throughout the digestive system which is normal for pets eating Furchild recipes that contain finely ground bone which provides calcium in addition to glucosamine and chondroitin for skeletal growth and development.
  
  
• Along with this, blood chemistry results may vary as their tests' ideal levels were based on pets being fed ultra-processed pet food diets. For example, Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) levels may be in the high range of normal or even just above normal, but if the creatinine level, urine, and other kidney indicators are normal, this is not likely to indicate any kidney malfunction.
  
  
• BUN will be high normal because the body is properly metabolising proper amounts of protein from the food and is a normal by-product of healthy protein metabolism. Initially, BUN levels were determined using dogs and cats eating low-protein dry kibble foods and may not reflect what might be seen with normal protein metabolism by a canine or feline.
  
  

We understand that in severe cases of immunodeficiency or strong drug therapies like chemotherapy, autoimmune disease, etc, it is possible that raw food diets may not be the most suitable option. In such cases, it is possible to lightly cook the diets during these times as a temporary measure to control all variables while the animal is treated. A reasonable recommendation during these times is to put them in a covered oven dish at 120°C (250°F) until the meat is lightly cooked through (which will vary based on amounts). Serve with all fat and fluid as well. If this is something needed for a longer term, we will be happy to discuss possible nutritional supplements.

Although there are a rare few health conditions when raw may not be suitable, we are happy to provide guidance, suggestions, scientific research and options for proper nutrition for cases you are concerned about.

Lastly, we would like to say that a responsibly prepared raw food diet such as Furchild is an excellent choice to support a healthy microbiome in pets, which in turn is the cornerstone of building a healthier immune system and living a better quality of life.

With the best interest of pets in common, we are available to discuss any information regarding your patients’ diet and provide tailored advice to support specific health concerns or diagnoses.

Warm regards,
Furchild Pet Nutrition

And if your vet is still not supportive of your informed decision after you've shared the handout, ask them to explain in detail their reasoning and our experts will address those concerns with you directly.

There's much that can be said on this topic. Clearly, the demand for fresh raw food is growing, and so is the demand for veterinarians to understand why fresh food and species-appropriate diets are critical for the health of their patients.

Pet parents are increasingly demanding nutritional health for their pets, and want to discuss this with vets who support fresh raw feeding or at least have a better understanding of it.

We hope this helps make the conversation with your vet easier.

And if you are curious why some veterinarians aren’t advocating for raw pet food diets, here are the 3 Main Reasons Why Vets Might Not Support Raw.