More
than 75% of all homes have computers and this is both a blessing and a
curse. For dog owners, the internet
provides vast amounts of information on many subjects. The information, however, is virtually
unregulated and its quality ranges from excellent to pure quackery. Deciding which websites are trustworthy can
be difficult! Canine
nutrition is a popular topic. There are
literally thousands of websites, promoting everything from recipes for raw food
and vegetarian diets; advertisements for supplements and holistic foods;
recommendations for diets that allegedly prevent or cure disease; ‘get-rich
quick’ pyramid-selling schemes for nutritional supplements and consultation
services operated by ‘nutritionists’.
Many home-made diets are promoted – some which are almost nutritionally
balanced; some that are mildly unbalanced and some that are downright
dangerous!
All
in all, many nutritional myths are perpetuated, many half-truths reinforced and
many incorrect facts conveyed. There is,
of course, some excellent information – but not nearly as much of it!
Surfing Tips
So
how can you decide what to believe? Here
are some recommendations to help you when evaluating content of websites:
Discuss
information with your veterinarian.
What you read online should enhance what your vet tells you, not replace
it. If in doubt, ask him or her to help
you evaluate.
Research the
credentials of the site’s author.
Is it a pet owner; a company; a veterinarian; a PHD in animal nutrition
or a board-certified veterinary nutritionist?
Be careful when a person marketing
his or her services claims to be a ‘pet nutritionist’ or a ‘certified
nutritionist’, as there is no standardization in training for this. The exception is a veterinary nutritionist
who is board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN)
or the European College of Veterinary Comparative Nutrition (ECVCN). These are veterinarians who have undergone
several years of rigorous post-graduate nutrition training in approved
residency programs and who have passed the ACVN or ECVCN’s certifying
examination.
Read the
website address. Sites with an address ending in .com are
commercial. Those ending in.edu are
educational and those ending in.org are non-profit organizations. Large pet food companies often have
high-quality websites with good general nutrition information that is separate
from their product information.
Check the
source of the information. Do the
authors simply state that a product ‘prevents cancer’ or is there a reference
to a scientifically-conducted research study?
It is easy – though illegal – to make unproven claims for nutritional
products but it is much harder to back them up scientifically. If there is a reference, where is it
from? Is it from the author’s own
article or promotional literature or is it from a peer-reviewed veterinary
journal? Most products on the internet
do not cite studies to back up their claims.
Those that do, often cite studies on humans or rats which may not be
pertinent to dogs.
Check the
timelines of the information.
Things change quickly in veterinary medicine and especially in the field
of nutrition. Many websites are out of
date. What was recommended two years ago
may not be accepted practice today. A
good website will be updated frequently.
Be wary of
anecdotal information.
Descriptions of one person’s experience (e.g. “When my dog was diagnosed
with kidney disease I gave him ‘GET BETTER’ nutritional supplement and now he’s
cured”) can be misleading. While it can
be useful to hear about other people’s experiences, their positive evaluations
do not mean that the actual product or treatment is really beneficial. Always discuss what you’ve heard with your
veterinarian.
Watch out for
rating websites. Most websites that rank dog foods do so
either on opinion or on criteria that do not necessarily ensure a good quality
food (e.t. price, ingredients, size of the company). It’s important to use more objective criteria
(science, quality control) in judging a dog food.
Be skeptical
of grand claims or easy answers to difficult problems. Remember the old adage: if it sounds too good
to be true, it probably is.
If
you are a critical web surfer and work with your veterinarian to analyze the
information you find, you will reap the
benefits of the computer age without experiencing its problems.
WSAVA
Global Nutrition Committee
