Picking fights.

What the heck is wrong with me? I’m getting thin skinned and edgey again, and taking offense at things that aren’t worth the calorie expenditure.

On a forum yesterday, run by a friend in cyberspace, I encountered a person who personified the reason I don’t want to do private practice. Let’s call her CanineExpert. (My God, I’m giving pseudonyms to pseudonyms now.) My friend’s dog is having skin problems, and CanineExpert was giving advice on ways to approach it. There was nothing wrong with the advice, which centered around dietary changes. I’d have gone about things a little differently, but nothing the CanineExpert said was incorrect. Then I came across this post from her:

CanineExpert: Doesn’t surprise me. Corn is a known allergen.

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while it doesn’t bother every dog, mine have a problem with it, and both dogs have pigmentation. Dogs that have a lot of white background color, are much more prone to skin problems, than those with pigmentation.

Wheat has been a problem for some dogs too. Unfortunately, we have to do our own research regarding foods. Veterinarians have little knowledge about nutrition. If they did, they would not recommend some of the foods they do…Science Diet being one of them IMHO, which uses suspected cancer-causing chemicals as preservatives. A very over-rated food IMHO. Vets only get a few hours of “education” regarding nutrition, which is usually taught by a food manufacturer. My vet is the LAST person I would ever ask for advice regarding nutrition.

Huh? If her vet is the last person she’d ask for advice, then she needs to change vets. Anyhow, this is where I made the tactical error. I should have just walked away from it. She’s a little off-base with things, but then people who have negative experiences with something (like a specific brand of pet food) tend to be prejudiced toward or away from things. But no, my nose was out of joint. Besides, she had far too many opinions for them to be considered “humble”.

Salamander: Who told you THAT?

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I’m a vet. My vet school had a full semester’s course in nutrition, and another full semester’s course in skin diseases that featured atopy heavily because it is such a common problem in dogs. Lamb protein and rice carbs were recommended as a good first start for any suspected food allergy.

By the way, I never had ANY class taught by a manufacturer, be it food manufacurer, pharmacological representive, or breeder. And I don’t know any fellow veterinarian who has, unless it was post-grad continuing education, which we all take with a grain of salt.

Of course, that was either the first or second salvo (depending on how you look at it) in outright incivilities.

CanineExpert: Who told me that? A vet told me that, and even spoke about it

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in front of a large breed group meeting out of State, that I personally attended. This vet was well-known in his State, and owned more than one clinic, and was highly-respected. I have also been told this by other vets. And this vet had no qualms about stating how little education he received in a top vet school about nutrition.

I’m no kid, I am 61, have had many vets over the years, and I have yet to meet one, who had any real knowledge about nutrition. I handle pets for many people, and have for a number of years. And I can tell you that they often have “no clue” when it comes to food.

So she personally attended (as opposed to impersonally attended) this meeting and is now an expert based on what this vet (who apparently has some problems with his fellow professionals) said. Frankly, I’m sorry he didn’t get any education in this department, but it was unfair of him to paint the whole profession with his own personal paintbrush. Part of me wonders when this guy graduated, since many nutritional courses were only instituted fifteen or so years ago. But that’s neither here nor there. Checking the AVMA convention schedule, which arrived in my mailbox yesterday, there are over fifteen hours of continuing education credits devoted to small animal nutrition. If he didn’t get the classes in school, he has no excuse for not getting them after graduation. Which isn’t the point. I am curious how being 61 years-of-age qualifies CanineExpert as a better nutritional consultant than someone who went to vet school, but who am I to argue?

Salamander: Ah, good point.

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I am quite disappointed to discover that my semester of nutrition, followed by three separate rotations in different species nutritional requirements, supplemented with two years of of working with a prominent zoo’s animal nutritionist (board certified) has done nothing to advance my knowledge in the field. I’ll have to write my alma mater and complain about that.

I still have a decade and a half to go until I reach 61. My comparative youth and my lack of education (as pointed out by a fellow veterinarian) forces me to tender an apology to you.

Now, let’s face it, there’s a lot of self-made experts out there. Some are actually quite knowledgeable. I’ve learned a lot from people who raise the animals I see. But this person’s attitude about my profession simply boiled me. And now I’m not even in a position to tell my friend about the proper way to go about an elimination diet to check for food allergies because I’ve been rude on her board to one of her friends.

I should have stayed a paralegal.