A leading veterinarian has revealed the foods she would never feed her dog and warned that certain pet diets put owners at risk.
Virginia Beach-based Tiffany Ruiz-Dasilva has been an animal doctor for seven years, and now she’s out to bust some myths about what’s good and bad for four-legged friends and their owners.
The 35-year-old explained that ditching raw ingredients, being mindful of bacteria and counting calories are some of her helpful tips.
He urged pet owners that it is even more important to keep them in mind if there are children or vulnerable people at home.
Virginia Beach-based Tiffany Ruiz-Dasilva has been an animal doctor for seven years, and now she’s out to bust some myths about what’s good and bad for four-legged friends and their owners.
The 35-year-old explained that ditching raw ingredients, being mindful of bacteria and counting calories are some of her helpful tips.
“Many factors influence how people feed their pets, whether it’s finances, religious beliefs or personal beliefs,” Tiffany said.
“My job is to make sure the dogs are healthy and their owners are well informed.”
In a video posted to her Instagram, the expert shared how she didn’t feed her canine companion raw eggs, raw meat, and bully sticks.
This sparked a lively debate among owners in the comments before Tiffany shared a follow-up clip to address the widespread furor.
He has since said, “If anyone wants to feed their pet a raw diet for any reason, I recommend it be a commercially manufactured diet.”
‘By this I mean that it is formulated by a veterinary nutritionist or PhD, ensuring that it is complete and balanced, and that it has been high pressure pasteurized.
‘Studies show that raw eggs are less digestible than cooked ones, so they do not provide any benefit.
‘However, there is a big risk, as raw eggs often contain harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli, which can cause serious health problems in dogs.
He urged pet owners that it is even more important to keep an eye on their pets if there are children or vulnerable people at home.
In a video posted to her Instagram, the expert shared how she didn’t feed her canine companion raw eggs, raw meat, and bully sticks.
“Even if a dog does not show signs of infection, it can be a carrier and transmit the bacteria to humans through contact with the infected dog.
“Prolonged feeding of raw egg whites can also lead to a biotin deficiency, leading to skin and coat problems, lethargy, and other health problems.”
Tiffany also warned owners not to feed their dogs bully sticks, which are a long-lasting, high-protein dog treat made from dried penises of bulls or steers, also known as pizzles.
They are also known as sticks of beef, pinch of beef or sticks of beef.
She said: “I mainly don’t recommend feeding bully sticks to dogs because around a third of them have been found to be contaminated with bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella.”
‘If a dog swallows a large piece, it can cause an intestinal blockage, which may require emergency surgery.
‘They are also quite high in calories, containing around 90 calories per six inches.
“While this may not seem like much, treats should only make up 10 percent of a dog’s daily calories.”
And the last no-no on Tiffany’s list is raw meat.
She said: “I don’t recommend feeding dogs raw meat because, based on the current evidence to date, there is no clear benefit and there are many risks.”
«Diets based on raw meat are also rich in fat. While they can potentially improve the coat, high-fat diets can cause gastrointestinal problems and increase the risk of obesity.
“It’s easy to overfeed because of its higher palatability.”
Tiffany also says that while many dogs can tolerate pathogens, not all can.
But viewers were left bitterly divided by the advice as one person wrote: ‘Hmmmm ok. Raw meat works very well for our dogs, but yes, the risks of bacteria must be taken seriously.’
“My job is to make sure the dogs are healthy and their owners are well informed,” Tiffany said.
She said: ‘Due to the nature of raw diets, they are inherently prone to bacterial contamination.
“Although freezing and freeze-drying can reduce the number of bacteria, they do not destroy all pathogens.
“These pathogens will continue to be shed in the feces even if the dog consuming a raw meat-based diet shows no signs of illness.”
The expert then He explained that this can put owners and their dogs at risk.
She said: “This can affect young, pregnant, elderly or immunocompromised people, as well as increasing exposure to resistant bacteria which can cause antibiotic resistance.”
Instead, Tiffany recommends that people feed their dogs a commercial fresh food diet, as she “strongly believes that fresh food is the ideal choice.”
But viewers were left bitterly divided over the advice when one person wrote: ‘Hmmmm, okay. “Raw meat works great for our dogs, but yes, the bacteria risks should be taken seriously.”
‘My dog ate a rotten possum the other day. I think he’ll be fine on his raw diet,” another person added.
Another surprised user said: ‘Wow. I have been feeding my dogs raw for over 10 years and the only food that has ever made my dogs sick was kibble. Yeah, I’m not sure why people advocate raw meat when you can cook it gently at home and make it safer.’
“Dogs are constantly compared to wild wolves when they live completely different lives to justify a raw food diet,” said one pet owner.
Another person added: ‘Thank God for this post. I love it. A lot of people are being given nonsense (excuse the pun) about what dog nutrition should be like.
‘I call it dog abuse. Crude oil is very acidic and lazy, among other things. Awesome post.’