Does this study destroy the RMB argument?

RE: Does this study destroy the RMB argument?

Bob Russell — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 09:31:30 GMT

The raw chicken wings brigade are the greatest worry. Why on earth would any sane person choose to plaster campylobacter (plus a smidgen of Salmonella) around the house?

RE: Does this study destroy the RMB argument?

Nicola Cole — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 22:27:55 GMT

With all dogs in the study fed the amount of food needed to maintain optimum body condition score I think it just demonstrates that maintaining a healthy weight is good for health and longevity! It's such a small population size and without comparing it to a similar population of dogs on a balanced raw diet then I don't personally think it has much significance. Although it would suggest that kibbled diets aren't the toxic entity that most advocates of RMB diets appear to suggest....

RE: Does this study destroy the RMB argument?

Anthony Dennison — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 14:32:47 GMT

There was an article in the latest JSAP on raw feeding. Of 200 recipes for raw feeding they found whilst researching, only 2% were nutritionally correct.

Of the people feeding raw diets, most were incredibly happy about doing it and were planning on continuing, but only 10% had stuck to the original recipes given to them by a qualified nutritionist - not weighing out food correctly, swapping things in and out etc.

RE: Does this study destroy the RMB argument?

Bob Russell — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 14:16:08 GMT

The problems with many RMB diets are they are just not very good! Owners are not particularly competent at making sure their pets get a balanced diet.

Natures menu make some perfectly acceptable raw diets but at a cost. Good diets are expensive!

Kibbled diets are very efficient at converting relatively inexpensive ingredients into a balanced food.

All types of diets have improved significantly but the nutter's exaggerate the benefits of their foods and slag off the makers of more run of the mill diets.

The likes of Tom Lonsdale make a living out of dietary pseudo-science, there is nothing independent about his views.

RE: Does this study destroy the RMB argument?

Ashley Rubens — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 13:27:39 GMT

How about being really controversial and saying it's entirely possible to feed an excellent commercial diet or and excellent rmb diet?

This study just shows the general improvement in diets that we have made with better research, and I'm sure could be replicated by most brands out there.

The he downside of rmb is the massive owner commitment and the far greater risk of jeopardy if you get it wrong, not necessarily that it's always bad - I'm fairly sure I could quickly make my dogs very ill by simply allowing them ad lib access to any food commercial or rmb, but that's Labradors...

RE: Does this study destroy the RMB argument?

Anthony Dennison — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 13:26:19 GMT

Not trying to be argumentative, as I agree that kibbled food is better than RMB, but if critically appraising their release there are a few things.

It's been done by Eukanuba. I should imagine these dogs got all the food supplied to them FOC for 10 years, so of course they're going to stick with it.

There is no comparison to other foods so they can't claim superiority over other choices until they have done so.

Quite a small study size considering it was a 10 year thing (39), without an even sex distribution (12 males 27 females).

What they've produced is a review of following dogs for 10 years eating food, rather than a peer reviewed study.

Don't get me wrong, I can see what they're trying to say, but there are flaws that RMB people will grasp to to try and pick the argument apart.

RE: Does this study destroy the RMB argument?

Clare Tapsfield-Wright — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 12:14:47 GMT

It always amazes me that there is so much research about the correct diet for dogs which has achieved so much and which pet owners accept , and yet children are given chicken nuggets and junk food with no thought whatsoever to their nutritional requirements. Lucky dogs , living longer healthier lives while children waddle round with rotten teeth and obesity.

RE: Does this study destroy the RMB argument?

George Cooper — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 11:34:08 GMT

As you say Arlo - "Interesting"!

Having been vetting for an absolute age, and before that having taken a great interest in the pets that inhabited the environment in which I existed I am now of the un-budgeable opinion that the animals I see nowadays are living to far riper old age than back in the 50s when a dear old hobbling labrador was considered to be a walking miracle if it made double figures, far less a teenager. That same labrador entering my consulting haven now would be 16, perhaps 17, and I reckon it is purely as a result of far better feeding. There aren't really any "bad" diets on the shelves, and the 50 years of research and tweaking of nutrients has resulted in food that is formulated very specifically for the pet - and that has resulted in a near 50% increase in life expectancy. Nothing to do with our abilities as vets as an awful lot of those old dogs have never seen the inside of a surgery - and they all have to eat. Sure there will be individual cases where life-saving interference has kept it alive, and the fact that dogs are actually managed better and not turfed out on the streets all day will have contributed to greater survival length.

Oh - I know, I really do, that this is anecdotal and has no hard and fast significance in anything - but as I said, its my opinion, and I like it!

RE: Does this study destroy the RMB argument?

Bob Russell — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 09:16:55 GMT

Not bad for feeding poison!

One of the key reasons why life expectancy has gone up over my career is because many pets are on better diets.

Of course the same group on RMB diets would still be going at 20yrs old and have a Hollywood smile to boot!!

RE: Does this study destroy the RMB argument?

Robin Grimmer — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 21:07:24 GMT

28% of the group lived beyond 15.6 years, which considering they were all labradors is pretty amazing. That sort of lifespan is normally only seen in small breeds like Jack Russells and Yorkies.

No doubt they all had awful teeth and needed frequent dentals as they weren't on RMB diet ;)