Dog Feeding Myths Busted: What Vets Actually Recommend

Because the internet has opinions… and your dog deserves facts.

When it comes to dog nutrition, myths spread faster than a beagle chasing the scent of last week’s roast chicken. Social media, well‑meaning friends at the park, and “experts” who once watched a documentary can make feeding your dog feel like decoding ancient runes.

Let’s clear the air — with humour, honesty, and a sprinkle of science — and debunk the dog food myths that simply refuse to retire.

1. “Grain‑free dog food is always healthier.”

Grain‑free dog food has become the avocado toast of the pet world: trendy, photogenic, and widely misunderstood.

Some dogs genuinely benefit from grain‑free diets. Many don’t.
Grains aren’t the villain — badly balanced diets are.

What really matters:
✔ digestibility
✔ nutrient balance
✔ quality ingredients

Whether or not quinoa is involved is… not the deciding factor.

2. “Dogs are wolves, so they should eat like wolves.”

Dogs descended from wolves. Your pug is not a wolf. Your cockapoo is not a wolf. Your Labrador is… well, mostly a walking stomach.

Thousands of years of domestication have rewired dogs to digest a wider variety of foods than their wild ancestors ever could. Your dog does not need a prehistoric, documentary-approved menu to thrive.

3. “Chicken causes allergies — better avoid it.”

Chicken intolerance exists, but so does the myth that every itchy ear is caused by poultry.

Often, the real issue is:
• a low‑quality diet,
• eating the same protein for years,
• or confusing unrelated symptoms with food allergies.

Don’t dramatically “break up” with chicken until you’ve spoken to a professional.

4. “Raw food is naturally superior.”

Raw feeding has passionate fans, and it can be done well. It can also be unbalanced, unsafe, or handled in ways that would make a microbiologist quietly weep.

Raw diets aren’t automatically dangerous, but they’re not automatically magical, either.

If you live with kids, elderly relatives, or anyone immunocompromised, hygiene becomes a serious factor.
“Natural” ≠ “safer.”
“Natural” ≠ “cleaner.”
“Natural” ≠ “immune to bacteria.”

5. “Expensive dog food must be better.”

Sometimes the price tag reflects top‑tier ingredients and rigorous testing.
Sometimes… it reflects marketing teams drinking flat whites in a trendy office.

Your dog does not care if the packaging uses gold foil or artisanal fonts.

Look past the price tag. Look at the ingredient list.

6. “By‑products are bad and should be avoided.”

The term by-product gets unfairly villainised. High‑quality by‑products, like liver, heart, and kidney, are nutrient powerhouses that dogs absolutely love.

The real issue?
Low-quality, mystery‑meat “by‑products” with labels that read like a dare.

Good by‑products = great nutrition.
Bad by‑products = questionable stew.

7. “If my dog loves it, it must be healthy.”

Dogs love fox poo.
Dogs love socks.
Dogs love chewing the corner of your brand-new sofa.

Delicious doesn’t always equal nutritious.

Judge your dog’s food by their:
✔ coat quality
✔ skin health
✔ stool quality
✔ weight
✔ energy levels
✔ sparkle (the official scientific term for “looking fabulous”)

The Key to Choosing the Right Dog Food

Forget the Instagram aesthetics. Ignore the myth‑circulating group chats.
When it comes to feeding your dog, here’s the golden rule:

Stop obsessing over labels. Read the ingredient list. Look at the nutritional values. Start observing the dog.

Feed them well, watch how they thrive, and let the myths fade away like a tennis ball that finally gave up.