Nutrition

Just last week there was a repeat of a documentary on CBC television called "A dog's breakfast"
This documentary verified that the majority of veterinaries do not get courses in nutrition but rather lectures from pet food companies.
It should be noted that what they did not mention was that there are to bodies of knowledge, research that one can follow re nutritional requirements for both cats and dogs.
There is the National Research Council which is individually funded and does not answer to any companies The NRC lists the nutritional requirements for dogs, and cats through various life cycles.
Then there is the American Association of Feed and Agriculture which is funded by feed and pet food companies.
This lists the minimum nutritional requirements for dogs and cats.
In devising a diet for both cats and dogs, one must keep in mind what they would eat if feral.
Dogs are scavengers thus will eat anything this means that they are omnivores. Cats are obligatory carnivores. A feral cat eats small mammals, and birds not rice, or grain.
It is felt that it is more important to go with the nutritional requirements laid out by the National research council rather than to feed for the minimum requirements.