I think the two big ones are that grain-free dog food is healthier for your dog, which is entirely not true. Grains have an excellent place in an average dog's diet. And there are certainly some dogs that may have sensitivities, but the vast majority of dogs can eat grain in their food and be healthy. I think another myth is that raw foods are somehow healthier for your dog, and I disagree with that. I think a lot of dogs don't do well on a raw diet. And studies have shown that dogs on a raw diet have more foodborne illness-causing bacteria like E-coli or salmonella in their stools and on their body, so it puts owners and families at an increased risk.

And then I think another thing to think about is byproducts. Everybody thinks byproducts or corn or certain ingredients like that are a big no-no in dog food, and that's just not true. When processed correctly, corn is an excellent source of several nutrients and is a relatively inexpensive way to add some of those nutrients to food. And so it can make dog food more affordable and still very nutritious. The same goes for byproducts. Byproducts are just the parts of the bird or animal that we don't typically eat, so that would include things like the windpipe or liver or things like that. That are just not as appetizing to a human.

Most of the time, yes. Just like people, most dogs have a hard time saying no when there's food put down in front of them. There are a few choice dogs that are able to graze and maintain a healthy weight. But the vast majority of dogs, if they're fed free-choice or just have food out all the time, they will over eat and eventually become overweight.

If you give him too much of it, it certainly will. It comes down to calories in versus calories out, just like it does with people. I am a huge proponent of using fresh foods with our pets, as long as we're using safe foods. But if I'm going to add fresh foods to my dog's diet for a particular day or particular week, it's essential that we cut back on their kibble and maintain the overall calorie total that will keep them at a healthy weight.

Rarely that can be the case, but I would say, on average, there are two reasons for dogs to eat grass. One, they like to eat grass, and they just do it regularly without an issue. I've had several dogs like that. And then some dogs will eat grass only when they're feeling nauseous or have an upset stomach. It doesn't necessarily mean that there's something wrong with the dog. They can have stomach upset for other reasons. But if you're noticing your dog is all of a sudden starting to eat grass, let your vet know so we can look to make sure that there's not an underlying problem.

If your dog has a medical condition that requires a prescription diet, sure. But in general, I would say no.

In some situations, it can be more beneficial. I think that's more so in cats than dogs, which we can talk about in another video. Wet food just has more moisture and, in some situations, can be more easily digested. But in general, if you're using a balanced, commercially available dog diet, dry versus canned food over the long-term is probably not going to make a huge difference.

No vaccine is one hundred percent guaranteed. And so, I would always recommend that you limit contact to hanging with pets that you know are healthy and are protected in all ways, whether that's with vaccinations or good heartworm and flea and tick prevention. We want to minimize the risk to our pets to keep them as healthy as possible for as long as possible. So, I would do that in their associates and playdates as well.

There is some leeway there. If we're off by a few months even, it's not likely to be a big issue. But once you realize your cat's overdue, just give us a call, and we'll get them in to get them up to date.

Yes. So, immunity doesn't last forever. In most individuals, we sometimes need to jumpstart the immune system in the form of a booster to remind us how to keep us safe from a particular disease. And so, with most cats, we recommend seeing them every three years. We like to see them every year, but we will do them every three years for rabies and the distemper combination for boosters. And then, for those cats that need the leukemia vaccine, we typically do that every two years after kittenhood.

If your cat has always tolerated vaccinations well, it's absolutely safe to go ahead and get multiple boosters simultaneously. Just like as kids, we got two or three shots at a time to keep us safe from measles or chickenpox or things like that; the same goes with cats. We are competent in the safety of our vaccines, and it's actually safer to do multiple vaccines at once than run the risk of a kitty not getting back into the vet at the appropriate time to get the boosters they need.